Kelly Dunn

Kelly Dunn is a Mississippi-based documentary, portrait, and street photographer whose work explores people, place, memory, and everyday life. A Hattiesburg-area native, she developed an interest in photography at an early age after being inspired by her grandmother, an enthusiastic family photographer and traveler.

 

Dunn earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Delta State University, where she developed both the technical foundations of her photography and an interest in photography as a form of visual expression and storytelling. She later earned her master's degree from The University of Southern Mississippi, further expanding her work in media, communication, and visual storytelling.

 

For more than two decades, Dunn has worked as a professional photographer at The University of Southern Mississippi, creating an extensive visual record of university life while photographing everything from intimate portraits and student traditions to major institutional events and historic moments. Her experiences documenting a community over time have shaped her interest in photography as both artistic expression and historical record.

 

Dunn is beginning her third year as an instructor at Southern Miss, where she teaches photography, social media, and creative software skills. Teaching has expanded her creative practice by giving her a larger space to mentor students as they develop both professionally and artistically. She is particularly interested in helping students build technical confidence, discover their own creative voices, and understand how visual storytelling can become part of their academic, professional, and personal lives.

 

Outside of her institutional work, Dunn's creative practice centers on documentary and street photography. She is drawn to ordinary moments, human interaction, and the relationship between people and the spaces they occupy. Her photographs frequently examine how gesture, environment, expression, and small details can reveal larger stories about identity, community, and memory.

 

Influenced by photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Danny Lyon, Lynsey Addario, and Lewis Hine, Dunn believes photography can do more than record what something looked like. At the center of her practice is a commitment to visual storytelling, curiosity, the dignity of the people she photographs, and the belief that creative work can help people see both their communities and themselves more thoughtfully.

Artist Website- https://twentysevenfocus.zenfolio.com