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About Hanbit Kwon

I'm a Philadelphia-based photographer trusted by leading institutions and community organizations to document the civic character and culture of Philadelphia.

As a Korean American, my approach to photography is shaped by Buddhism and a spiritually nuanced view of the human condition. Before picking up a camera professionally, I worked as a first responder in New York City's diverse neighborhoods — experience that has given me an uncomfortably up close, ground level social awareness, and sensitivity.  I've also navigated my own share of difficult family and emotional dynamics, which gave me an early, hard-won fluency in reading suffering beneath the surface and seeing it with clarity. That personal understanding of what human beings carry shapes the way I photograph.

I'm currently shifting my focus toward institutional and media work, and winding down private commissions. I still take on a select number of weddings on a referral basis per summer.

Trusted By

• Media: WHYY / Billy Penn

• Universities & Healthcare: Drexel University, Thomas Jefferson University

• Community & Civic Organizations: Food & Water Watch, Bread & Roses Community Fund, Gender Justice Fund, WCRP, Studio 34 Yoga & Healing Arts, Helen Gym for City Council