All images by Denise Kwong. Used with permission.
Photographer Denise Kwong describes herself as a passionate beginner photographer who is always learning and is always inspired. I discovered her work on EyeEm and found that she first got into photography through Instagram–where she now has over 61K followers. Denise started out by using her iPhone and then in July of 2014 decided to step up to an actual camera.
If you scroll through her work, you’ll be most inspired by her portraiture. “I first used people in my photos to give scale to a landscape shot. Then, progressively, they became more a subject in the shot.” says Denise in an email interview with the Phoblographer. “When I steered away from iPhone photography got my first decent prime lens, I gave portrait photography a go and found I really enjoyed it.”
Denise states that she is influenced by her surroundings and environment–to that end she also uses whatever props she has the time. However, her work is also very dreamlike.
Denise’s ethereal looking shots are somewhat intentional, according to her. “I’m lucky to get to visit some amazing locations – may that have been seen and shot before by other photographers. Thus I try to add a creative aspect to my shots so that they are different.” says Denise. “And I guess my editing style means these scenes have a dream-like element to them.” Denise continued to state that she is most comfortable with natural light.
“What I love about photography is there is no wrong or right. I can put someone in a bunny mask in the middle of a foggy road without being questioned. I like the unexpected and photography allows me to do whatever I want, however I want.”
Denise mostly photographs friends; who she says are very obliging models and allow her to experiment. She runs ideas by them first and doesn’t proceed if they’re not comfortable. To that end, she believes that communication is very important to every photographer. The back and forth communication and ensuring that a person is comfortable is what Denise thinks is imperative. She believes that you shouldn’t stop shooting. “Sometimes the best shots are those in between poses when you catch the other person unawares.”
