Michelle Seung-Mi Kim

Good day! My name is Michelle.  My Korean name is Seung-Mi (the "eu" of "Seung" is pronounced like the "ou" in "would").  Put the two names together and you get Seung Michelle.  

Moving on...

I grew up in front of the camera.  My photo-hobbyist mother loved taking pictures of me and I loved having my picture taken.  I eventually transferred my ability to be in the center of attention to pursue the entertainment industry and got a bit of television-time.  I had always had a natural inclination to entertain and be under the spotlight...you would never find me behind the scenes.     

My dreams, goals and much of what I grew up to know about myself began to take a shift when I atypically picked up a newspaper and came across this image taken by Pulitzer Prize winner Renee C. Byer.  Chills permeated through my body.  My heart simultaneously smiled and ached.  This photograph had got my attention to say the least.  After reading the supplementary article I found out it was part of a photo essay.  I had never seen a photo essay before nor had I ever heard of a photojournalist.  My gut had decided for me that I was supposed to be a photographer so I could capture moments like that.      

As I started my first year at UC Irvine as a Literary Journalism major, I put my mini-revelation on the back burner.  

I eventually purchased my first DSLR and began to awkwardly and uncomfortably expose myself as an amateur photographer.  I took my camera everywhere and took pictures of everything.  I faced more discouragement than auspiciousness, more insecurities than confidence...but I was determined to get better.  

I have been shooting professionally for the past year now and have been blessed with so many neat opportunities.  Whether I'm capturing moments and producing images at a wedding, for non-profits, on the street, or in the studio I am exercising a God-infused creativity and craft.  It's incredible the joy that I receive from actively pursuing a gift that doesn't require me to be at the center of it.

I am still developing my style and I thank you for partaking in the beginning stages of this process.  I disclaim that you will see many changes (good and bad but hopefully more good) in the next coming months and years as I grow as a person and a photographer.  I don't consider myself an artist because I am not creating anything new or beautiful out of nothing.  I essentially take what is available and attempt to visually maximize it's content.  I am the first to point out that I am not the best but I can say that I do and bring forth my best. 

In my perfect world, once I graduate, I would like to expand my photographic endeavors by traveling the world, working with various organizations that advocate issues I am passionate about and visually documenting for them.  This would, of course, be in addition to working full-time as a freelance photographer for weddings, fashion, food, music, commercial, editorial, etc.  Maybe I will end up doing all these things, maybe not...but I'm not worried about it because God always exceeds my greatest hopes, dreams and expectations.    

Look what he did to a girl who never thought would spend a day behind a camera...