DWF – Let’s start off with a little bio, tell us a little bit about yourself.
KENNY - 2009 marks my third year going into full-time wedding photography. I studied graphic design at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana learning about composition, lighting, framing, placement and other important skills required to create great art. After college, I worked as a web designer for a couple of companies. But after awhile, I decided to move on and open my own website business. During this transitional period, I discovered photography and began to immerse myself into the technical aspect of creating a sound photo. I always had a personal affinity for photography but never thought I could make a profession out of it. I have shoeboxes full of photos I have taken since I was in junior high and it was always my hobby to try capturing moments with a camera. It was not before receiving numerous affirmations from friends and family members that I decided to give this a try professionally and I have loved every moment of it since.
DWF – How did you become a wedding photographer?
KENNY - As briefly mentioned above, I first became interested in photography while pursuing my passion for visual arts. I also enjoy sports so it was natural for me to find ways to photograph sporting events. During this time, I honed my technical skills and dabbled at wedding photography by shooting friends’ weddings. Strange thing occurred, the more I shot their weddings, the more fascinated I became with them.
DWF- Who or what inspires you as an artist?
KENNY - Everyone communicates in different ways. For me it was through my camera. I love capturing the story and the raw emotion I can convey from and through my subjects. I enjoy meeting people and learning a little about their backgrounds and history. It helps to frame the moment I am trying to capture and allows me to have that opportunity to walk into people’s lives at their happiest moments and document all the details that happen throughout the day and hopefully communicate that story properly through my photos.
Philosophically speaking, passion, detail and greatness in any field inspire me. Passion for anything is inspiring and makes me curious about where that passion comes from and how it affects people. Details are the subtleties that often make the difference between good and great. And frankly, if you have a high level of passion and detail, it seems to often translate to greatness. So when I see greatness, I wonder what combination of both allowed them to achieve that greatness. On a tangible level, I often enjoy walking the halls of museums to view greatness on display. I like spending time dissecting the details and nuances of each piece to find what makes each of them so different and so special. But the same can be said for any great businessmen, athlete, architect or poet. I like to think that if I spend enough time around great, detail-oriented, passionate people, some of it might rub off on me as well!
DWF- If we needed a photographer today why would we book you? What makes you unique?
KENNY - I have my own philosophy to approaching photography. That philosophy is something I like to call “nvisible observation”. It’s a term that a friend of mine coined for me after watching me work an event one day. It means to see everything, every nuance, subtle detail and interaction between subjects, which combine to make a great photo, without actually being seen yourself. This approach allows me to blend into the natural landscape of the moment and allows my clients and other subjects to feel comfortable being in front of the camera because of my invisible unobtrusive approach. My logo best describes my style and approach to photography:
People, poses, position, placement and the priority for each are just a few of the elements that need to harmonize to produce great photography. My logo is a symbol of my philosophy and approach to every photo opportunity I embrace. From behind the lens, the goal is to do more than simply capture each element – but to create that perfect balance of these elements in each of the photos that will become the lasting memories of my client’s special time.
DWF- If you had to pick a favorite “Tool of the Trade” what would it be? and why?
KENNY - I love my Canon gears and Apple computers. I live & die by them. I would say my “tool of the trade” is my posing techniques. I love working with couples and making them feel comfortable in front of the camera while posing them artistically to create a perfect moment. This tool is something that I am constantly studying, improving and creating.
DWF – Care to share your favorite photographs?
KENNY -
It was a rainy day in Detroit. The bride & groom are huge baseball fan and insisted that we photograph in front of the CoAmerica baseball park, home to the Detroit Tigers. I walked ahead of them to scout for a potential shoot location. I turned around the scene I saw reminded of a painting by Gustave Caillebotte called “Paris Street; Rainy Day”. I quickly grabbed the shot then proceed to walk. The couple never realized I took this photo until they got their photos back. It ended up being one of their favorite shots from that day.
While the ring boy was putting his pants on, he realized that his shoes were untied so with his pants down he walked over to his father (who was one of the groomsmen) and asked for his help. I couldn’t help but to smile looking at his Batman boxers and the helpless look that boy had that day.
We had to do their photoshoot before the ceremony due to schedule, which meant that they were going to have to see each other before the bride walked down the aisle. So we staged a setting where they could see each other on their own for the first time without anyone else around them. I was trusted to be in that room to capture the moment. When they saw each other, first thing they did was pray. Her genuine expression chokes me up everytime I see this photo.
When I initially took this shot, at first I thought it was just a genuine moment that I captured of the mother of the bride. After the wedding was over, she contacted me and told me how she appreciated that photo because the person she was hugging was her best friend from high school. They promised each other that they will be there for each other at their children’s wedding.
I am always challenging myself to grow as a photographer. I typically try to capture the essence of the moment on camera. But with the help of Adobe Photoshop, I was able to enhance this moment bring out the dynamics between this couple. They decided that they will not kiss until they made their vows at the altar so during their engagement photoshoot, we had to creatively express their love and care for one another. This is where I developed the “almost kiss” look. The anticipation of this moment magnifies the strength of their relationship.
This Chicago wedding took place in February and we know that time of the month means only one thing: freezing cold! Despite the weather condition, this couple was adventurous and trusted us to do what ever we wanted to create some memorable shots for them. As a result we got this shot in the middle of the street while cars were still going by. This wedding was featured in the The Knot regional magazine.
