Kevin Ou

Kevin Christopher Ou (born March 4, 1979) is an American celebrity director / photographer / entrepreneur / investor 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 and Catlyst/TV. His photographs have been published in Rolling Stone, Nylon, Elle, DUB, People, Surface, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly with clients like Levi’s, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, H&M, Uniqlo, Lego, BMW and General Motors.

Attended St. Joseph’s Institution International (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 and Art 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. Kevin began as an intern for Los Angeles-based photographers David LaChapelle and Jill Greenberg. Ou then co-founded the celebrity home and lifestyle brand magazine, Modern Home + Living. Ou was named one of the top 10 most influential U.S. photographers in 2009 by Creative USA.

Kevin has given educational talks on behalf of Canon and Leica. Kevin is also in demand as a guest lecturer at the Art Institutions Globally. 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 (United States). 2014 – Kevin mentors an entrepreneur circle in his talk for CREATIVEMORNINGS (Singapore)

2002 – Founded KEVINOU, 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 started, 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 Venture Division finances Hollywood Blockbuster films.

2015 – Kevin is currently working on his latest venture, CATLYST/TV as part of a co-venture with BlinkAsia. CATLYST/TV an independent Consulting & Development agency focused on entertainment formats in both traditional and digital media sectors.

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

• "9 Smart Habits of Real Millionaire Entrepreneurs". Mr Tycoon. October 28, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "Why Luck Matters In Photography". Wall Street Journal. May 11, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "A Day in Singapore with a Celebrity Photographer". Hayo Magazine. August 18, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 

• 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

• "An Interview with Kevin Ou". Chad Neuman. May 15, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Contest Winners". Nepal Photography. April 28, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "2005 Altpick Awards Entries - "Amber Podratz Portrait"". Altpick. December 18, 2005. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "2007 Altpick Awards Entries - "Irresistable"". Altpick. December 15, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "Images of the Year Award 2007". American Photo Special Issue. February 19, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "American Society of Media Photographers Award" (PDF). American Society of Media Photographers. January 26, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "IMAGE07 WINNERS: Student Category". American Society of Media Photographers. January 26, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "Luezer's Archive Featurette". Art Center College Of Design, Pasadena. October 12, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• Clyde Smith (May 1, 2009). "Kevin Ou Appears On Bravo TV". Hip Hop Press. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• Sara Jane Ong (November 19, 2013). "Be part of the Grey Goose Guild Iconoclass and Gala events". Her World Plus. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 
• "The Grey Goose Guild Visionary Programme". Esquire Singapore. November 20, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2014. 

Kevin has also had 12 gallery shows in New York, Los Angeles, Singapore and Thailand. One of them was A Leica Photography Exhibition. His Art Pieces traditionally fetch around USD $25,000 – $60,000 on the open market.

In 2008, Kevin ventured into the world of TV. Kevin has been featured in several TV shows including:

• Ryan Sheckler. Life of Ryan:
• Kat Von D: L.A. Ink
• Playboy’s The Girls Next Door
• Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker
• Nikon: The Big Shot.
• Canon: Photo Face Off.
• Asia’s Next Top Model.
• SupermodelMe
• MTV/P. Diddy's Starmaker

• "Life of Ryan". MTV. December 19, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "kat-von-d-high-voltage-tattoo". Kat Von D High Voltage Tattoo. December 23, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• Kristie Bertucci (April 22, 2008). "The Girl Next Door". Dub Magazine. Retrieved February 8, 2015. 
• "The Millionaire Matchmaker - Season 2". Blogspot. February 17, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2013. 
• "Episode 11: Farrah & Kevin". Bravo. April 30, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2013. 
• "Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker". Hollywood. January 22, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• James Fuller (May 1, 2009). "Kevin Ou appears on Bravo Tvs". Global Grind. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "The Big Shot". Facebook. November 1, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "History Asia Shows". History Asia. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 

Kevin is known as one of the biggest philanthropists of media/ 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 Tohoku 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 nationwide.
• WeareoneSG (Fundraiser):
• WeareoneSG (EZ Link Cards):
• WeareoneSG: Singapore Red Cross:
• 2012 – Global Clinic
• 2014: Photographer in Chief of ANCHORA, a fair-trade Jewelry company.

• "American Red Cross". The Lumenere Foundation. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "Muse James Cameron". The Lumenere Foundation. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "David Lynch's Music Foundation". The Lumenere Foundation. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• Soh, Joanne (April 22, 2011). "Fiona Xie models for charity campaign". The New Paper. Retrieved June 2, 2012. 
• "Because We are One". Juice Singapore. April 14, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "Falconiere-x-Carte-Blanche-x". Carteblanche-x. April 14, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "MCM Alumni fundraiser for Japan". NGEE ANN Polytechnic. October 17, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015. 
• "Photographer Kevin Ou". Anchora Team. Retrieved January 24, 2015.