Get to Know the Photographer: Kaiwen Luan

MODA Blog is lucky to work with a group of talented photographers, and today, we want to feature one of them: Kaiwen Luan.

Tell us a little about yourself!

I'm Kai, 4th year Biology major. I've recently gotten in cycling but other passions include photography (of course), cars, and martial arts.

Why did you pick up photography?

I started photography seriously when I was a freshman in high school. I like taking pictures of beautiful things. I think it's great to be able to show other people the beautiful things you've seen and being able to record memories like that.

What are some of your favorite things to shoot?

I started with bird/animal photography so they're still my favorite thing to shoot. Everytime you go out on a trip, you have a rough idea of which animals you'll spot so it's kind of like playing the lottery. You never know if you'll spot an owl perched in a tree or a heron in the water.

Any advice to students trying to get into photography?

I would just pick up any camera and start playing around with it. Learning the trinity is one of the first things I would do (shutter speed, iso, and aperture). Even on your phone, there are apps that will let you control those settings. You don't need an expensive DSLR to take great pictures. If you go to the Hyde Park Art Show in June, some of those photographers have photos from point and shoots on sale.

Check out more of his work here.