User:Christineaugustus/sandbox

Kevin Christopher Ou (born March 4, 1979) is an American celebrity director /photographer originally from Singapore. He is the sole founder of KEVINOU, INC the co-founder of Modern Home + Living (MH+L) and founder of The Lumenere Group. .His photographs have been published in Rolling Stone, Nylon, Elle, DUB, People, Surface,Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, Lego, BMW and General Motors.

Early life
Attended St. Joseph’s Institution (1991). Attended Catholic Junior College (1997). Attended Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Mass Communications) (1999). Ou left Singapore after being "turned away" from a photography class. He moved to Los Angeles in 2000 and after obtaining a mass communications diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic he studied photography at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California and graduated in 2004. After graduation from the Art Center College Of Design, Kevin worked as a photographer on national advertising campaigns for a number of automobile manufacturers. After shooting cover photos for Dub magazine he began to accumulate celebrities, music artists and actors as clients. Since then he has photographed Nick Cannon, Ludacris, Mariah Carey, P Diddy, Elijah Wood and 50 Cent. Ou co-founded the celebrity home and lifestyle magazine, Modern Home + Living. Ou was named one of the top 10 most influential U.S. photographers in 2009 by Hayo Magazine.

Education
Kevin has given educational talks on behalf of Canon and Leica. Kevin is also in demand as a guest lecturer at the La Salle College of Art. Kevin actively supports the mentorship program under the National Arts Council (Singapore), taking young Photographers under his wing. Kevin is also an educational judge at CMYK Magazine (USA). 2014 – Kevin mentors an entrepreneur circle in his talk for CREATIVEMORNINGS (Singapore)

Professional Career
2002 – Founded KEVIN, INC. in Hollywood, California. A production company shooting a mixture of actors, musicians, entertainers, and athletes, including Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Alice Cooper, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Miss Universe 2012,David Guetta, Chris Brown, Floyd Mayweather Jr. ,Nick Cannon, Ludacris, Elijah Wood, and 50 Cent.

2005 – Co-Founded Four9Seven Creatives with fellow photographer, Stephen Dummit in Pasadena, California. A talent management company representing commercial photographers and designers. Ou’s shares of Four9Seven was eventually sold off for an undisclosed sum in 2008.

2008 – Co-Founded The Forum Agency, a strategic marketing agency for celebrity branding.

2009 - Co-founded the celebrity home and lifestyle magazine, Modern Home + Living with the founder of DUB Magazine, Herman Flores and Creative Director of WeAreAnyone, Stephen Chavez MH+L was a visual spectacle that offers exclusive access to the very best in celebrity homes and designs.

2012 - Kevin is currently working on his latest venture, THE LUMENERE GROUP, a Celebrity Marketing firm with offices in the United States and Asia. Specializing in celebrity endorsement and booking, THE LUMENERE GROUP's Access Division finances Hollywood Blockbuster films.

Articles Published

 * 9 Smart Habits of Millionaire Entrepreneurs
 * Scene Asia
 * Hayo Magazine

Awards

 * 2005 – American Photographers Association (APA) National Award
 * 2006 - Microsoft ProPhotographer award
 * 2006 – ALTPICK Awards
 * 2007 - American Photo “Images of the Year” Award 2007
 * 2007 – ASMP IMAGE07 Award
 * 2008 - Luezer’s Archive Featurette
 * 2009 – CreativeUSA: 10 most influential photographers in the United States Distributed in over 70 countries and in 6 languages.
 * 2014 – Grey Goose Guild – Visionary Award

Exhibitions
Kevin has also had multiple gallery shows in New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Thailand.One of them was A Leica Photography Exhibition.

Television
In 2008, Kevin ventured into the world of TV. Kevin has been featured in several TV shows including:
 * Playboy’s The Girls Next Door Ryan Sheckler. Life of Ryan:
 * Kat Von D: L.A. Ink
 * Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker
 * Nikon: The Big Shot.
 * Canon: Photo Face Off.
 * Asia’s Next Top Model.
 * SupermodelMe
 * P. Diddy's Starmaker

Philanthropy/Charity
Kevin is known as one of the biggest philanthropists of photography because he generously gave time, skills and money to help others. Kevin has partnered with several causes and celebrities over the years.
 * 2008 – American Red Cross.


 * 2009 – James Cameron Foundation (MUSE Elementary)


 * 2010 – David Lynch’s Music Foundation.


 * 2011 - Founded the Because we are One campaign with the Red Cross, which benefits victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Ou photographed popular Asian’s celebrities for a photography driven fund raiser. Resulting images were printed on limited edition EZ Link train-cards that were released nation wide.


 * WeareoneSG (Fundraiser):


 * WeareoneSG (EZ Link Cards):


 * WeareoneSG: Singapore Red Cross:


 * 2012 – Global Clinic


 * 2014: Photographer in Chief of ANCHORA, a fair-trade Jewelry company.