We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Keo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Photography definitely came naturally to me, but that’s also due to my 4 years in art school training to be a 3D Animator plus having worked at multiple animation studios under amazing art directors and soaking up everything I can definitely made my transition to photography easy but learning all the staples of animation wasn’t easy but it basically gave me all the tools to understand photography.

as for speeding up my learning process, I necessarily wouldn’t put a time clock on it, I think its about trial & error and learning from your mistakes and understanding what you want to photograph and story you want to tell.

I think the skills that are most essential is simply understanding how a camera works, whether it be shutter speed or ISO and an understanding of how light works.

I’m going to contradict myself and also say who cares about what settings you’re shooting in, just go out there and shoot and make those mistakes and just learn to correct them as long as you keep those notions in mind I believe you will learn to fall in love with photography just as i have.

Andrew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Andrew Keo, and I spent my childhood, drawing, playing sports and always carrying a camera around with me.

After Highschool I went to the Art Institute where I went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude in Media Arts & Animation, upon graduating I went on to do internships with CBS and Disney as a 3D artist where I got to work on movies and television shows and it was an amazing experience, after that I went onto work with companies like FOX, Microsoft, Pixar, Sony Animation, Adultswim and a ton of music videos.

Primarily I served as a 3D visual effects artist and still do to this day, but I’ve begun transitioning into a career in photography mostly because its what i find myself wanting to do over anything else, after thinking about it I feel I’ve accomplished everything i wanted to do in animation/television/film and honestly I’m just over how stressful a career in that industry is however I’m grateful to have worked with some of the most talented artists in the world and what an adventure it was not to mention I how much i learned from my fellow colleagues.

Currently full time, I still work as a 3D artist but during the pandemic i decided to start Bokeh Visuals where I took all the knowledge and disciplined I learned and began to transition to a full time photographer.

we offer a full range of photography services as well as graphics, because of my background in visual effects there really isn’t anything I don’t know how to do when it comes to digital art software packages I basically have had to learn them all.

I believe when you hire Bokeh Visuals you get a disciplined photographer with an understanding of how to capture the world, who also being a 3D artist has literally designed and modeled fictional worlds but most importantly a photographer that sees the intimacy a photo can have and the stories it can tell.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

the rise of NFT’s had my mind racing at the beginning, also being a 3D artist the amount of people that flooded me asking if I could make them one was ridiculous.

However after seeing the growth I believe its all hot garbage, with maybe 1 percent of artists actually making amazing NFT’s

legally a few years from now I believe its going to be a legal mess with how much work is being stolen and sold as NFT’s

long story short its a hot mess.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Nothing beats having a stressful production day but then getting into the car after having a long day having completed all your creative objectives and knowing you did them well. Strangely I see the Art’s a lot like sports in that when your coach calls on you, you have to be ready to go and play with all your heart, and when your art director hands you your next task you have to be ready to do it, and do it at the highest level because the entertainment industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world filled with amazing artists who can replace you. I dont know maybe its a jaded way of seeing it but I’ve always been a competitor and being only 5’10” I knew i couldn’t play in the NBA so i use that energy and drive in my art and if i could tell 5 year old me in bed watching Lion King that we in fact do become a disney animator I think he would be proud and thats what I have found to be most rewarding, just knowing I wasnt born an artist but I went on to have a career in the arts because i wanted to be an artist.

Oh and the first time seeing my name in the credits of an animated cartoon and calling my mom to turn on the tv and go to the show and knowing I completed a childhood dream of mine of seeing my name on a cartoon.
*highfiving 5 year old me*

Contact Info:

• Website: bokehvisuals.com
• Instagram: _bokehvisuals
• Other: andrewkeo.com

Image Credits
Andrew Keo