Background
Schmitz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and attended Grand Valley State University where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in photography.
Schmitz was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and attended Grand Valley State University where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in photography.
He is known for his advertising campaigns, fashion editorials and workshops in photography. Then, Schmitz pursued a master"s degree in fine arts at the Academy of Art, University of San Francisco, worked as an intern for Tim Priest, a photographer in Grand Rapids, Michigan and published his student work in 2006 in CMYK magazine. As a professional photographer in West Michigan, he founded Kevin Michael Schmitz Photography and published eight photographic magazine editorial spreads including Vogue magazine in 2008.
He has also photographed celebrities such as Vivica Fox, Vanessa Williams, Rochelle Aytes and has been published in multiple editorials in 944 Magazine.
He is now represented by famous representative Jorge Perez at Justice of the Peace Reps who represents some of the top photographers in the world for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar, and brands such as Dolce Gabbana. In January 2009, Schmitz led, in Israel, a project entitled "ISRAEL: A Culture at War" about the people of Israel and the West Bank during the Gaza conflict.
He photographed and interviewed soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict. His work was published internationally exposing the truth behind the conflict through personal stories at front lines.
As a result, he collected photographs and authored magazine editorials published in the United States and Europe.
In October 2009, Schmitz signed with The Silverburn Gallery, a gallery in England which represents him through his fine art photographic prints in the United Kingdom and Europe. He is also represented by 46 Pictures Los Angeles, American Artist Representatives, New York & Paris. Schmitz is the recipient of the 2009 "Young Alumni of the Year Award" at Grand Valley.