Inspiring Conversations with Daniel Ko of Kotography

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Ko.

Hi Daniel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
For me, the journey started in 2021 during the pandemic. Kotography has been around since 2008, as my oldest brother, Wawa, was into photography. I had seen him with a camera for most of my life and didn’t know that I’d be picking it up as well.

I began photography with a mindset of, “I might as well take photos since I have the equipment,” sort of thing. I bought an older camera from my brother to stream on Twitch with originally, but as I took some photos with it, I began to find a desire to work on this craft.

I did a lot of research and watched a lot of videos on how to get better, understand the mechanics and science of photography, and began incorporating the artistic eye. The more and more I shot, the better and better I got.

I would see where I had made mistakes or missed certain details and apply the changes to the next shoot. Within a year, I had already grown a clientele and began to help spread Kotography as a business.

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?
It definitely hasn’t been the smoothest of roads. When I first started in photography, I lived in Wilmington, NC, a very photographer-heavy market.

Starting out, I really took a lot of car photography, as it was my “free” model to practice with. The beauty of car photography was that lighting changed the hues of the paint, the lines and curves all affected the shadows, and you could move it to many sceneries.

I learned a lot with my car and began “proving” myself to the market that I could take photos, and then eventually moved into shooting a wide variety of photography.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kotography?
Kotography is a flexible photography business that strives to capture precious memories for everyone. In recent years, I have been pushing myself to be exposed to all types of photography, whether that be landscape car photography to portraiture.

We have been investing in the best equipment in the market to better serve our clientele. We are known for providing the best service and photos without the steep prices of photographers.

We are proud to provide people with unique and beautiful images without sacrificing quality and distorting reality. We want the readers to know that we are here to create the vision of our customers and help preserve memories that will last generations.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
While I do not read too much, I do watch a lot of YouTube and some of the channels that helped guide me on many things were: Peter McKinnon, Jared Polin, Chris Hau, Lizzie Peirce, and Irene Rudnyk.

Along with Youtube, my brother has been a huge help in honing my craft. Along with him, a good artist friend, Josiah, has helped spark creativity and appreciation of art in the everyday life.

Pricing:

• 1hr session portraiture starts at $150
• Product photography starts at $130
• Weddings begin at $1.200

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kotography.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kotography_photos/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kotographyphotos/

Image Credits
Kotography