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JK이종구

08-06-24 14:05

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Fashion photographer ..

Lights flash and shutters click at the Seoul premiere for the blockbuster flick Sex and the City. Celebrities pose for the paparazzi on the red carpet.
Famed fashion photographer KT Kim takes his turn in front of the cameras, smiling broadly. He is just as comfortable in front of the lens as he is behind it. With his striking good looks and megawatt smile, he could pass for an actor.
But this DJ-turned-photographer chose the camera. And the fashion world is glad he did.
Kim caught the attention of the Korean fashion scene in 2002, when he used reportage photo techniques for a spread in Madame Figaro Korea.
Following his Madame Figaro job, the 46-year old photographer went on to work for W Korea, Vogue Korea, Marie Claire Korea and Elle Hong Kong.
This self-taught artist emerged on the international scene in 2003, when he became the first Korean photographer to have his work featured in the legendary fashion and art magazine Visionaire.
Only published three times a year, this exclusive publication is considered by many to be a couture-level magazine. Kims dynamic shot of a cat leaping off a roof in the alleyways of Korea made it into Visionaire 41 World (New York, 2003), taking its place alongside the works of the industrys tops - Steven Meisel, Mario Testino and Peter Lindbergh.
Just a year later, two of his works were featured in former Gucci designer Tom Fords book, making him the only Asian photographer to get published in Tom Ford (New York, 2004).
So it comes as no surprise to hear that Kim is planning to take his career overseas.


Actually, I started planning on doing work overseas several years ago, said Kim in an interview with The Korea Herald. I have done interviews at several magazine companies in New York.
Making it in an industry ruled by a select few will prove hard for Kim. But he is up to the task.
Seeing his fathers business fail and having his mother pass away when he was just a sophomore in high school, Kim developed survival skills at an early age.
Its better to go bankrupt when youre young, than when you are 30, says Kim of this harrowing experience.
Unable to afford college, he struck out on his own. He became a DJ.
When I was a DJ, I earned a lot of money, said Kim. But I thought, This wont last. So I took that money and invested it towards photography.
Why photography? Kim attributes this to the renowned English landscape photographer Michael Kenna.
When Kim turned 32, he saw Kennas works. The experience changed him.
I saw his work and thought it was so amazing that I decided to become a photographer, Kim explained.
But Kim decided not to do landscapes, believing that his true calling lay in fashion.
While I admire landscape photography, I do not want to be a landscape photographer, said Kim. I cannot be a landscape photographer. I can never be better than Kenna. So, theres no challenge. I learned to let go.
Photography is creation, he added. So, if I cannot surpass that person, than I should not learn that photographers style.
For Kim, fashion was something he could do well. When he was a teenager, he would trek on over to Myeongdong to buy fashion magazines. At home, he would flip through them, studying them.
Now, after eight to 10 years of hard training, he is the one whose works are featured in those magazines.
From his spreads to his backstage shots of fashion shows in Milan and Paris, Kims photographs have an uncanny sense of spatial harmony.
I can rapidly control the geometrical lines and depth of what is visually in front of me, Kim explained.


That skill has proved highly useful for Kim, who often has a limited amount of time to photograph celebrities at fashion shows.
I can take a shot of a world-famous designer that you might only be able to meet once in your life, in 10 to 30 seconds, said Kim.
Kims photograph of Tom Ford demonstrates his ability to make a lasting impression in a short amount of time.
In the shot, Ford stands next to a model in a thong, conveying Fords history as the designer who turned Gucci into a hot and sexy commodity.
With a priceless skill like that, the fashion world is sure to keep an eye on Kim.
Kims works can be found in his latest publication All That Fashion (2007), on his website www.KTKIM.com or on his blog (blog.naver.com/ktcuba).

By Jean Oh

(oh_jean@heraldm.com)


2008.06.24