After college Mr Shung came to New York to become a photographer. His first job was spotting Irving Penn's Platinum prints in Mr Penn's Studio at 100 Fifth ave. He need more income so He began to assist other photographers like Alen MacWeeney and Bill King along with a handful of Fashion Photograhers. I got the job to assist Annie Liebovitz for the Summer while she was at Rolling Stone Magazine and this was a valuable and exhausting experience. Not wanting to be influenced to copy either Mr Penn or Annie Liebovitz Mr Shung began to try to find my own way of shooting without imitating them directly. I have been warming up for all these years and continue to strive for what makes a good portrait or a good image. He hopes that his work has its own look and style to it along with a signature that people can recognize when they see his images. Ken Shung was born in manhatten is known among New Yorks top Photographers who has spirited a portrait style in black and white of editorial subjects,celebrity and landscapes, with his polaroid portraits and images in magazines. He set the style of BxW polaroid negatives portraits in 1989 with his regular work in the early publication of 7 days magazine, New York Magazine, along with his award winning images in Select Magazine. Mr. Shung has been published internationally and alongside in numerous national magazines including Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine, Interview, GQ, Discover, Money, Fortune, More , New York Magazine ,Mirabella and Vanity Fair. He has exhibited as one in three finalist for the Dupont Fellowship at the Art Institute of Boston and has curated a exhibition on Food in Hudson , N.Y.
Along with a co author has published a book on Adoption called 'BE MY BABY, parents and children talk about Adoption on Artisan / Workman Press.
Mr. Shung was nominated in American Photographers magazine" New Faces 1989 in Fashion", along with a distinctive merit award in Advertising Photographers of America awards book Vol.2, Photo District News/ Nikon self promotion awards in 1989,1991, and an Art Directors Club Award shared with Duane Michals for the Mass Mutual Insurance campaign.
His Lingerie for Wacoal America has defined its brand for the past decade and
His Ads are in the current Issues of Oprah, Glamour, Instyle and Marie Claire, Sept and Oct 2006.
His work was purchased by the Beyealer Museum at Art Basel Switzerland and has sold at Miami basel 2010.
a one person exhibition at the New York Public Library in March 2011 and at the Art Space , Germantown N.Y in 2011.
He currently is a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and continues to shoot for Exhibitions, Books , Editorial and Advertising.
Mr Shung is quoted : "...I will shoot anything that interest me and that i think will lead me closer to making the next great image. I hope to shoot for another 30 years and that is why i am still emerging after all these years. I hope the judges feel this way about my work and can find it in their hearts to consider my work to be the best of what it is that defines great photography to this day. pure and simple and not trendy or gimmicky or eye candy of the moment. Images that touch the heart...."
