Return of the Genius Photographer

After leaving Jung Woong’s studio, I headed straight to my workspace and cleared my desk of the half-read books and photo albums scattered across it.

‘I approached this wrong from the start.’

The photo that Jung Woong had requested wasn’t just about capturing something he couldn’t photograph himself. It also had to align with the theme of the exhibition—retrospective.

Trying to meet these two opposing demands at once, I found myself unsure of what kind of photograph I should be taking.

But after watching Jung Woong shoot, I realized I had been missing something crucial all along.

‘Why didn’t I think about photographing him?’

The perfect subject for a retrospective—someone that Jung Woong himself couldn’t easily photograph—was right in front of me the entire time.

With this new realization, I felt my mind suddenly kick into high gear.

But it was too early to celebrate. I had only just taken the first step.

Now that I had chosen my subject, I needed to figure out how to incorporate it into the theme, and how to express it creatively.

‘Think.’

I closed my eyes, emptying my mind.

This was a ritual of sorts I performed before taking photos, to bring my focus to its peak.

Then, with my mind cleared, I focused solely on the subject—Jung Woong.

His history, the photos he’d taken, the beliefs behind them, and his approach to photography. I let each of these elements surface in my mind, one by one, like pieces of a massive puzzle coming together.

As Jung Woong had said before I left the studio, simply photographing him wouldn’t result in a satisfying image.

‘Think.’

I began to imagine different ways to express him.

What’s the best method for capturing a person?

I considered every possible detail—composition, lighting, props, location—mentally framing the photos as though I were already taking them.

Click―

Click―

The imagination was so vivid, I could almost hear the shutter going off in my head.

I spread out these imagined photos as though they were on display, selecting the ones I thought were good.

But—

‘It’s not enough.’

No matter how many mental pictures I took, each one still felt lacking.

None of them truly captured my satisfaction.

It wasn’t the photos themselves that were the problem.

The real issue was that a single photo was too small a medium to capture everything about Jung Woong.

“There’s too much I want to show.”

Just like that.

The more I tried to fit the richness of a retrospective into a single photo, the more chaotic the image became. Yet simplifying it left no room for novelty.

Was I going to have to compromise on quality and settle for simplicity…?

‘No, that won’t work.’

There’s no room for compromise when it comes to taking a satisfying photo.

If I can’t fit everything into a single photo, then I’ll use multiple photos to convey everything I want.

‘Wait, exactly. I don’t have to stick to just one photo, do I?’

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

The perfect solution to all my concerns.

It was a photo mosaic.

“I need space.”

With my idea solidified, I stood up and began to clear out my workspace.

First, I took all the books off the shelves and piled them in a corner, then pushed the bookshelves against the left wall of the workspace.

Then I took the whiteboard that had been mounted on the right wall and relocated it to the left corner.

In an instant, the right side of the studio was completely cleared out.

I looked at the now-bare wall and measured the size with my fingers.

‘It’s smaller than I thought…’

Despite moving everything to the opposite side, the space was smaller than I had anticipated.

Still, this was the largest area I could clear, so I had to make do with it.

A photo mosaic is a technique where countless individual photos are arranged like puzzle pieces to form one large, new image.

From a distance, it looks like a single picture, but up close, it reveals a collection of smaller images.

It gives off a unique feeling, standing somewhere between photography and painting.

In essence, a photo mosaic is created rather than captured.

And with this method, I was confident I could showcase everything I wanted, while also creating something that would completely subvert Jung Woong’s expectations.

‘Now that I’ve got the space, the next step is the image tool and the photos.’

There are three main things needed to create a photo mosaic: enough space to paste the photos, a large number of photos to fill that space, and an image tool to combine those various photos into one.

I planned to use the right wall of my studio as the space to paste the photos. As for the image tool, I could use the computer here.

The only thing left was getting enough photos to work with.

Moreover, since I planned to use Photographer Jung Woong for both the fragment images and the overall image they’ll combine to create, I needed a large collection of photos related to him specifically—no other subjects would do.

