We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kounthear Kuch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kounthear, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have always been quick with problem solving and that is pretty much what prop styling is. I assisted a prop stylist for a year and then started picking up my own lead jobs. I think to be a good prop stylist you have to be able to react on demand and be adaptable to people. Understanding gravity and how to build sets and rigging is also a bonus.

I specifically like working with skincare brands and that in itself is an art form. I prefer to do texture shoots which feels more like painting with skin care products. It takes time and practice to understand how different skin care products move which only experience will help with that.

I think everyday I work is an obstacle. The entire job is problem solving and you really learn by experiencing and growing from mistakes.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I first discovered prop styling 5 years ago. I use to work in the fashion industry and was doing wardrobe styling at a studio in Manhattan. That is where I first discovered prop styling. I stumbled on another set where a prop stylist was styling perfume and I asked the producer about what she was doing. At that moment I knew I wanted to style objects for a living.

Prop styling is styling objects and creating a scene for the products for mainly advertising purposes. I prefer working with beauty brands but can style anything that is an object. A typical shoot day is creating different images for a brand based on references and visuals the client wants. I collaborate with photographers, art directors, creative directors, and the client.

My day to day involves predicting what clients might want visually and figuring out how to make it all work. I am pretty adaptable to different personalities and have a very calm demeanor. Being on set can be chaotic so it is helpful to not let things stress you out and react quickly with the problem solving mindset.

In the end of the day an image will be created for usage and you can reflect back on how to be more efficient on a shoot to shoot basis. I really enjoy my line of work because it is creative and every shoot is different so I really get to exerciese my mind and keeping things interesting.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Most of my life I worked in fashion and shifted to prop styling 5 years ago. I worked in retail, went to fashion design school, did fashion design internships, worked for 2 fashion tech start ups, then did wardrobe styling. And it was when I was doing e-commerce wardrobe styling at a studio in Tribeca is when I first discovered prop styling. From there the producer connected me with the prop stylist and I started assisting.

When I worked in fashion there was a lot of friction. It was almost like the universe did not think I should work in fashion and the minute I assisted in props all the doors opened as if it was meant to be. Things started becoming much more fluid for me once I started prop styling and I only assisted for a year.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In prop styling a lot of the business is by word of mouth. Working in photoshoots can be chaotic sometimes and I feel like when I am on set I have a very calm presence. I work very efficiently and am quick with problem solving. I really enjoy doing texture work and feel like it is a very niche skill to have. Every product is different so being adaptable to how each skincare brand works takes time and experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kounthear.com
• Instagram: kounthear

Image Credits

Dylan Griffin, Maria Be, David Shultze, Mindy Byrd, Mitchell Perrin, Zach & Buj, Montgomery Sheridan, Greggory Reid