JK Wong is shaking up the world of photography. The Chinese-born, LA-based fashion photographer is not one who shies away from being bold or adding dramatic flair to her work.
Using photography to celebrate the female form and fashion, Wong loves exaggerated poses, euphoric expressions and saturated colors. She finds inspiration in models who feel elevated in garb that show women as playful, desirable and powerful.
Wong moved to the Pasadena area three years ago and works as a freelance photographer throughout California.
“I told my parents about eight years ago that I was going to move to America to pursue photography,” Wong said. “Well, I actually first knew I wanted to have something to do with fashion design, but then my mom encouraged me to look into pursuing media.”
After gathering some model friends for photos, Wong built her portfolio in hopes of becoming a professional photographer.
“Back then, I fell in love with this guy I had met through friends, and I wanted to capture moments of his life,” Wong said. “But if you look at my website now, with all the photos I’ve taken in my career, they’re all of women — I found them more interesting to photograph, down to the way they move their bodies in photos, to their fashion.”
One of Wong’s most prominent attributes to her photography is color. Back when she was studying at university about eight years ago, someone had given her the advice to purchase a reflector to add more color to a session. The one she ended up buying for $4 is something she still uses in almost every photoshoot.
“It’s so much easier than transporting around heavy, expensive lighting equipment that seems to break so easily,” Wong said. “I first dreamed of moving out to New York, but when I visited, the sky was so dark and gray. When I landed in Los Angeles, though, it was at sunset and I just knew how perfectly the light would complement my photos. I knew my future was here.”
To keep each photoshoot fresh, Wong typically doesn’t use the same model more than twice. In most of the stories she has depicted, Wong’s models are dressed as fairy tale characters like Alice or the Queen of Hearts from “Alice in Wonderland,” Barbie, Ex Machina, fairies, circus clowns and many more.
When reflecting on some of her most memorable shoots, JK shared the story behind “Alien Pilot,” where her first model, who was bald, was disrespecting a makeup artist and stylist on the set. After hearing this, Wong canceled the shoot but still wanted to use the idea she had prepared. After calling an agent, another model Wong had wanted was able to work on the idea for “Alien Pilot,” but with one problem.
“She had so much hair, I had no idea what to do,” Wong said. “Everything was so last minute, I asked the makeup artist if she was able to get a bald cap, and she did! Looking back at the photos, it’s one of my favorite photoshoots I’ve done.”
Before her photoshoot titled “Euphoria,” Wong felt it was a word that resonated most with the way she felt taking photos.
“I want to create and show a euphoric experience — it’s my favorite word and it’s the way I think about my art. It’s what I want to show the world,” Wong said.
Her whimsical and surreal imagery can also be seen in her featured publications like Vogue, covers of Harper’s Bazaar, L’Officiel, Playboy, Grazia, Glamour and many more.
