LESS IS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Seoul-based photographer Kim Tae Kyun, better known as LESS, has photographed some of Korea's most recognizable faces, with work featured on the covers of Vogue, GQ, W Magazine, and more.
from his studio in hannam-dong, he reflects on his philosophy and process, before taking us across town to share a project that ventures into new and unexpected territory. this interview was originally conducted in korean and has been translated.
inside less' studio, the morning light pours in through the windows. one side is a blank slate - bare concrete floors and white walls. the other side is lined with wood panels, filled with cozy designer couches and framed photographs. against the wall, a bookcase overflows with photobooks.
ept: tell me about your earliest memory of photography.
less: i think i first became interested in photography in high school. looking back now, it was just for fun. i'd just take my parents' camera from home and use it when hanging out with friends or for special occasions like going on a trip or an outing. at the time, those photos didn't feel particularly meaningful to me. but later, as i got older, went to university, and started learning about aesthetics, i looked back at those high school photos again. seeing those images of my friends just being themselves, not posed, in a relaxed state, captured freely - it suddenly took on a completely new meaning. i wondered, when i take photos, what am i really trying to say? that curiosity led me to think more seriously about photography as a visual language, and how people communicate through images.
we're in hannam-dong, in your beautiful studio. how did you choose this neighborhood?
i've been living around itaewon (a neighborhood bordering hannam-dong) since my twenties. many of my friends lived there, so naturally, i got a place nearby. there was more to do back then. clubs, friends' studios... without making plans you could just go somewhere and friends would already be there.
at the time, i was working in a basement studio in gangnam. back then, most studios used a "horizon" setup: a seamless white curved wall. with a white background, you're constantly filling the frame. it requires specialized lighting. you place a person there, remove shadows, and it creates this floating effect. it's designed for that kind of use. but after 3, 4 years, i found myself clashing with that environment. i wanted to capture things as they are, rather than constantly constructing a scene.
so i started thinking, i need a space that suits me better. i began looking for a more casual space, one without a horizon wall; a place where i could use the walls and floor more freely. it didn't need extremely high ceilings, but having some natural light would be nice. so i started searching around hannam-dong and ended up finding this place by chance.
this unit used to be an office, divided by partitions, which i removed. the entire space also had old wooden flooring, but i removed sections of it to create two distinct spaces, which is what you see now. with the white walls and floor, i can shoot one way, and with the wooden floor, i can shoot in a completely different way. next year will make it my tenth year in this studio.
"meeting people by appointment and meeting people spontaneously... it's completely different. i like going somewhere and hanging out with whoever just happens to be there — unexpected encounters. but that doesn't really happen anymore. i really miss that time."
you must have seen a lot of changes in hannam-dong during that time.
a lot has changed. friends have moved away, there are way more tourists now. and with that comes more shops, cafes, and restaurants. this area in particular has become a shopping district. the biggest change, though, is that most of my friends have left. back in the day, you could be walking around in the evening, see lights on and think, "oh, someone's here," and just drop by. we'd hang out, talk outside. it was really fun. meeting people by appointment and meeting people spontaneously... it's completely different. i like going somewhere and hanging out with whoever just happens to be there - unexpected encounters. but that doesn't really happen anymore. i really miss that time.
we step out onto the terrace overlooking a quiet street. the ceiling rises several stories above us, while the concrete wall across from us serves as a backdrop to a collection of plants, including a tree that extends all the way to the top.
this terrace is amazing.
this used to be empty. those plants. i planted them myself. they're about 10 years old now. they grew so much more than i expected. and they keep stretching outward.
you've worked with so many notable people over those years. how do you decide who you work with?
most of the time, people reach out to me. they see my work and think, "iwant something like this," or "i'd like to use a mood like this for our campaign." that's how it usually starts. i mainly shoot fashion editorials, idol album covers, and fashion brand lookbooks or campaigns. and once a request comes in, i might suggest a location, or explain how i think the mood should be approached, and then we build a plan from there.
once you build that plan, what does that next step look like? can you tell me about your personal philosophy or process with how you approach shooting?
it's hard to apply a single principle to every shoot, but when it comes to commercial work, i see it as a collaborative process. rather than insisting on my own perspective, i listen to everyone's input and try to bring out the best possible result from that.
but what matters to me more than the process itself is creating a moment - a moment where the model and i can focus deeply within a shared space and time. when i'm photographing someone, it's important to build a certain closeness. i try to really focus on who they are. i want to reveal the expressions and feelings that can only come from that intimacy, something that only i can bring out from that person. if ten photographers shoot the same subject, the results shouldn't all look the same, right? that's actually the most important thing to me. but in commercial work, it's not always easy to go that deep.
when it comes to building that certain closeness, how do you bring that out of your subjects? how do you get them to open up?