‘The problem is, I don’t have nearly enough photos of him…’

Of course, I didn’t have any photos of Jung Woong yet, since I had just decided on what kind of photo to take.

In fact, I didn’t even have a single photo of him at the moment.

Which meant I’d have to start by taking the photos that would make up the mosaic’s pieces…

‘But I don’t have enough time.’

It’s not like I could follow Jung Woong around taking photos of him like some kind of stalker. Plus, I didn’t have much free time aside from the weekends to spend at the studio. If I had to take each photo myself, I wouldn’t have enough time.

‘A photo mosaic loses a lot of its quality if there aren’t enough photos…’

And it’s not like I could just take a few shots and put it together haphazardly.

In fact, for a photo mosaic to have its distinctive rich color and shading, you actually need more photos than you might think.

Even if I managed to free up some time, I still wouldn’t have enough.

‘This isn’t going to work. I need to find another way…’

If I didn’t have the time, I needed to find a way to get the photos without it.

While I was racking my brain for a solution, one practically walked right up to me.

* * * * *

“Are you in there?”

A familiar voice accompanied the sound of a knock.

“Yes, come in.”

At my response, the door opened, and in walked Minsoo, the same person who had visited me earlier in the morning.

“Uh… The studio looks really different from this morning.”

Minsoo, who opened the door cautiously this time, looked around the now-disorganized studio, clearly surprised.

Well, to be fair, my studio looked like a complete mess—almost as if someone had deliberately wrecked it.

It made sense for him to react that way.

“Yeah, I’m working on something. So, what brings you here?”

After my brief response, I asked him about the purpose of his visit.

Minsoo walked up to me, clasped his hands together, and bowed politely.

“Uh… I came to talk about what happened earlier.”

His attitude had completely changed, almost a full 180-degree turn from the morning.

Expecting what he might say, I stayed silent and waited for him to continue.

Perhaps sensing my understanding, Minsoo slowly began to speak again.

“I was really rude this morning. And I wanted to thank you for covering for me in front of Mr. Jung Woong.”

It seemed like Minsoo had been dwelling on the fact that I let his earlier actions slide in front of the photographer.

“I understand how you felt. But please be more careful next time.”

I replied with a light smile, adding a gentle reminder.

“Yes! It won’t happen again, I swear. And if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’d be happy to help.”

Minsoo quickly bowed his head again, his words hurried and sincere.

Honestly, I’m not the type to hold onto things for long once they’ve passed.

I was definitely annoyed with him earlier this morning, but after scaring him a bit, I’d already decided to let it go.

As long as he didn’t cause me any further trouble, I didn’t mind.

But right now, I was thinking about something else entirely as I looked at Minsoo standing before me.

‘If you need anything, just ask?’

I needed pieces for the mosaic, and if I could get Minsoo’s help, maybe I could save some time.

‘Or maybe I could ask the other assistants for help too.’

I remembered the assistants I had greeted at the shoot earlier. What were their names again? Jinsoo and Youngsoo?

If I could ask them and anyone else I could think of for photos of Jung Woong, I might be able to gather enough for the photo mosaic.

Convincing them was still up in the air, but Minsoo seemed like an easy sell.

In fact, because of what happened earlier, things seemed to be falling into place nicely.

As a good idea came to mind, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Really? That’s perfect. I actually do have a favor to ask.”

“Huh? What is it?”

When I smiled and asked Minsoo, his eyes went wide in surprise.

He probably hadn’t expected me to ask for anything, especially on the first day.

“Well, it’s going to take a lot of people. Are there any free assistants at the studio today?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Mr. Jung Woong’s shoot finished early today, so Jinsoo and Youngsoo, the guys we greeted earlier, should be off.”

Just as I’d guessed, Minsoo mentioned the same people I’d met earlier.

I’d prefer to have more, but this was enough for now.

“Great. Can you go round them up? I’ll explain everything once we’re all here.”

“Ah… Sure. Just a moment.”

Though Minsoo seemed curious about my request, he only tilted his head in confusion before quietly leaving the studio.

While waiting for Minsoo to return, I prepared what I would say to the assistants.