About the Artist
Kim Canazzi Bio
This website highlights Kim Canazzi's personal photographic art. After going to Parsons School of Design in New York, she began working as a runway model and design assistant on 7th avenue, the center of the fashion industry. Her interest in being a photographer began to emerge as she started to do fashion styling for photographers.
While visiting relatives in California, she fell in love with the sunny openness of Los Angeles and moved there in the 70’s. She continued working for other photographers doing styling and assisting as she learned about cameras, composition and lighting. Her first real photo jobs came though event photography. A fascinating and beautiful woman in the Beverly Hills social world was photographing parties for her friends and it turned into a very good business. Both she and Kim used the same photo labs and they had become friends through their mutual interests. The woman suggested Kim start shooting with her and for her when she was double booked. Thus began a lucrative collaboration that lasted many years. This woman, whom Kim nicknamed ‘Vodka’ as she always carried a little silver flask of vodka in her gear, was a member of these parties not ‘just ‘ the photographer. Her style was to wear designer gowns and jewelry to mix in with crowd. So Kim found herself wearing Vodka’s Chanel and Tiffany diamonds to appear at these affairs. She did not go so far as to carry the silver flask however.
Though event photography, Kim met the bombastic publisher and owner of a new magazine called Beverly Hills 213. She became their first staff photographer and immediately stepped into rushed chaotic world of magazine publishing. She was assigned to do everything from celebrity covers and product photography to the unenviable job of paparazzi outside a movie opening. It all had to be done yesterday! Her colorful and flattering celebrity covers gained recognition from people in the film industry, one of whom was Vincent Minnelli, the director of ‘American in Paris’ and ‘Gigi ‘among many others. From the newspaper and referrals, Kim built up her own business doing portraits, events, and product photography.
