Khanh Phan strives to promote Vietnam through photos

At the 2025 International Photography Festival that just closed on November 30 in Ho Chi Minh City, Khanh Phan was a speaker who brought a message of inspiration to domestic photographers to actively submit photos to participate in annual international photo contests. Because according to Khanh Phan: “One click, one photograph can completely change a photographer's life, help them become famous, and the image can be used forever. Some of my photos have been published dozens of times in world magazines, limited editions have been ordered by customers at high prices and have fans everywhere! Winning an award is an opportunity for you to shine your personal brand on a global level, learn and interact with leading international colleagues, bringing in a source of income to compensate for the effort and cost of taking photos."

PROMOTIONAL IMAGES OF THE BEAUTY OF HOMETOWN

* Your beautiful works have a strong value in promoting the beauty of Vietnam and its people. How can we effectively promote our country through images?

- “A picture is worth a thousand words” - photography has always played an important role in promoting the landscape, culture, cuisine , etc. of a country. Nowadays, social networking platforms are developing strongly around the world, helping images spread very quickly with millions of views and thousands of shares. Viewers enjoy the photos and are also motivated and inspired to travel and explore.

Taking pictures and popularizing beautiful moments has become the mission of photographers. In Vietnam, the genre of landscape, travel , culture and people photography has been developing strongly thanks to two factors: Vietnam has a beautiful natural landscape of "golden forests, silver seas", a diverse and long-standing culture that is a treasure trove of precious materials for photography; next is the community of photographers and content creators that is exploding in both quantity and quality and they all love to exploit the above "precious materials".

Picking Water Lilies - a prominent work by Khanh Phan.

* Behind many award-winning photos are elaborate photo trips?

- Yes. Like my recent trip to Cao Bang, Ha Giang in the fall of 2025 was truly a challenging trip due to storms and dangerous landslides along the way. In return, I admired the breathtakingly beautiful nature of the Northeast - Northwest region of Vietnam. All my emotions seemed to burst before the magic of our country's nature.

Once, when I took a photo of Children dancing with gongs (Golden Award Tokyo International Prize 2020), I was deeply moved when I saw through the lens of the Central Highlands children - "children of the great forest" - young but dancing like professional dancers. I was mesmerized by the skillful dance of the children combined with the sound of gongs, drums, wind and mountains.

I have also been to Northern Europe, traveling in harsh snowstorms to photograph the enchanting and challenging Lofoten Islands (Norway). Hunting for the aurora borealis in the middle of the cold night is an unforgettable priceless experience. Despite my exhaustion, I was rewarded with a stunning collection of photos of the icy Lofoten region.

Khanh Phan (born in 1985) has a Master's degree in banking and finance, is the winner of the Sony World Photography Awards 2019 and 2021; Gold Medal of the Vietnam Youth Photo Festival 2019... She currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, has had her photos published in nearly 100 domestic and international magazines.

THE ART OF CREATING AND DIRECTING

* Why are you attached to the stage photography genre, which involves arranging characters, props, landscapes, etc. to create photos according to the photographer's intentions?

- Stage photography - the genre I pursue is popular in many Asian countries (Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Myanmar...) and is also a favorite school of many Western professional photographers, very popular for printing high-quality magazines or hanging as interior decoration from offices, hotels to private homes. My personality likes neatness and aesthetics, so before shooting, I want everything to be perfect in terms of arrangement, composition, lighting, and color. The remaining job of the photographer is to capture the best expression of the character in that desired setting.

This genre helps me balance my passion for photography with making a living, helping me “have a job to do”, adding motivation and conditions to develop other areas of photography. The core is still that you must have the knowledge and skills to create high-value works after each serious work.

Innocent Childhood - Work by Khanh Phan taken in Dong Nai rubber forest.

* So what are the "unforgettable" experiences?

- Staged photography requires you to be good at photography techniques, have a sophisticated mind and good camera equipment. Arranging the perfect photo scene according to the idea, taking advantage of natural and artificial light, and color matching to achieve high aesthetics is not easy. Photography trips require you to do in-depth research on the soil, weather, traditional local culture and landscape as well as detailed scheduling experience. Connecting the subject of the photo with the local people is sometimes a challenge that you need to approach with a sincere spirit and positive emotions for the land you visit.

In addition, you also need ideas and post-production techniques to create great works. Finally, you always need a lot of luck (laughs).

* Photography is an attractive profession but not easy. It is difficult to reach a professional level. If your son wants to follow this profession, will you support him?

- My son also loves photography, has witnessed and accompanied me throughout the years I have pursued photography, so he understands his mother's work very well. He knows how much his mother has sacrificed to maintain her passion. In 2024, he won 3rd prize in the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Photography Competition. I will nurture my son's joy of photography and let him choose the most suitable future path.

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