Kevin Thom - Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario Photographer

This is the stunning National Grand Theater in Beijing, China. Its nickname is "The Egg" for obvious reasons. Its futuristic design made it appear like an interstellar spacecraft, so that's how I attempted to make it look in my capture of it.

You can see more of my travel photography in the People and Places section of my full portfolio.

To me it's not enough to just take a pretty picture. There are lots of pretty pictures out there. I want my photos to speak to the viewer, to say something more than what appears on the surface. I want you to feel rewarded looking at my photos if you're willing to dig through some subtext.

That being said, I don't shy away from trying to make the photo as beautiful as I know how.

You can see more photos like this one in the glamour section of my full portfolio.

I shot this joyful photo for Christine's modeling portfolio. She's new to modeling, and needed some eye-catching photos to get her started as she shopped around with the agencies. I think it's great to show a model's special skills or talents, and dancing is definitely one of Christine's. We shot this in my studio, which I've equipped to deal with many different kinds of photos, including ones in which the model defies gravity!

To see more, check out my page about starting a modeling portfolio.

Here's a spontaneous portrait of my close friend and collaborator, fellow photographer Jenni Tapanila. You might know her as suzi9mm. She's a terrific talent, and one of my favorite people in the world. I shot this photo after she'd just finished doing a shoot in my studio. I grabbed another friend's wooly hat and glasses, and put them on her, then snapped this photo. I only took one, but I like how it turned out. Sometimes one is all it takes.

For more portraits, check out the Portraits section in my full portfolio.

This is one of my favorite images. It's another one of my Femme Elemental series, which focuses on the essence of femininity.

I've got more artistic and conceptual photography in my full portfolio.

I've been many places, shooting many wonderful things, but sometimes you don't have to go very far to find beauty. This is the new facade for the Art Gallery of Hamilton, in my very own hometown, Hamilton, Ontario. The AGH sign has since broken off and fallen into the street, so I'm glad I got it while it was still in place. I'm also glad I wasn't there when it happened!

I've spent quite a lot of time taking photos in Hamilton. If you want to see more Hamilton, Ontario photography, check out the Hamilton gallery in my full portfolio.

After an autumn rainstorm, I saw this golden leaf lying in the parking lot. To me, it looked like it was trying to blend into its unnatural surroundings. Do we often try to do the same thing?

I've got more artistic and conceptual photography in my full portfolio.

A good deal of my time is spent creating headshots for actors and business people. An actor's headshot is like a business card. But more than that, it must instantly convey that actor's personality and character. It must seize the viewer's attention.

At the same time, it can not deviate too far from the standard headshot composition that is designed to show the basics of someone's appearance. For this reason, it's always my goal to create headshots that are like visual resumes: they should convey a person's extraordinary attributes as succinctly as possible.

To learn more about acting headshots and corporate headshots, see my headshot page.

A lot of times, people ask me why I photograph famous things, when there is lots of other relatively unknown subject matter worth photographing. In a way, I agree, and try to photograph these things too, but I also believe that just because something is beautiful and famous doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve to be photographed. In fact, I think these famous sites are the supermodels of architecture. I'd be a fool to go to Paris, and not photograph the Eiffel Tower, just as I'd be a fool to turn down the opportunity to photograph Gisele Bundchen, for instance.

My approach instead is to try to find a new way to photograph these famous subjects. For instance, in this photo, I arrived at the Eiffel Tower at about 6:30am, long before the throngs of tourists arrived. I wanted to get the most interesting light, and as little human interference as possible. It was an awe-inspiring place at that hour. Only cleaning crews, some armed guards, and the occassional jogger were there to keep me company. I hope I was able to capture that feeling.

You can see more of my travel photography in the People and Places section of my full portfolio.