DoKa - William Rutten

Already at a young age William Rutten, photographer, showbiz expert and jury member of knew the perfect picture that school was not for him. He dreamed big in his teenage room, decorated with posters of his idols such as Kiss and Queen. He would someday photograph his idols.

After the sudden dramatic death of his father, William (then 16 years old) knew for sure;He became a pop photographer and decided that anything is possible.

He had to succeed, because a return to school was absolutely not an option for him. He went well and he met the stars at countdown and other music programs. At the age of 20 the studio with his mother in the attic became too small and he went looking for his own and larger place. Colleagues advised him to go to Amsterdam, because the stars did not want to travel far. He was stubborn and involved the old post office of the small village of 's-Graveland with a large financial risk. In no time the stars came by in his now renovated and blinded photo studio between the cows and green meadows. The stars quickly felt at home and thought it was so fantastic that they kept eating, partying and sometimes even sleeping.

The studio in the middle of nowhere became a place to be and was a kind of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory full of mysteries in the eyes of outsiders;He even received the men from Kiss in his studio and also had Queen for his lens. 

You get a golden ticket for a glimpse into this studio. William tells anecdotes about his years with the stars but also about the emotional departure after 33 years to grow as a photographer. It is also a lecture in which he shares his knowledge with fellow photographers and tries to motivate to dare to dream big.

In 2026 William Rutten celebrates his forty-year anniversary as an entertainment photographer.

The media about doka
“ not everyone is able to tell stories for hours in one piece, without people losing their concentration. But William Rutten is very good at this. Because of his pleasant way of telling, nice anecdotes and an inspiring message, he was never lost to me . "The beautiful images in combination with the often creamy anecdotes fill the evening very entertaining. It is a glimpse into the kitchen of artists, from the international showbiz but also of William's life itself . ”