🔥 Here’s your step-by-step guide to shooting like Eric Kim, whether you’ve got a Ricoh GR IV, a DSLR, or just your iPhone:
1. Go Monochrome, Go Contrast
- Set your camera (or phone app) to black & white high contrast mode.
- Expose for highlights so shadows crush into black.
- Think ink brush painting: bold strokes, not gray mush.
2. Work Wide & Close
- Use a 28 mm equivalent (on phone: turn off zoom, get physically closer).
- Distance: arm’s length or less.
- Rule: if you feel too close, you’re probably just right.
3. Hunt for Harsh Light
- Shoot at noon or in cities with hard edges.
- Place subjects where light slashes against shadow.
- Let buildings, poles, and windows become your geometry.
4. Compose with Simplicity
- One subject, one gesture, one moment.
- Eliminate clutter—empty walls, dark backgrounds, silhouettes.
- Use negative space like silence in music: it amplifies the note.
5. Be Bold & Candid
- Don’t ask permission, move with presence.
- Anticipate gestures: hands rising, glances turning, steps about to cross.
- Accept blur, tilt, imperfection—they add vitality.
6. Always Be Ready
- Keep your camera in pocket or hand at all times.
- Pre-focus (Ricoh’s “Snap Focus” or phone tap-to-lock).
- Shoot quick, shoot lots. The decisive moment doesn’t wait.
✅ Eric Kim Formula in One Line:
Light + Shadow + Proximity + Boldness = Street Energy.
Do you want me to design this into a visual cheat sheet / poster (with diagrams + mini photo examples) so you can keep it as a pocket guide when you shoot?
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Cool — here are four strong examples of Eric Kim’s work. Let’s dig into them and see how his style plays out in action — the light, framing, subject dynamics, and emotional pull.
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🔍 Visual Breakdown & Annotations
Photo What strikes you (light, shadow, subject) Composition & framing choices Emotional / visual tension
Top-left Very stark contrast. The subject’s face and figure emerge from the darkness, almost like a silhouette against a bright backdrop. The subject is off-center, walking into negative space. The background is minimal — no busy clutter competing. A sense of isolation, anonymity. You feel the motion of someone moving through, almost ghost-like.
Top-right Intense side light casting strong shadows. The subject’s profile is half in light, half in shadow. The subject is placed to the side; the shadowed side overlaps dark negative space. Strong diagonal edges in the frame. The duality of light and shadow gives emotional weight — the seen and unseen, the known and unknown.
Bottom-left Very bold contrast. The subject’s face (in foreground) cuts sharply against a lighter background. Close in, tightly cropped. The frame is intimate — background figures are small, almost secondary. The tension is between the immediate subject and the faint humanity behind. There’s a sense of deep observation.
Bottom-right Dramatic. The subject’s face is soft, but behind, an eye peers through a gap. The play of foreground and background intrigues. Layered composition: foreground face, background eye. Deep depth with overlapping planes. Mystery, confrontation. You feel watched; you feel both voyeur and participant.
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🎯 What These Show About His Style (Reaffirmed)
1. Mastery of contrast & tonal drama
In all these shots, light and shadow are treated as subjects themselves. He uses the extremes of black and white to simplify what’s essential, heightening emotional impact.
2. Close, gutsy proximity
He doesn’t stand far and isolate subjects. He pulls in close, crops tightly, embraces partial faces, overlays bodies and eyes. It’s as if he’s in the scene, not behind it.
3. Layering & depth
Notice how some images have multiple planes — foreground, midground, background — to add tension and narrative complexity. That “eye behind” shot (bottom-right) is a classic: two stories in one frame.
4. Strong negative / empty space
He uses emptiness to amplify his subject. The minimal background prevents distraction; it highlights where the eye should go.
5. Emotive tension & ambiguity
You rarely feel “safe” or “predictable” in his images. The viewer is drawn into a question: Who is this? What is happening? What’s unseen?
6. Graphic / geometric influence
Lines, edges, diagonals, architectural elements — they appear as compositional scaffolding or mood-setters, not mere backdrops.
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If you like, I can annotate one of these images with lines, light zones, and compositional guides (so you can see how he visualizes it). Want me to mark up one image and send you the annotated version?
1. High-Contrast Black & White
- Eric often favors monochrome, high-contrast output, usually straight out of camera (especially Ricoh GR’s “high contrast B&W JPEG” mode).
- This creates graphic, punchy compositions where shapes, silhouettes, and light dominate over tonal subtlety.
- His choice reflects his philosophy: strip away distraction, reveal essence.
2. Wide-Angle, Up Close
- He uses the 28 mm lens on Ricoh GRs as his default view of the world.
- This forces him to move his body into the scene, creating photos that feel immersive, intimate, and dynamic.
- Often the subject feels just within arm’s reach—his “get close” ethos in practice.
3. Candid Street Energy
- His best-known works are candid street photographs, catching fleeting gestures, faces in shadow, or strangers mid-stride.
- Style is raw, spontaneous, and sometimes confrontational—never over-composed or staged.
- He embraces “imperfection” (blur, grain, tilt) as part of vitality.
4. Strong Shadows, Bold Geometry
- He hunts for harsh light and uses it to sculpt scenes: deep shadows, glowing highlights, crisp lines.
- Architecture and urban environments often act as backdrops of strong geometry, with humans as figures cutting across.
5. Philosophical Simplicity
- His mantra is “one camera, one lens.”
- His photos mirror this: simple tools, direct compositions, no gimmicks.
- He emphasizes discipline and consistency over novelty—his body of work feels cohesive and instantly recognizable.
✅ Summary: Eric Kim’s photo style = high-contrast black & white street photography, shot wide and close, with raw candid energy and bold light/shadow geometry. His philosophy of simplicity and presence shapes both the look and feel of his work.
Do you want me to pull actual image examples of his work and annotate them visually (highlighting light, composition, subject positioning)?