Rising Stars: Meet Won Jun Seok

Today we’d like to introduce you to Won Jun Seok.

Hi Jun, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I’ve always been interested in fashion and self-expression, but I only started taking photographs seriously about three years ago. At first, it began with simple “photoshoots” with friends in the city, where we would go out and take photos of our outfits in aesthetic areas. I was able to borrow a friend’s Sony mirrorless camera for these photoshoots and was instantly awed by the quality difference in the camera versus my phone’s photographs. I enjoyed these outings and I soon realized how nice it feels to have my friends be excited to see pictures of themselves that they truly love as well as being able to capture images of people the way I see them.

Photography became an extension of my own view of the world, and since then I invested in a film camera to take photographs of my daily life and the people within it. I began working with Strike Magazine, a student-run fashion magazine in Nashville, and bought a digital camera once I got serious with my work. I learned so much about how to interact with models, lighting, and the full process of photoshoots through Strike and my experience as an intern at Skoop Marketing, a creative marketing agency based in LA. Now, I continue on with Strike in my last semester at Vanderbilt and plan to continue with personal projects in fashion editorials as well.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I was lucky enough to have amazing mentors and supporters that have helped me learn the trade of fashion photography throughout my career, but it has not always been easy. Like many other creatives today, I have struggled with self-doubt and comparison to other talented individuals around me.

I always felt as though my work was not on par with many of the other photographers I saw on social media and in the real world, and I was frustrated with the progress that I felt wasn’t fast enough or adequate enough. Further, making the time for and finding the resources to do my personal projects while also balancing Strike’s projects and commissions was more difficult than I imagined and often led to creative burnout.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work revolves around the current youth culture of self-expression through fashion and media. I am intrigued by the way rapidly cycling trends and bold statements dominate Gen Z young adults’ sense of self. Thus, I specialize in fashion editorials that are deliberately planned to embody a certain character or theme with vibrant colors, clean yet sophisticated backgrounds, and powerful facial expressions.

My work sets out to be unique by creating not only aesthetic images but also narratives through the models and the composition of the photographs. Whether this is through the styling of the outfits, and colors portrayed, or by any other aspect of creating the image is intentional and unique for each project.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that there is always a way to work around obstacles and achieve your goals. Different approaches and solutions can be found to problems previously thought impossible to get around with enough motivation and will.

For example, if I wanted to light up a set in a particular way but did not have the expensive lighting gear to do so, I would find ways around that problem by either borrowing equipment from the school or utilizing natural light and reflectors or even changing the scene to still achieve the same effect.

Contact Info:

• Website:wonjunseok.com
• Instagram:instagram.com/wonjunseok/