Stephen JB Kelly was born on October 18th, 1983 in West Cumbria, England. He spent his early childhood in Africa and the Middle East before moving to Hong Kong where he lived for ten years. Stephen returned to the UK to study, gaining a foundation diploma in Photography from the London College of Communication followed by a degree in Documentary Photography from the University of Wales, Newport.

Stephen has won a number of awards for his work, including the Gareth Jones Memorial Travelling Scholarship, the Observer David Hodge Photographic Award, the Reginald Salisbury Award and the 'Made in China' award at the Łódź Fotofestiwal, Poland.

Stephen’s work has been published in various magazines including The Independent Magazine, The Observer Magazine, D La Repubblica delle Donne, IL Magazine and The FADER Magazine among others.

Stephen is currently based in Hong Kong, China, where he contributes to a number of leading publications and continues to work on long-term projects.