Connect
To Top

Meet Ko Zushi of Ko Zushi Photography in San Fernando Valley

Avatar photo

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

Ko, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Japanese photographer, serving mostly my portrait and event clientele in Greater Los Angeles area.

My aesthetic for photography comes from Theatre and Cinema. Back in Japan, when I was a teenager, I was working as a film projection operator in a small art house cinema.

10 years ago, I came to Los Angeles to get involve in the film-makings. When I got in the school, (Cal State, university Northridge) I fell in love with the world of drama and acting. After 4 years, me and my wife (My girlfriend at the time) who were also in the theatre dept. graduated with theatre arts degree together. After the school is over, she and I created our own theatre company, named Ghost Players Theatre Co. and have been producing stage productions of drama and Shakespeare in North Hollywood community theaters a couple of times a year. In earlier period, we and couple of actor friends had nothing but passion and started this small company from a scratch. Through those years, many people came and left and we’ve experienced a number of financial struggles and hardship of managing the actors and crews with me and my wife alone.

Photography to me always has been the secret passion of mine and it was mostly the means to promote and preserve those intense years of creativity.

Skip to the last two years, I had met several photography mentors through my community. I have been shooting portrait for my clientele ever since and also shooting streets and events to horn my skill as a photojournalist.

Has it been a smooth road?
The early years of producing stage performances in Ghost Players was just crazy, we had no idea about renting our own rehearsal/performance space nor did we have any access to the reliable actors who are willing to commit to act in the play for such small unknown theatre group like us. We had nothing but passion and the desire to create in our own rented space paid by our own money we raised together. We have gone through tons of creative blocks and financial crisis (and we still do!) over these years. As a result, our theatre company went on hiatus due to the bankruptcy two years ago!

On contrary, the time does not seem to discourage our persistence. From then until now, we focused on working the day jobs and strove for the financial stability for ourselves. My wife teaches a part-time for the high school drama students now, and I have developed some clientele with my family’s support and I have established a little bit as a professional photographer—we are almost there to the point we could restart the Ghost Players again. The next year’s spring, we planned to give the theatre company a comeback stage production of Shakespeare.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Ko Zushi Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a portrait photographer derived from theatre arts. Ko Zushi Photography is capable of not only the service of doing a portrait session but wide range of services including, Wedding, family portrait, lifestyle, and performing arts events. I shoot people in the event in the photo-journalistic style (or you might simply say “candid” moment which is the true moment of life. I have been photographing actors onstage for over decade. Now, my trained eyes for anticipation and reflex to capture those critical moments give me the edge in those event photography.

Every shot I take has its own dramatic story, even in the anticipated headshot or portrait. I understand the light and its effect on people. Conducting a portrait session should be a revelating experience for the client. Most people are wearing armors around their vulnerability, which is the true beauty of their souls. In the portrait session, it is my task to undo their natural habits. When I’m working with the client in portrait session, I’d be in the same state of mind as I am directing the actors on stage. No other photographers but I have this approach in the photo-shoot session.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Photography trends in our time are obvious one. Everyone wants a “sharp” and “stunning” image. High-megapixel files are automatically considered high quality.

“Properly exposed” image is considered professionally done by general people. As you know everything is in digital and the your “masterpiece” must be shared immediately in the social media….

Nevertheless I predict in the next 5-10 years, that type of photography service would be tired.

Why? because those supposedly amazing photos will be available to EVERYONE with iPhone that has the amazing digital technology of camera and post-processing apps. It would not take a professional photographer to take a “sharp” and “stunning” image. One of my photographer mentors once told me, “If you are doing what everyone wants you to do, you will end up becoming just like everyone else.” It is, of course, important to acknowledge the trend and be capable of providing those trends in the service, but a true photographer will take his/her craft to something beyond that.

Soon, the true value of photography will be realized a little by little. You will enjoy the fast and easy ways of snapping and mindlessly sharing those digital photos in the FB and IG but when you want to look back to see the specific image in 50 years or even over 100 years for your grandchildren to see, FB might not be available for you anymore….

Oh, you will have your hard drive? Well, is the USB3 cable going be present in next 100 years? Besides, it would be so tiresome to find the specific image you loved because you “snapped” the photos in so many digital files when you don’t have to worry about running out your films like old days. on top of that we do not make any print of our photos anymore because everything has to be immediately shared digitally.

The true value of photography lies not within the development of camera technology nor the “photographer skills” but with the feeling and sensitivity of the photographer who captures those beautiful moments and how long that specific photo can be retained and be available to the viewers in the future….

I strongly believe good photographer can understand that essential value of photography and conduct the service in his/her own unique way. For Ko Zushi Photography, it is the dramatic and true style that add my photography service unique.

Pricing:

  • $350 Portrait/Headshot Session – 3hrs of session with 3 retouched images guaranteed.
  • $350 Lifestyle/Event Photography – 3hrs of session with more than 10 minimally processed images guaranteed.
  • $1,500 Wedding Photography 1. and up. Shooting the day of the wedding and original digital files will be provided. *** Prints will be available upon request with a additional fee.
  • $2495 Wedding Photography 2. – Wedding + Free engagement session digital files of all the photos taken + a set of prints for the engagement photo AND a Classic coffee table Wedding Book

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Kohtaroh Zushi, 2017

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in