DWF – How about some final words to live by?
KENNY - Be the best I can be. Work hard. Think Different. Push yourself. Love God and live for something greater than yourself. My joy comes from serving people and photography has allowed me to provide images that will help them capture memories that they can cherish for years down the road. I want to continue to be excellent at what I do and use that platform to be an example to those around me.
Location - Chicago, IL
Business Name - Kenny Kim Lifestyle Weddings
Years in Business - 3 1/2 yrs
Websites - www.kennykim.com
Blog - blog.kennykim.com
Twitter - twitter.com/kennyKim
Back Home
11 Comments at "An Interview with Kenny Kim"
Great story Kenny Your a great photographer and thanks for the encouraging words that you have given me I hope to one day be able to achieve success as you have.
I am very new to the wedding photography industry. But it’s become very apparent to me that quality of work no longer matters that much. (Especially after looking through the American Photo top 10 list. What were they thinking?!)
Kenny seems like a very decent fellow, however, his work is mediocre at best.
His talent is his ability to self promote. Unfortunately, the best self promoters are the ones who are crowned the “best” photographers, because the general public will pretty much go with whatever the industry tries to sell them.
This is a shame, because you have truly great photographers who are being overlooked, simply because they are not great self promoters and don’t cuddle up to the famous photographers and VIPs in the industry.
Not hating, just speaking truth to power.
Congratulations on the feature and your success Kenny.
Well thought-out comment, Mark. I agree with you that wedding photography is becoming a bit more of a boys club than a venue to express innovation and creativity.
Kenny.
I appreciate you sharing your philosophy and your humble beginnings. From what I’ve seen your work is great, and you deserve whatever success you are experiencing.
Clearly, your clients and peers find something about you that is likable, and distinctive enough to hire you and and admire you for. As an aspiring pro, I am always looking for sources of inspiration, thanks for becoming one. Keep going forward and don’t look back.
PS, your logo is killer!
I appreciated Kenny’s documentation of WPPI and then he followed around top pros and documented workshops and more seminars. Then I see a KK workshop in Italy?? Very average work and I feel like that was all an agenda. No way, not earned I’m sorry. The work is not there and talking the “push yourself” game is embarassing. I see detail work like cloning out the distracting element by the left shoulder on the man with the little boy, better cropping and finishing of the B&G in the road. You have to walk the walk if you can talk the talk. People need to shoot extremely well to make it and be “credible”. Kenny you are “known”, you found away. I am sure you are a great person and great for the Industry but more shooting time, and better work please.
Um, guys? The “Featured Member” portion of the DWF blog isn’t about being a “rockstar.” It’s just…featuring a member. There’s no implied endorsement. The feature exists so we can all get to know each other a little better.
DWF has, what 5,000 members? Give us 5,000 weeks, and we’ll have 5,000 spotlights
As Matt stated this interview series is all about getting to know other photographers not a who’s da bomb list.
Sometimes all a photographer has to do is turn my eye with one photo and they could end up being featured.
Sometimes their peers nominate them to be interviewed. (BTW if you want me to interview someone just say the word and I’ll stick them on the list no matter who they are.)
This week it may be someone you’ve never heard of and next week it might be “thee” wedding rockstar of the moment. Ya just never know.
I love Kenny’s work. I love his video on his web site. A great promo piece. Kenny, you have proven that when you are passionate about something you can go a long way and I’d say you have accomplished a lot in 3 short years. Thanks for putting it out there man.
Last time I checked Kenny runs a business. He has found a way to create a very profitable one which is what all our businesses should be. If you are just in it for the “art”, then by all means shoot away and sell the fine art. As far as the Top 10 Photographers list, I have to agree that is a joke. Not that some of the winners aren’t fantastic, but it is just a club of photogs passing along the trophy. Anyway, I barely know Kenny more than a handshake, but Kenny never said he was the best shooter out there or his technique is the best. In fact, he is well known for his marketing. Featured means just that: featured. Calm down.
It is interesting to me how this industry is so focused on other peoples successes, in whatever capacity. Shouldn’t we be more interested in our own work and what we are producing for our clients as opposed to whining about someone else’s life? Yes, I would agree that there are photographers out there with a status that is not deserved based on their work, but so what! Maybe we should focus more on creating our own success instead of being insecure and jealous of the next guy, no matter how they got there.
I am also positive that DWF does not just highlight the “rockstar” (whatever that means). My Studio was highlighted last year and we by no means have rockstar status, I would be surprised if 25 of you knew us. If you want Mark to see your work then send it to him as he said, I am sure he would be more than happy to give you a shout out if something strikes his fancy.
Bottom line is, you should be producing work for yourself and your clients, not worrying about what the next guy thinks, or if you are being highlighted on a wedding forum or if someone asks you to lecture a bunch of information hungry newbies. In my opinion, even though no one asked, lectures should be lead by those with years of experience and wisdom, not someone who has been shooting for less than five years. However, if you don’t like it, don’t go! Don’t pay out the money to fly to someone’s seminar if you don’t agree with the quality of their work or their business practice, no one is forcing you.
Make a mark yourself, work hard, create images that surpass your own expectations and your clients will thank you for it, no one else’s opinion should matter!
Peace!
Bad link
Comment Now!