Made in SA • Local South African Talent • Creators to Follow
SA Creator Spotlight: Meet Keennen Langeveldt
Keennen Langeveldt is a freelance creative and editorial fashion photographer based in Cape Town. He shoots with a Canon 6D Mark II and a 50mm, plans his light and concept long before the camera comes out, and runs on a philosophy he puts simply: the compass was created before the clock because direction is more important than the time it takes to get there. His followers describe his style as out of this world. He shoots like he believes it.
Photography found Keennen through loss. A close friend took her own life, a young woman who felt she was not good enough, and that is what set him on this path. Since then, his entire kit has been stolen, reducing him to one light, a stand, a camera, and a 50mm. He is still shooting.
"The compass was created before the clock because direction is more important than the time to get there."
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
Keennen Langeveldt
Editorial and fashion photography | Cape Town
I'm a freelance creative and editorial fashion photographer based in Cape Town. Photography is life. I plan my light, my location, and my concept well before the camera comes out, and I shoot and edit with the final image already in mind. My work has been described as out of this world, and I take that seriously. I do not create with guidelines. I create with purpose. Photography found me through loss, and that loss is still in everything I make.
Follow on Instagram
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
Our Interview with Keennen Langeveldt
How did you fall into photography?
The suicide of a close friend who felt she was not good enough.
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
What are you shooting with?
A Canon 6D Mark II and a 50mm.
What subject could you photograph forever and never get bored of?
OCF. Off camera flash.
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
What's your pre-shoot ritual?
I do not prepare myself mentally for stress. It leads to doubt in your own skills.
What's the most ridiculous thing you've done to get the shot?
Tied myself to a rope from a tall tree to get a top-down perspective, hanging mid-air.
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
"You do not create with guidelines, you create with purpose."
Tell us about a shoot that didn't go to plan.
A shoot was planned and the weather was not what we expected. It was storming, the wind was wild and the rain was coming down, but we used that as the concept and created amazing images.
What would you tell a 17-year-old who just discovered they love making things?
To give it their all. The compass was created before the clock because direction is more important than the time to get there.
© Keennen Langeveldt / Bear Media
What do you know now that you wish you'd known from the start?
That learning light and understanding business are the priority.
What creative rule did you break?
Everything. The belief of perfection. You do not create with guidelines, you create with purpose.
"I'm not your average photographer."
How do you handle creative burnout?
Sleep. Breathe. Take a drive. The mind is a powerful tool, so give it some time to repair.
What's honestly in your camera bag right now?
Since all my gear got stolen recently, I'm working with a basic kit: a camera, a light stand, one light, and a 50mm. That's it.
Last words to the SA creative community?
I'm not your average photographer.
Keennen Langeveldt is a Cape Town-based editorial and fashion photographer building something real out of a basic kit, a clear vision, and a kind of purpose that does not need guidelines to find its way. Follow his work on Instagram and see for yourself why his followers call it out of this world.
Follow Keennen: @bear.media on Instagram
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