Senior Kevin Phung was shooting an RUHS football game at the field when he was approached by former NBA and Lakers player Russel Westbrook, asking to schedule a photoshoot with Phung as the photographer. This was just the gateway for many future opportunities for Phung—and it would not be the only time Phung shot for a celebrity.
“It didn’t hit me until a week later. My friend was like, ‘Dude, you know Russell Westbrook?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ He’s like, ‘He’s been my favorite basketball player since I was a kid.’ I kind of just laughed at him, [but] yeah, it’s a lot to take in,” Phung said.
Phung’s consistent involvement in the photography industry has given him multiple opportunities to meet and shoot for several celebrities and influencers including Will Ferrell, Kai Cenat, the Weeknd, Michael B. Jordan and Jimmie Siminoff.
“Seeing them in person was genuinely like seeing a unicorn,” Phung said. “They’re really famous celebrities, and I’ve watched their movies through a movie screen. I wouldn’t really imagine seeing them in front of me where I can [shake their hands]. All of them were really welcoming. They really liked the photography. They congratulated me on making it this far.”
According to Phung, connections are a crucial part of freelance photography. Since starting his photography business in his sophomore year, Phung has molded his hobby into a profession through building relations with others, which he found challenging because of the expectations attached to his business. Phung began by building his credibility and portfolio among the RUHS sports coaches as well as coaches from different schools by continually attending and photographing the games and in turn, allowing his business to gain traction.
“It’s really hard to start your own photography business because, first of all, you need people that know you. You can’t just go to a school and expect them to let you in because you also need to connect with coaches, the admin [and] athletic directors,” Phung said. “Even then, if you don’t know anyone, you won’t have work to present [to] them, they won’t tell you the [game] schedule, you don’t know when to come [and] you don’t know what days.”
Phung’s girlfriend—senior Charlene Elam—has supported Phung on his photography journey since day one. Having a background in photography as well, Elam acts as both Phung’s number one supporter and an adviser.
“When you talk to [Phung], he’s an extrovert, but he stays to himself. He doesn’t reach [out] to people, so he had to go outside of his personal boundaries [for photography]. I’m proud of him because personally, he pushed himself both photography and business wise to talk to new people, to make connections because those are necessary for any sort of business and he pushed himself to study to edit [photos],” said Elam.
Meeting Phung in sophomore year, Elam had a front-row seat to Phung’s growth as a photographer and the growth of his business from the first time he held a camera to him scheduling photoshoots with big names such as Westbrook.
“It’s hard to go from the ground up with [photography], especially being a high schooler […] He learned how to use a camera while developing his business and that’s really difficult for someone to do,” Elam said. “But he came into this business without experience and he [gained] experience on the fly. That’s what makes his story super unique as a success story because he learned all about how to manage his business and how to manage photography at the same time.”
One of Phung’s favorite aspects of photography are the people he meets, from locals to out-of-state celebrities. Through his business, Phung was exposed to the RUHS community, including PTSA and students.
“I enjoy [photography] a lot. It makes people happy [and] parents love it. [Photography] creates so many deep memories about their kids’ high school career,” Phung said. “Especially now that I’m a senior and I have senior friends that are in many sports, I get to take pictures for their parents and they love it. I get to [memorialize] their senior year.”
