Good photography skills come with a lot of practice and hard work. This career can be rewarding if you love challenges and are eager to live your life through the eye of the camera. Renowned photographer Kelvin Chan has come a long way in his journey as a photographer and he owes his success today to hard work and perseverance.
Hard work pays off
Art is subjective and its value is in the eyes of the beholder, said renowned photographer Kelvin Chan.
Elaborating further, he said, “A photograph may not be the best or have the best angles but to those who feels connected, it may be priceless.
“It may be a photo I took of my daughter for the first time. Some people may pay only RM10 for it but I am willing to pay a good sum of money because I feel connected to it. Art is like that.”
Chan, 42, added that the value of art depended on the artist too.
“If the artist values himself, then his art will be highly valued as well. If the artist does not value himself, then his art standard is up to where he sees himself.”
Personally, Chan tries his best to be a good photographer.
He started taking photographs as a hobby in 2010 and began with zero knowledge in the art.
“I bought my first camera on May 3 that year. I remember the date clearly because I was a smoker and on that date, I quit smoking after 16 years.
“I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle with my wife and children.
“I turned to photography to keep my mind busy after I quit smoking,” Chan said.
But quitting was tough.
“My withdrawal symptoms for the first six months included a constant runny nose, bad temper and a numb jaw. But after six months, my taste buds and my breathing gradually improved.”
The harsh realities
When he first took up phtography, Chan said he shot various kinds of photos and uploaded them on social media but they weren’t well-received.
“People were telling me that they were too dark, too bright and that I had nothing else to shoot.”
Fours years later, discouraged by the negative response, he decided to drop the hobby.
At the end of 2014, he sold off his camera, gears, equipment and bags.
“I also deleted my social media accounts. I thought that photography was not for me, that I had no skills for it.
“I also wondered what went wrong and why my photographs were not well received.
Were my editing skills and retouching work poor?”
But at the end of 2015, after working in the marketing line for a while, he told his wife that he felt the job had no future.
“I told her I wanted to turn photography into my fulltime business and career. She was very supportive. She told me that if I didn’t do it, I would regret it.”
At the end of 2015, Chan resigned from his job and went to register his photography company.
It was a big milestone in his life.
“I had little editing and re-touching skills, no equipment and no networks. I did not even have a good name for my studio,” he recalled.
Teamwork key to his success
Today, Chan is a renowned photographer and he attributes his success in the industry to the people he works with.
He said, “Without teamwork, there won’t be good photos. When you see my photos, the credit goes to the models, makeup artist, hairdresser, stylist, lighting crew and even the designers of the outfits.”
Photography to him is not just taking photos but a form of art.
“I love the process of shooting and transforming the photos into something surreal. I see photography as a medium and my camera as a tool to draw,” said Chan.
In his early years as a professional photographer in 2016, Chan recalled experimenting with ultra-violet shots.
“People was telling me I was crazy, that even if I submitted the photos for international competitions, I would never get chosen.”
But he proved them wrong when he won several awards for his surreal, fantasy shots using ultraviolet lights.
Chan disclosed that one of his hairdresser friends introduced him to a glow-in-the-dark dye.
“He asked me if I could experiment with it. I said I could give it a try.”
The father of two explained that a photographer would need four specialised lightings to take ultra-violet shots complement the shoot.
“Each lighting cost RM50,000, and to get four meant I needed to spend RM200,000 for the shoot.”
Not one to give up, Chan did his research and experimented on building his own lightings.
“Since I had sold off all my cameras and equipment when I quit in 2014, I had to borrow everything from my friends.”
Inspired by the northern lights, a natural phenomenon found in both the northern and southern hemispheres, Chan spent five months researching how to shoot the particular shots.
“It was very challenging as the subject was glowing and tended to be overexposed. I needed to find a balance and controlling it was tough. I remembered how intense it was during that photo shoot.”
Lessons he has learnt
Throughout his career as a photographer, Chan is not afraid to overcome boundaries and obstacles that he faces.
“I work extremely hard. When I am not shooting, I will be in my studio, learning and researching how to create the best art.”
“It is easy to say that you want to be a photographer, but the hardest part of it is how desperate you want to be one.
“I was desperate because I had nothing back then, yet I needed to support my family.
This was what motivated me throughout those years,” he added.
“When I first took up photography as a hobby, I quit because I thought I was not good enough. But today, I know that anyone can be a photographer. All he/she needs is just hard work.”
Food for thought from a renowned photographer.
