„Summertime magic“ is a personal photographic project by Kim Jae Min, South-Korea based fashion photographer. The Metalhead talks to Kim about vibe, summer and a bit about magic in photography.
Kim, summer 2021 you started working on your special photographic project that’s called „Summertime magic“. Could you please tell us, how this idea was born, what kind of feelings you want to transfer to your viewers?
‘Summertime Magic’ is literally, I just want to capture the magical moment visible only in the Summer. I think the Summer is the season that we can feel the most directly. For example, that we can swim or lying on the grass with bare body. That make me feel a sense of freedom. That things are I want capture it.
Is it easy for you to work on such a big and long-lasting project? Where do you get your inspiration for new ideas and compositions for the shots for „summertime magic“?
I just wanted to take a picture of the free season of summer and record the summer I spent with my favorite friends and share the pictures. I wanted to show that our summer had such beautiful moments.
Tell us a bit about your models – how do you find them? Do they always understand your idea and help you to transfer your vision?
I didn’t want to force this summer on the models, I asked you what summer was like and made you understand that my summer was like this. We’re going to spend this summer together, and we’re going to feel the summer together, and we really filmed it like we were playing. I wanted it to be a memorable summer for the models
Is summer your favourite season? What meaning do you include to the word „magic“?
Do you think that people change a bit during this season, getting more relaxed and happy, getting some kind of „summer“ state of mind
The word „magic“ didn’t mean much. Here, ‚magic‘ is magical moments that can only be seen in summer. Season becomes the past as time goes by, and it becomes our memory. I wanted memory to be a magical moment for me and the models. I want it to be like a sweet dream scene where I fall asleep on a summer night. As we all know, there are moments and scenes that we can feel and see in that season.
Tell us a bit about your background as a photographer – how and when did you start your way to photography? Was it a difficult way?
I majored in pure art and studied sculpture. I happened to take a photography class at the university. At that time, I was fascinated by photography. I’ve been taking pictures happily ever since. I turned 20, and I started taking pictures. At that time, I thought pictures were like drawing pictures to me. It was really fun to color and make a story as I wanted. That’s what I think so until now.
Did you find your style in photography easily or you were experimenting first? What are your favourite type of photography – beauty, fashion, portrait, maybe documentary?
I don’t want to classify my current photography genre. After all, what I want to talk about in pictures is people, love, culture, and hope. If you’re sure what you want to say, I’m sure the viewers will understand whatever you take.
Kim, we find incredible that you have such a good eye for details – in shooting nature, flowers, leaves, small details like a bikini laying on a peace of wood. How did you train this „good eye“ to the detail? Or was the attention to details your feature from the start?
When I take pictures, I keep focusing on my simple feelings. I don’t think I can explain all the reasons why I take pictures. There are moments when you are fascinated at any moment for no reason. I want to simply capture and share it.
