We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christopher Castillo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christopher below.

Christopher, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

The idea always stems from listening to a song. All the visual learning I did prior watching tons of films also adds to the inspiration. Right at the beginning it’s just a cloud of vapor ready to float away and disappear if I allow it to. That’s why the moment it comes through I must prioritize my creative energy into turning it into a reality. The next step is finding the location for the concept. Take simple photos of the area but also keeping composition into account from when you do the photoshoot. Lots of location scouting until a place just feels right. Next we look for the perfect model to encapsulate this dream. Instagram has always been the platform I use to network and reach out to models in regards to photoshoot concepts. Create a Pinterest board, or if you’re really feeling eager, an official mood board to get the idea across much easier. Send this to your model of choice with the exact idea you have in mind. Send a few reference photos to give a general idea as well as the location you would like to use. If they agree to it now take some time to go back and forth with the discussion of outfit, hair, makeup, and accessories. Lastly, set the date of execution that works for both of you and make this happen!

Christopher, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

This journey pretty much started with being the personal photographer for all my friend group activities in high school which mainly consisted of checking out abandoned buildings and places under construction. I guess it partially also came from being the only member of the group that didn’t enjoy spray painting grafitti on to the premises. Instead, a Canon t6 rebel became my good friend and allowed me to provide my own creative direction. With the help of my close friends as my subjects, I began posing them in specific positions that would allow them to interact with the location. That along with spray paint cans as props and grafiti marked around them with certain wording I would tell them to display would create something so beautiful to my eyes but also completely unique to me. To then present these photos on instagram and as part of my photography portfolio in AP Art class, i started to see I was a creative photographer that knew how to tell stories through my images. I kept my camera on hand ever since and the the knowledge and confidence that came with it only kept enhancing. I found my calling in night time neon photography and eventually felt certain limitations with the gear I carried. I purchased the Sony A7III in 2020 and that was a huge game changer for this style. I will however say that I’m grateful to have started with a affordable beginner’s camera since it allowed me to understand the basic functions of a camera. If starting out, I highly recommend your start off with something simple and cheap.

I provide cinematic portraits for my clients. A majority of my work supplies a moody landscape of the genre noire. This involves night time condition and neon lighting. But in most recent years I’ve tapped into a grungy punk style using high intensity flash lighting. I also focus on editorial photoshoots. This is where the majority of my client base derives from. Lastly, I do concert photoshoots as well, turning live musicians into portrait masterpieces. One thing to know about me is that all my work includes people. if you’re a fan of the aesthetic, I could bring that same approach to a photoshoot of weddings, engagement, family, parties/events, music promo, product, real estate, etc…

I’m proud of the fact that I have found a particular style in photography and a photo could be recognized as mine instantaneously. I put a lot of attention on my editing and it shows in my work.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Be extremely authentic. Be yourself entirely. My mission as a photographer is to furnish as much feeling as I could. There’s a certain personal element present throughout my work and I think it’s through that vulnerability I’ve been able to collect a fan base. People are tired of seeing the same old bikini beach photoshoot or fashion runway shoot. At least I am. Not really sure why but anytime I see something is being overdone multiple times whether its a specific location or concept I automatically look the other way and try to come up with something completely different. Many of my concepts actually come from a song I’m listening to on my late night car drives on my way home from editing at the Kava Bar. It comes from within and because of this I have absolutely no reason to feel like I’m a cheap fake. I’m not one to jump the gun on what’s “trending” thus why I try to avoid trending songs on my posts and have never downloaded tik tok. I barely post reels and even when I do I go above the 1 minute mark and turn the videos into short films. I’m not one to typically post behind-the-scenes content. I let the photos mainly speak for themselves instead. Yes, I know these are all tools I should take advantage of but there’s something so beautiful in the idea of “less is more”. I’m a firm believer of it and i think it is partially the reason I have engaged the audience I have over the 3 years I’ve done photography professionally. Overall, I believe being so uniquely different with your gallery photoshoots is essential. It keeps your audience at the edge of their seat and surprises them the moment they see your latest post.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal is to tell stories. The mission is to eventually make my own films. My photography always stems from an idea that I could visualize as a movie. My cinematic style of editing always consists of a carefully selected set of 3 colors. Depending on the theme, I try to provide my visuals with as much shadow and color luminance as possible. The subject and their outfit must synchronize with the location to help tell the story. I’m just here to create vibes with my shoots.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christography____/

Image Credits

Ronald Fraga (Instagram: @izaddycool)
Kylie Cohen (Instagram: @kylieco)
Aaron Campbell (Instagram: @x0.aaron.0x)
Brian Estrella (Instagram: @bigkapoh)
Diana Rojas (Instagram: @ditzydii)
Brooke Raquel (Instagram: @brookerraquel)
Sasha Seken (Instagram: @angelzreaper)
Diana Zagorulko (Instagram: @dianazagorulko)
Jose Carmona (Instagram: @blonde.jose)
Lindsay Mima (Instagram: @lindsayofficielle)
Luana Montes (Instagram: @luaxmontes)
Renaud Noel (Instagram: @rojo_andthebirds)
Rachel Ester (Instagram: @raehester)
Jesse Dennis (Instagram: @thatjessedenis)