In sultry weather, CAH got to go to the photographer’s studio, Park View, to meet famous photographer Park Sang-hoon. In the entrance of his photo atelier, there were portraitures of celebrities from inside and outside the country. He is one of the best artistic photographers in Korea. Compared to his fame, he was an affable person. With an outstanding ability for photography, he has taken pictures of three presidents.

CAH: You photographed former President Kim Dae-jung for his picture to be displayed at the Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Hall, Oslo, Norway. How was it photographing the President?

Park: Photographing former President Kim Dae-jung was my first political photograph. When Kim Dae-jung and his wife Lee Hee-ho visited the Nobel Peace Prize Memorial Hall, there was a picture of Kim Dae-jung, which made him look indisposed. Madam Lee was so disappointed and asked him to take a better picture. The photograph I took of Kim Dae-jung made him look more genial and comfortable. Kim Dae-jung and Lee Hee-ho were both content with the new photo.

After President Kim Dae-jung, he took pictures of two other politicians for their presidential election campaign. Campaign posters in a presidential race play an important role in giving publicity to electors. Candidates can take the stump in four hours instead of taking photographs for their posters. Even so, they readily invest time in preparing their campaign posters. It means that selecting a photographer, who knows how to take photographs for posters, is also an important thing. So he exerts all possible effort to get good shots.

He tends to keep away from focusing on photographic alteration skills or artificial expressions in pictures and focuses on special features, which can release an image of the object effectively. This characteristic of his art is shown clearly through the campaign poster of former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2002. He could have erased fine wrinkles, gray hair and the cracked lips of Roh in the process of retouching, but he did not. He wanted to show Roh’s appearances to the common people.

The photograph of President Lee Myung-bak shows his talent as a portrait photographer. As he said, Lee is not very photogenic. Additionally, he was not confident about his smile because of his small eyes. However, the smile he wears in his campaign photo looks unceremonious and decent. Park said to the president, “Suppose this photography is not for your campaign, but is of you after you win the election.” Therefore, Lee could make a good smile. The picture was successful because the strong point was to stress that the weaknesses became imperceptible.

CAH: People speak of you as one of the best portrait photographers in Korea. What do you think the most important thing is to take a good portraiture?

Park: Not only in portrait photos, but also in whatever you photograph, you need to have an inclination for the subject you are taking pictures of to get a good photo. Therefore, a portrait photographer who likes people becomes more talented to take a good picture of people. As one of the best photographers, I personally love to meet others and to talk to people.

In addition, what a photographer has to do is to make a smooth mood for the subject. There will be only poor photos without a comfortable atmosphere. It is the person to be pictured, who feels awkward in front of the camera. So easing a person’s mind is also an important ability of a professional photographer. In the case of portrait photos, the facial expression of a subject is the principal element of the product.

Park Sang-hoon is an illustrious photographer. His fame mainly rests on his artistic portraitures. However, he says portrait photography is the most difficult shot. This does not mean that a landscape picture is easy to take. However, portrait photography can be too subjective, so it makes portraitures more difficult. Unlike scenery or still life pictures, an artist is not able to photograph people for a long time or at any time, he wants. Especially in the case of well-known people, there is only one chance to meet them. In addition, the photographer needs to take care of their time taking.

He says intuition is a key to successful photography. An instant decision is often the way of photographing. He says when he meets someone for the first time; he can sense the main point to emphasis. There is a common idea that the more a photographer is familiar with an object, the better the picture comes out. Then a subject can feel comfortable. However, the common idea is not always true according to his experiences. He has taken many pictures of people, but most of them were taken when they were photographed at the first meeting. It is thanks to his intuitive power many people get their best photos.

It can also be seen as charisma. Thanks to that, people can trust him and give their natural look. The objective of using his charisma is to make his photographs faithfully. For this reason, he regards his intuitive power and charisma as his gift.

CAH asked him the reason why he decided to be a professional photographer. He likes traveling, but when he was first getting started in the field of photograph, going abroad was a very rare and a special thing. Therefore, at first, he wanted to be a newspaper photojournalist with some sort of hope to travel abroad. Then after entering the department of photography, he thought photography was his whole life’s work. Of course, studing his favorite subject was interesting, he said spontaneously he was a very faithful student. He looked so happy with his choice of occupation.

As an alumnus of CAU, he feels something less than to be desired in students today. They are certainly clever and brainy. However, they lack passion or enthusiasm. He said he succeeded in photography because he had such a big passion for photography, not just because of his capability. Of course, an artistic genius is important, but to be a great artist, the passion is the key to achievement.

CAH: What is the ultimate goal of your career - photography?
Park: I photograph mostly famous people in Korea. However, I am not satisfied with that. My ultimate goal as a photographer is far and high from me now. To work with world class professionals and to release my photographs to the whole world is my aim.