it really depends on the person. some people feel uncomfortable talking, and they'd rather get through the shoot quickly. in those cases, instead of talking, i focus on giving direction. i might ask them to hold a warm cup, wrap their hands around it, blow on it, take a sip - just to keep them moving. some people have a tendency to tense up and get stiff when they're in front of a camera, but i'm not comfortable photographing people when they're frozen. i move around a lot myself and i want the subject to move too. the photos i like most are the ones that capture a fleeting moment - something that just clicks. i want to draw out moments where the person might even think, "i didn't know i had this expression."
on the other hand, when someone is very experienced, like a professional model who knows how to use their body well, i sometimes do the opposite and intentionally limit their movement. usually, i use a fast camera that lets me shoot quickly from anywhere. but with an experienced person, especially with celebrities, i don't need that speed. so instead, i'll deliberately use slower film cameras and manual-focus to slow things down, which sometimes frustrate them [smiles]. with these older cameras, you have to communicate constantly, adjust exposure, ask them to pause, move their hand, and reposition. instead of shooting instinctively, you're thinking through the viewfinder and giving continuous direction. i'll tell them, "hold on, i need to focus... okay, now i'll take the shot." ¡ talk them through my process, step by step. that alone changes the final result compared to what they're used to. and through that process, the subject also becomes more curious about how they look, asking questions, checking in. it creates a different kind of communication compared to digital shooting.
"i want to reveal the expressions and feelings that can only come from that intimacy, something that only i can bring out from that person. if ten photographers shoot the same subject, the results shouldn't all look the same, right?"
less takes us out into the streets of hannam-dong, where the afternoon rush has drawn a steady stream of people drifting between shops and cafes. as we head to a nearby restaurant for lunch, our conversation continues.
apart from your studio photography, a lot of your work is set in real-worId environments. can you speak on the difference in how you approach shooting in your studio versus shooting outside?
in the studio, you have to create all of the light yourself, and it's a space where you can use props to amplify a person's character. but on location, it's completely different. i prefer places where you can really feel seoul - places that reflect the present moment, the current era. rather than somewhere brand new, i'm drawn to slightly older places, places like this alleyway.
a long time ago, before i had a studio, i would even shoot in areas like mul-lae-dong in yeongdeungpo, industrial zones. there, i could shoot outdoors more easily, with factories and streets in the background. then i moved to gangnam, and eventually to this studio in hannam-dong. as my photography career developed, i started to shoot a lot more of my work in studios. but over time, i realized that i prefer when the background and the subject interact together, rather than the focus being solely on the person. so instead of a studio with just a plain white wall, i gravitated back towards shooting on location. i liked the idea of placing young people in spaces like this [gesturing to the street], showing how seoul looks through its environments.
after lunch, we take a cab across town to mangwon-dong, a charming neighborhood known for its small businesses and young artist community. in an empty backstreet, we pull up in front of vaxine, a small, one-room jewelry store. unassumingly plain from the outside, the space inside transports us into an alternate reality. at the center of the room is a circular table pulled straight out of an h.r. giger painting, on top of which sits a collection of ornate silver jewelry. on the wall is a photo from their last collection which was photographed by less.
"i prefer places where you can really feel seoul. places that reflect the present moment, the current era."
we're here at vaxine in mangwon-dong. what brings you here today?
vaxine is a jewelry brand that i collaborated with and we're here today to go over our upcoming exhibition in seongsu-dong. our collection will be showcased in a gallery next month, so i'm just here to go over some things to-gether.
is there a difference in how you approach photographing products as opposed to portraiture?
there's definitely a difference. i sometimes have shoots that only feature products, but with jewelry, the pieces really come alive when a person is wearing it. you have a better understanding of the piece when it's connected to a person.
of course, there are cases where i shoot products as still life, without a model. i actually do that more often than i post. but rather than focusing on perfectly highlighting every detail, i tend to think about how the product exists in everyday life. unlike what i mentioned earlier about free movement, with product, it's more about constructing a scene deliberately. even with styling, i think about what kind of visual elements would make the image more interesting.
"it wasn't originally meant to be assembled this way, but the way the pieces reconnect created something new. since they already had their original designs, i suggested : "what if we break it apart and let people reassemble it freely?" that was the starting point."
most people know you for your photography. what drew you to collaborating with a jewelry brand in a design capacity? is there something you want to express outside of the language of photography?
when it comes to photography, it's about how i see people. and i wanted to apply that perspective with jewelry and how it could be seen differently. since it's my first time, i'm not sure how things will evolve. but right now, it just feels fun. i'm not the one physically making the pieces. i just come with the ideas, which feels relatively easy. actually making it is much harder. for example, this piece here [he pulls off a silver ring composed of individual stacks from his finger], each part was made separately using 3d printing, then refined in silver through craftsmanship. i don't fully understand all the details, but it was made with high precision.
you can rearrange these parts [he shuffles the individual rings]. it wasn't originally meant to be assembled this way, but the way the pieces reconnect created something new. since they (vaxine) already had their original designs, i suggested, "what if we break it apart and let people reassemble it freely?" that was the starting point.
Locations
Less Studio
VAXINE
17, Huiujeong-ro 20-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Words by Andy Koh
Photography by Matt Choi
