Tom Van Oosannen

Tom Van Oossanen is a Yacht photographer from the Netherlands. After previously working for SuperYacht Times for three years, he decided to take the plunge and start his own company, providing the superyacht industry with high-quality photography and videography. And it goes without saying, his photography and videography skills didn’t go unnoticed! In fact, Tom went on to work with some of the most recognised Superyacht Builders in the world, including – Lurssen, Feadship, and many more.

1. 2021 was a big year for you, from starting the year capturing feadships ‘Boardwalk’ leaving the shipyard, to finishing with the delivery of Royal Huismans, ‘Phi’. Do you feel that 2021 was your biggest year as a Superyacht photographer so far?

2021 was certainly big, with limited traveling options you have to be creative and find jobs in the Netherlands and Germany, luckily I work with all major shipyards here and I managed to have enough work! There have been some amazing projects out this year with PHI definitely being a favourite.

2. Do you know exactly how many yachts you worked with last year? And is there any, in particular, that were your favourite?

I think around 15 superyachts this year, but some I simply can not publish anything about, unfortunately! I’m very excited to work on La Datcha in the Maldives for a week, I remember the Monaco yacht show back in 2015, when Damen announced the SeaXplorer concept, to then be on it in the Maldives 6 years later was epic!

3. Having captured images and videos of the most extravagant yachts in the world, have you any remaining Superyachts on your list that you would love to work with in the future? Or any that you would enjoy working with again?

I love to work with Predator one day, what an absolute beast! I have never seen her out in the wild but it would be very cool to see that one in action and create some unique imagery. Same as for SKAT, I have seen her many times, but would love a few days with that boat.

4. With your job, comes travel. What locations did you visit last year and where would you say was your favorite?

I didn’t visit that many places in 2021. The Maldives yes, St Maarten, and obviously the Med. But I have also captured some huge transport through the Netherlands and I probably enjoyed that the most! As traveling these times is very uncomfortable…

5. It goes without saying that the name ‘Tom Van Oossanen’ is well recognised and respected within the Industry. When you began to experience such recognition for your work, what was it like and how did you feel? Tell us about the good and the bad (If there is any).

I was thinking, Finally! It was 15 years in the making by then… Though when I look back at the work I created I fully understand no one noticed earlier… Nah just kidding. I keep developing myself and sometimes my best work from today looks terrible already after a month. But It has been super fun when you work for something for that long, and it’s really nice when people like what you’re doing. In the end, it is your job, so it better works out.

6. Instagram is slowly seeing changes, from starting out as just photos to video and now reels. With Instagram being the main platform for digital creators, over time do you think this will affect the way you present your work?

Hmm, I have never been a social media wonder, I just upload a photo with a short description, it has always worked. But I can not keep up with all the latest trends, I guess I am getting old 

7. What advice would you give to your younger self when you first started out in the world of yacht photography?

Just keep working hard, get your name out there. As exactly what I did. On the road every day with my camera, taking pics of anything that floats and keep learning, improving your skills. I would probably not have done it any different…

8. Lastly, do you have any exciting news for the coming year that you’d like to share with us or any past work that you’d like to shine light upon?

I have so many photos I would love to share with the world, there are a few things pending… A book, documentary, and even an exhibition. But first, the world needs to get back to normal to properly plan things again.

But 2022 I want it to be my best year so far and to be honest it has been off to a great start!

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