The Essentials
Name: Kevin Choi
Company: KC Image
Location: Germantown, MD
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The Interview
Who are you? Describe yourself.
My name is Kevin, I’m 29 years old. I’m just an average guy who likes cars and photography
Where are you from? Are you currently living there?
I was born and raised in Korea, then moved to the US when I was 12, lived in NJ / NY for a few years then moved to MD, where I am now.
Did you go to school to study photography?
No, I taught myself by looking at many car related magazines and websites. All I did was look at the photographs, and watching YouTube videos for tutorials.
How did you get into photography?
I started photography with a show car I was building with a small Fuji digital camera, something simple. I just wanted to take pictures of the progress and going to the show and display there and post it up on forum(s). A few years later, a few of my close friends just said, "Hey, your pictures are great, why don't you take pictures of other cars and get into it more serious?" After that I started taking pictures of friends cars, their friends’ cars and it just grew from there.
How long have you been a photographer?
About 9 years.
How would you describe your style?
Honestly I don't know, but I try to be diverse, so I can shoot certain cars in a certain way.
What sort of equipment and software do you use? Why?
I'm using a Nikon DSLR now, and have a few lenses. I'm a little behind with software. I say that because I was using CS3 when CS5 was coming out. I finally upgraded like six months ago. I'm one of those people that hate change; I was used to it.
Where is your favorite location to shoot pictures? Studio? Beaches? Etc
I don't have a studio even though I would love to have one, but my shoots are usually open road or in industrial areas. Sometimes I shoot at local car shops if the space is big enough.
Are you a Mac or PC user?
I used to be a PC user, but recently switched over to Mac; so both.
What has been your most memorable assignment or vehicle/model to work with? Why?
I have two, the first was with my friend Wes from Team Emotion who has a teal du-luck wide body 350z, because he called me one day and said "PASMAG is going to feature my car, and I want you to shoot it." PASMAG called and told me to go and shoot the car, and that was my very first magazine feature.
The other is with a different magazine. I shot my friend Max's BMW M3 from Team Solo. Pretty much, the same thing happened, but this time I had to shoot it twice and the next thing I know, his car was on the cover of Euro Tuner Magazine. I had some help from a friend to find a location, too.
What would you say to other enthusiast photographers out there who aspire to become a great photographer?
Just have fun and enjoy it, that's what I do.
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