Seung Michelle Photography bio picture

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.  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 photojournalism.  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.

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...     

Category Archives: Miscellaneous Goodness

i heart summer

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kittens!

I hate cats so I can’t believe that I am dedicating a post to cat humor but ever since the “Kittens inspired by Kittens!” video and the excerpts from a Dog Diary vs. Cat Diary and then the recent finding of 5 kittens in my parent’s backyard, I couldn’t help it.

& THIS is my reminder...

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Gross Hall

Anyone who has had a conversation with me about my photographic interests knows that I would prefer not to shoot inanimate objects.  But I was assigned to get some architectural shots of Gross Hall, the new medical building at UCI that will link patients with researchers under one roof, so I did!

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A Lnt/smp t-shirt collab

I visited my friends of Love Nail Tree on UCI Ring Road for the quarterly vendor fair and they surprised me with a screen printed tee with my photo on it!

If you go to UCI, make sure to check out the LNT booth tomorrow (Friday).  Their new website will be up soon for you to...

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Babies

I am SO excited for the “BABIES” movie.

Does this child not make you want to just pop out babies left and right?

Just kidding…but seriously.

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pleasant pit stop

Can we just talk about how cute and poised my grandma is?

Thank you, stranger, for taking this picture of my grandma dearest and me!

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Urban Arts Festival

First time for everything.  Check it out at the UCI Gallery.

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