We were lucky to catch up with Christian Santiago recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christian, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Being a professional creative was not always an option I was aware of I was sort of forced into it because I kept getting fired from every “real” job I’ve ever had. I somehow fooled the University of Central Florida into giving me a degree in English and felt I had to have something to show for the money I wasted in earning it. I lasted a whole six months working as a copywriter at an ad agency. What followed was an Odyssey of odd jobs in customer service with one common denominator: I was not cut out to be an employee.

I wore out my welcome anywhere where W2s are distributed. But my camera never left my side. It was often the reason I was late for work or would call out altogether. It had always been a mild obsession, ever since I took a cinematography course in 10th grade thinking it would be an “easy A.” You mean I can inflate my GPA by just sitting there and watching movies? Sign me up! I’d have never guessed that it would forever change the course of my life as it transformed the way I saw the world. Everything became a frame carved with light.

My first job ever was working at a movie theater. It was the only job I never got fired from. One of the perks was free films whenever I wanted, and I often got to see new releases a week or two before anyone else since we’d get the film reels in advance. I was hooked. I studied everything I could watch, and that turned into a curiosity for other forms of art: Painting, sculpture etc.

Fast forward to my mid-twenties: I am excommunicado from the job market, and the
only thing I had to show for myself besides a colorful bong collection was my Panasonic GH3.

That’s when it all clicked: No pun intended. I would learn to hire myself to do the thing I loved. That became my purpose. And I never looked back.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

These days I consider myself a visual problem solver. I use images to relieve the marketing pressure points for my clients. It benefits me that I have a broad skill set in photography and filmmaking. It’s an arsenal of tools I learned out of necessity as much of my early client work was consistently low-budget. I could not afford to hire teams to help. So became the lead photographer, DP, director, sound engineer, gaffer, editor, Photoshop wizard, etc.

I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world as they gave me such deep appreciation for everyone’s contributions to the creative arts.

My early forays into photography were very cliche. I thought being a “working pro” meant working with models, so that’s what I did. But it was hard to make a buck just shooting girls in bikinis on Miami Beach. You can say that the market was over-saturated. I had no idea I could earn a living taking pictures of other things and knew even less about commercial photography and shooting for brands.

One day on a whim, a friend of a friend mentioned he needed someone to take photos of a house he had listed for sale. I was like “Woah. I can make money doing that? That sounds way too easy…” It was not easy. After some severe growing pains. I established myself as a real estate photographer in my city and then eventually evolved into shooting Photography and Video for architects, designers, and retail and hospitality brands such as Norwegian Cruise Lines and Apple.

I take the most pride in doing the impossible. Shooting on a cruise is cathartic for a control freak like me. You have none. You can’t control the weather, the time of day for shooting, and how busy a space is. etc. etc. Trash cans are bolted to the floor and reflections glisten on every surface. But there are no excuses. It always needs to be clean and polished with beautiful ocean views even if you’re shooting in a shipyard in Iceland with frigid winds and grey skies. My clients depend on me to take motor oil and turn it into grandma’s Lemonade. It needs to look beautiful and it can’t look fake. This requires an intense understanding of light and color. I often need to artificially recreate the lighting in a scene that will be motivated by the light sources in whatever backdrops and plates we choose in post-production. It’s both art and science.

Beyond technical miracles, I also need to understand why my clients need my services, what they’re hoping to achieve, and what “success” looks like for their investment. Pretty pictures are worthless in a vacuum, especially in today’s oversaturated photography market. We’ve become desensitized to “bangers.” “Every picture tells a story.” As Rod Stewart would say, so before I even set up a camera, I need to know the narrative intent of my client. What are their standards? Their Values? How do they want to show up for the world?

My work needs to serve a purpose. It needs to resonate with an audience and inspire action. My business took a giant leap forward when I stopped selling pictures and started selling results.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Remember when the world shut down and we were all locked in our homes for months on end? What did you turn to for comfort? For entertainment? To preserve your sanity? Did you read more? Binge shows and movies on Netflix? Play video games?

You turned to art. Art was there for you during the most perilous, stressful, isolating, and anxious time in many of our lives.

Remember that the next time you think the arts should be defunded, or that photography is “just a hobby” and you tell someone with creative aspirations to “get a real job.”

Remember that the next time you’re in a position to hire a creative person for something you feel the need to lowball them or criticize the way they price their services.

Art has value in the world. Do not forget it.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have had to pivot many times in my life and my carer, and I am currently in a transition as we speak. I was an early adopter of AI tech. It both fascinated and terrified me from the start. I saw it as a tsunami that would completely derail my industry. But “Chaos is a ladder.” As my favorite fictional villain would say. Disruptive technologies create new opportunities.

I saw Ai as an inevitable tool that would erase the technical barriers of creative art as many of the tasks it can complete are things that would have consumed much of our time in the past. It begs the question: does art have to require skill to be valued?

I’ve used it as an opportunity to elevate my brand and diversify my income. I started last November when I did something I never thought I’d have the balls to do: speak in front of a live audience about the impact of AI and its role in the future of our industry. I will expand on this by creating further content and digital products relevant to the topic.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.csantiagophoto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/csantiagophoto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristianSantiagophoto

Image Credits
Christian Santiago