About Scott

Scott Kahn is a professional freelance photographer living in Wyckoff, NJ.

Scott's photography features editorial/lifestyle, commercial, fashion and documentary work. He shoots regularly for magazines, advertising agencies, major retailers, corporate clients, musicians/record labels and models. His fine art photography is shown and sold in galleries, and many images are available for licensing as stock.

Some of the many notable people photographed by Scott include former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Donald Trump, Pamela Anderson, James Earl Jones, Muhammad Ali, Sylvester Stalone, Steven King, Anne Rice, bands such as U2 and Dream Theater, and many more.

Common to Scott’s photographs are the use of strong colors and attention to image quality/details. His scenic photographs are not digitally manipulated or enhanced unnaturally. Scott is a photography purist, but one who embraces the convenience of digital photo editing. “I approach my shooting from the photojournalist perspective,” Scott explains. “I strive to capture a real scene that can be brought vividly to life through careful framing, perspective, and lighting.”

Having switched to digital photography from film over five years ago, issues of lighting and filters are mostly unchanged, but computer-based image editing (digital darkroom) provides greater opportunity to control colors in scenes. "Instead of having to decide which film to shoot a particular subject with in advance," explains Scott, "digital photography offers me the ability to make that decision after-the-fact and apply the desired colorization before printing. This kind of flexibility definitely beats having to carry a selection of different films in my camera bag."

In his fine art photography, Scott is more likely to make creative use of the digital darkroom for techniques such as hand-painting black and white images.

When not shooting assignments, the outdoors-loving Scott can be found hiking, biking, and skiing… with his photography equipment, of course! “While photo equipment backpacks are great for hiking with your equipment,” he explains, “I don’t recommend them while skiing. Twenty-five pounds of photo gear on your back can really throw your balance off!”

Scott is a member of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and Nikon Professional Services (NPS). He has a BSBA from the University of Arizona, 1992.

Comments from Scott

Thank you for taking time to review my online portfolio. I welcome all comments and critiques about the site -- photos you enjoy; photos you hate. I wish I could share with you the original photographs -- the online versions lose a lot of the details and color information found in the originals. I try to update the online galleries once per quarter, removing some old work and adding new images to keep things interesting.

I have been a photographer for the majority of my life but spent most of my career working in the world of Information Technology, shooting fine art and freelance work on the side. In 2002, I decided to pursue my creative interests full-time, and this on-line portfolio is a testiment to my success.

When not shooting pictures, you will find me playing and producing music or freelance writing.

About the Equipment

I currently shoot all of my photographs with Nikon professional digital cameras and lenses. In 2003, I switched from film (F100) to shooting digital (D1x), and in 2005 upgraded to the latest Nikon D2x in order to provide my clients and stock agency with even higher-resolution images. I shoot with a variety of Nikon lenses -- some fixed focal length lenses, some zooms. In my studio and on location, I rely on Paul C. Buff White Lightning strobes as well as some Photoflex continuous lighting products.

The photographs taken in Columbia were shot using my first 35mm camera -- a Minolta X-GM camera with Tamron lenses. Many of my older shots were taken with a Nikon FG body and Nikon Series E lenses prior to the F100 and newer Nikkor optics. Almost everything shot in 2003 and 2004 was captured on a Nikon D1x with Nikkor lenses, though some fashion images were taken with a Fuji S2 Pro.

Scott on the Internet

Scott's Favorite Links