Religion Methodist Spouse(s) Single | Name Keith Munyan Role Photographer | |
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Full Name Keith Owen Munyan, Jr. Born April 10, 1961 (age 63) ( 1961-04-10 ) Leesville, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, USA Occupation Photographer; former model, based in Los Angeles, California Parent(s) Keith Munyan, Sr., (1932–1996), and Lucille Carter Munyan (born 1931) Education University of Louisiana at Monroe | ||
Keith Owen Munyan, Jr. (born April 10, 1961), is an American commercial photographer based in North Hollywood, California, whose client list includes Hilary Duff, Jessica Simpson, and Cindy Crawford. His work has appeared in magazines, album packaging, books, billboards, and calendars.
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For fifteen years before he became a photographer, Munyan worked as a model. He has appeared in the television programs Extra, Hard Copy, and Access Hollywood. He was featured on various calendars and on billboards for Budweiser Light and Diet Coke, acted in commercials, and modeled swimsuits. He also modeled nude for Playgirl.
Early years in Louisiana
Munyan was born in Leesville, the seat of Vernon Parish in western Louisiana and the home of the United States Army Fort Polk. His father, Keith "Moose" Munyan, Sr. (September 6, 1932 - July 8, 1996), a native of Jackson, Ohio, coached in Leesville from 1959–1963. When Keith was two years of age, his family moved to the village of Mangham in Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana.
Munyan played football for four years (1975–1978 seasons) under his father's tutelage as well as basketball and baseball. His mother, the former Lucille Carter (born December 31, 1931), is a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She worked for the federal Farmers Home Administration, in Mangham. Munyan has two sisters.
After high school, Munyan attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe (then Northeast Louisiana University) but did not graduate. He became a decorator for a department store in Dallas, Texas, prior to launching his modeling career, which entailed travel, including a trip as far away as Barcelona, Spain.
Self-educated photographer
Munyan is self-educated as a photographer. His experience as a model helped him to make the transition because while he was being photographed over the years, he "listened a lot regarding lighting and shooting. I found it easier for me because I enjoyed working with people." Munyan described patience as "the key to photography. Don't rush." He indicated that he is innovative and will "try anything, because I'm not always right. . . . "
Munyan once photographed Beth Broderick, who played Aunt Zelda on ABC's Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The program used all of his photographs. This assignment led to new clients: Jessica Simpson, Cindy Crawford, Hilary Duff, Carmen Electra, Rachel Melvin of NBC's Days of Our Lives, and Kelly Clarkson. In photographs of Melvin for Agenda magazine, Munyan used dead yucca trees which he had procured from his own property. Often he finds that various kinds of wood enhance the photographs.
Munyan said that proper lighting is essential to good photographs: "I've learned how to adjust my lighting around my clients. I figure out how to make it hotter, warmer, darker, depending on their skin tones, their hair, their makeup. . . . "
Celebrity clients
He photographed Kelly Clarkson in 2004 as the first winner on the American Idol program on Fox. Another client is Mackenzie Rosman, who played Ruthie Camden on the former 7th Heaven series Munyan has also photographed male models for such publications as Men's Workout magazine.