Andrew Kung Group is a commercial, advertising and lifestyle photography and commercial video production company, founded by Andrew himself who serves as the president, director of photography and a commercial photographer for the company. Based in the Midwest, the company’s portfolio is full of visual media that creates imagery for a wide range of clients.
“I never thought that becoming a professional commercial photographer would be my profession but here I am today, with over 10 years in the field of commercial and advertising photography,” Andrew says. He first became interested in photography when he was 9 years old. Andrew’s father had an interest in collectable cameras and pursued photography as a hobby. “I started casually shooting 35mm film with point-and-shoot cameras and would typically be the designated ‘photographer’ when our family or friends went on vacation,” he says. “I didn’t focus much on photography once I was in high school, likely because of too many distractions but then picked it up again around 2004 at the end of my college career.”
Andrew earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Sociology and Economics. His professional career began in the field of higher education, and he started pursuing his MBA but didn’t continue, as he realized that he really wanted to be in the world of commercial photography and advertising. He started becoming interested in photography once again when he came across a more surreal style of photography that uses strobes to overpower the sun. “At the time, I did not know how to achieve that look. It intrigued me greatly and in my pursuit of knowledge on how to achieve and refine my own style of using strobes, I was introduced to the world of commercial, advertising and, editorial photography.”
Andrew admits that it took him some time to leave his full-time day job. ”I worked with some respectable people and it provided a good amount of security, health care, and a retirement fund,” he says. “I tried quitting my day job three times, each time being lured back into the corporate world because of a promise of more pay or more benefits. Ultimately, I began to realize that none of that mattered as I knew I wanted a career that would be much more fulfilling to me as an artist and to give myself and opportunity to build something of my own.”
Andrew first operated as a solo freelancer from 2004 to 2008. But as his business grew and the size of the jobs got larger, Andrew says it became increasingly difficult to operate as a one-man band. “I remember the days of having to pack and transport my camera kit, strobes, and grip gear to and from jobs, sometimes for quite some distance. That would leave me more tired than inspired once I arrived at the shoot,” he says. “I knew that I would soon have to add an assistant to help me produce quality work that my clients deserved, even though it would mean that my profit margin would decrease. It was then he launched Andrew Kung Group, and since 2008 he has grown his team and scaled his business. “We expanded our video and cinematography division around the year 2016 and it has grown significantly since then. A lot of this is due to the talented individuals on our team who have contributed to AKG’s growth in many ways.”
When Andrew introduced food photography into his business, he had no real interest other than taking on those jobs for the sake of growing the business. A lot of the food photography that he come across was predominantly captured with natural light and a shallow focus resulting in less vibrant photography, he explains. This was quite the opposite from the style Andrew had developed shooting with depth (f/13 or higher) and making use of strobe wattage. “I was under the impression that if that was what the market and what clients wanted, though I appreciate the art of that style and respect those who produce work in that fashion, it wasn’t personally appealing to me.”
Later, Sophisticated Living contacted Andrew to photograph food and dining features in a number of different cities. “The magazine indicated that the art direction and treatment for these culinary features were in-line with my personal style of photography – deep focus, punchy and vivid hero images that would really show the colors and textures of the food and drink.”
With his food photography, Andrew always prioritizes capturing food first, by itself as the hero with all its textures, colors, and dimensions set within a vivid scene. “I think if I can evoke a sense of hunger from the viewer when they look at my food images, if they can almost smell it, my mission has been accomplished.” Ultimately, Andrew says his job is to sell the food to the consumer, convince them to dine at the restaurant or to inspire them to expand their culinary horizons. This might include enlarging the field of view and adding in background textures/colors and carefully curated, styled props, ingredients and drinks in order to deliver the desired feel. “But, again, if I can live in the world of very up-close, almost life-like, almost macro, hero shots of food, I am quite happy,” he says.
Andrew primarily shoots food photography on location at a client’s location/restaurant. When on location, his goal is to capture the food at a client’s venue that is indicative of the space’s mood and ambiance. ”If I see the background, tabletop surface(s), bars, seating in the shot, I want to try my best to capture these elements in the shot that would make the viewer familiar with them and recognize them again if they were to make it into the venue in person.” Andrew recognizes that many restaurants and venues invest time and money in design features and choices in furniture to create a specific feel to their establishment. “I feel it would behoove me to incorporate that into my pictures of their food and drink if I can.”
Andrew works closely with his team of food stylists and/or the chef to develop concepts, “Special mention goes to my other director of photography, Rachel Lutz, who is an exceptional food and prop stylist as well.” Shots and concepts are also inspired by colleagues and other professionals in the industry across the world. Andrew has found photographers and professionals with similar tastes so a concept by a particular artist can be built upon and personalized. “Occasionally, some harebrained and wild ideas come to me in my sleep, and then I will try and get them implemented at the very last minute so that no one on my team has time to object.”
To see more of Andrew’s work, check out andrewkung.com and follow him on Instagram:
@andrewkungphoto.
