Adding the Mussels: René van der Hulst for Quote

Tilburg, Netherlands-based portrait photographer René van der Hulst began working with Quote magazine twelve years ago, after a portfolio presentation. The publication – which is the Dutch equivalent of Forbes – initially wanted still life/product work. The latest commissions, however, have been a combination of portraiture and architectural interiors. For his most recent assignment, René photographed seafood entrepreneur Rem van den Bosch, owner of Seabør. The company produces a fish burger made from mussels — a low ecological-impact source of protein.

I like graphic and “simple” compositions with a little twist. Rem van de Bosch, the subject in this portrait, developed the Mosselburger, hence the mussels visible in the bucket and on the beach. They also make for a nice graphic element. 

In his years working with Quote, René has cultivated a strong connection with the Amsterdam-based magazine, which is known for publishing the Quote 500: a list of the 500 wealthiest people (and their relative financial positions) in the Netherlands. The mutual trust and professionalism allowed the preplanning for this project to be conducted remotely with ease. 

Quote always gives me free rein with what to do. Because of the subject matter for this project, I wanted to shoot on a beach. The location was scouted by Rem, who lives not far away from the spot we used. The photo editor, Patrick Wissink, and I planned Rem’s outfit and that he would be barefoot in the portrait.

Throughout the shoot, René sent screenshots from his laptop to Quote’s photo editor, keeping the magazine connected to the process.

Patrick and I talked about the framing and placement of the burger, which we adjusted. I had Rem strike several different poses till we found the one we were all happy with.

The story was for the magazine’s June issue, so the editor really wanted a portrait with a sunny summer vibe. We had to wait about a week and a half for the right weather conditions. It was shot on the 3rd of April, which is actually my birthday! The great weather was most welcome because we’ve had a very rainy springtime.

In total, the photoshoot took about three hours. Although it wasn’t a remote location, it took considerable effort to safely get the equipment to and from the beach.

Sand and saltwater are not the best friends of photo equipment. We had to work with extra care to keep the gear safe. Plus it was quite windy, so we had to use sandbags to prevent things from blowing over. I had initially wanted to use a softbox but opted for the beauty dish because of the wind. It’s always a challenge to overpower the sun with flash!

I was very glad my regular assistant, Joris, could come along to help me out! After the shoot, we had a drink at the nearby beach restaurant.

The water was still very chilly at the beginning of April, so we had to work fast for Rem to not get too cold with his shoes off. And it was low tide during the shoot, which gave us a limited window of time to capture the right distance between the subject and the waterline.

From his years in portraiture, René shared insight for connecting with subjects on set.

I think being genuinely interested in what people do and what moves them is very important. And just being nice helps as well.

The portrait unfolded exactly as René and Quote had envisioned, complemented by the spontaneous choice to include the mussels in the bucket as props.

It was a very fun shoot to do! Rem is actually a photographer himself, so he was curious what I had planned — and he liked what he saw! 

I think any shoot is a learning experience in itself. You have to keep an open mind, and not be afraid to make last-minute changes, like in this case adding the mussels.

See more of René’s work on his website.

Credits
Quote Photo Editor: Patrick Wissink
Photo Assistant: Joris Robben

Further Reading
Read about more portrait shoots on our blog.

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