We had the good fortune of connecting with Matthew Zethren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matthew, why did you pursue a creative career?
Being Korean Adopted, it’s very hard to find an identify for yourself, whether it be culturally or ethnically, it’s just hard to find where you fit in. I experienced a lot of this growing up- culturally I was American but ethnically Korean, meaning that I just couldn’t relate to many people or experiences.

It wasn’t until 7th grade where I took my first digital design course at my middle school, we had an assignment to create a digital portrait of someone who inspires you. This project had no right answers, no certain mathematical process you had to follow, just create a piece of work to show what this person means to you. For the first time in my life I found a school assignment that just felt “right”. I didn’t have to justify my answer or show proof of my reasoning, I simply had to create and follow what was in my head.

That’s when I kind of realized I was just meant to do something creative, maybe if I “applied” myself more I could be an aerospace engineer or something, but I know for sure that nothing would satisfy me as much as being able to bring the thoughts and visions that are in my head to the real world.


Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I grew up ingesting TONS of media, some of my fondest childhood memories are watching old Sci-Fi films with my Dad. Just something about being able to create a completely fictional environment that could grab the attention of viewers for hours on end just appealed to me. I started out making little short videos and stories when I was maybe 12 or 13, but I quickly realized I could tell the same narrative with a series of images, while taking a lot less resources to do so.

That is what lead me to photography, something that started as a hobby and turned into a passion. I mastered camera controls before I knew Algebra, and I was working in Lightroom before I knew what taxes really were. I kept with the same routine of shooting after school and experimenting in post-processing for a few years until I realized my work lacked any real direction. The images looked pretty but that was about it, there was no real meaning or direction to what I shot.

That’s when I decided to channel my passion for film to create cinematic-esque, surreal, vivid works of art. Of course, it took me some time to really figure out that’s what I wanted to do- around 6 years or so, but after long hours behind the computer and even longer hours behind the camera, I finally feel like I’m starting to establish myself and my artistic style. It was far from easy, and I would be lying to say there were more ups than downs, but I believe that struggle and that need to grind is what makes seeing the final images so rewarding and gives me the energy and dedication to continue doing what I do.


Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?Personally I’ve only ever driven through Atlanta on my way to the Savannah campus, so their guess is as good as mine – haha.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would definitely like to say thanks to Thomas Sanders for helping me refine my creative style and vision as well as all the help I’ve gotten from my team back in Savannah, GA. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many talented stylists, photographers, graphic designers, motion designers, directors and more on various projects throughout my creative career, and I would be lying to say that I haven’t taken influence either directly or indirectly through their own creative and artistic processes.

Website: www.zethrenphoto.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zethrenphoto/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zethrenphoto

Image Credits
Matthew Zethren

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