Sharp, heavy, vintage

Photography By Cristian Castillo

Fashion and portrait photographer Cristian Castillo talks about what makes a great portrait, having a support system, and the ongoing battle for self-confidence.

Los Angeles, USA

How did you begin your journey as a photographer?

How I started my journey as a photographer was just a small interest through my mom. She let me use her camera, one of those blocky canon family cameras that I just would use on family trips for fun. I would snap photos and it just brought me small amounts of joy but I forgot about it as time went on.

The interest had slowly risen up again when I wanted to do a photography class once I got to high school, due to a group of friends at the time being in their model phases. But it always stuck out to me and I didn't take the course till my junior year of high school. The support with my girl and the push of my teacher championed me into doing photography, which I've never expected because self doubt at that age was terrible haha. Even as photography became homework that I didn't want to do sometimes, it led me to getting a camera and just doing personal shoots.

I was doing shoots with friends and my girlfriend for the fun of it, then covid happened. It became a wake up call for me to get out and create before it was too late at that point in time. It allowed me to pursue it more closely. 5 years later, I am still doing photos and now fully doing video, which was my main goal as a career. So I owe everything to photography up till now and it went by fast to know what I know currently.

What have you learned along the way?

What I've learned along the way is to have a backbone and to gain self confidence in your work. For me, having a backbone is such a necessary need in the world for getting what you believe you're worth. Without it, I definitely wouldn't have gotten as far in my journey, it has helped me so much in allowing me to do what is needed. Self confidence is a big thing I've struggled with and still is a battle that I haven't won yet. It is something that I believe many artists and people have experienced, it is something that can make you unstoppable once you gain it. I have those days where I am on top of the world and days where I am not, but I need to remind myself that I got something dope going on, to be proud of what I've been able to do before I compare myself to others on social media.

Describe your photography style in 3 words.

Sharp, Heavy, Vintage

Much of work revolves around fashion photography and portraits. How did you get into the fashion world?

I got into fashion through my girlfriend’s support and style; she is the best dressed person I know. She allowed me to be a part of this world that I didn't realize I was really involved with ‘til earlier this year. I've always loved the clothing styles that people bring in and how they pair their clothes with pieces/accessories is so fascinating to me.

Even with my inspiration, the outfits paired with the right model can define a shoot just as much as the photographer or crew can bring to the look; it's all add ons that can be beautiful and powerful for the image. Not to mention, my friends have dope ideas and connections and consider me during these opportunities. They've been a bigger contribution to me going into the fashion world. They allowed me to get commissions while being able to make an impact on brand marketing and have their overall image as a massive bonus.

In your opinion, what makes a great portrait?

What makes a great portrait is the lighting; it is the most important thing that I am still trying to understand. The right lighting in a photo can bring the contrast and depth paired right angle. It just allows you to give life to the image and creates the mood for a portrait. The detail that can be shown within the clarity and even the grain is unmatched with the right lighting.

Tell the story behind one of your images.

For this shoot, it is a tradition for my lady and I to do a shoot every year for her birthday. It's a personal shoot that I apply everything I learned throughout the year into these shoots. I used both film and digital formats to have as backup as I did strobes with film for my first time on this shoot. We have a 12x12 White backdrop in this backroom of her house that I put out for this shoot. Including using lights she got me with a 2-3 lighting setup. I really wanted to snap on this shoot as I feel as her man and photographer if I can't get my lady right, then I am useless. So mid way through set up, one of the lights fell off a stand due to an attachment that wasn't secured; so the bulb shattered and I was livid because time and money just vanished in a blink of an eye. It just felt like a sharp pain of annoyance that I was like I don't wanna do this anymore at that moment. I took a breather and cleaned up the mess. I thankfully set up another light I had and once my lady got ready. I went into shooting, I wanted the shoot to be more on the details of the clothing, yes my wife is beautiful but the pieces paired with her and a 120 format film camera that can get the detail; it needed to be on point. We captured many great shots and I can't wait to see what we come up with for the end of the year.

As a photographer, what would you say is your greatest strength?

As a photographer, my greatest strength is my thoroughness. I feel I am big on the details especially when planning for a project. I am asking the client or model what they're seeking, to keep the ideas grounded and ambitious to be achievable within the grounds of the projects.

As an overall artist, what do you struggle with?

As an artist, what I've struggled with is laziness, it is something that not many people have not talked about and don't bring up but I can be really lazy sometimes. The laziness paired with procrastination can be dangerous and while I've gotten better at not letting laziness overall stop me from achieving what I am seeking for myself. It is something that led me from not getting further at times and it's a me vs me moment in that struggle. I am a hard worker and when I am locked in, laziness is something that slips up on me every now and again.

What is your dream brand collaboration?

My dream brand collaboration is Stussy, it's been my white whale of brands I want to work with. That brand's output and simplicity is so dope to me. It truly is my go to for pieces to throw on, I got massive love for the brand and if they called me to drop everything to work for them. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Any advice for someone who is just getting into photography?

My advice for someone just getting into photography would be to do your research, this is an expensive hobby and thoroughly researching what camera, lens, lights, and overall equipment can save you a lot of time. Do not cheap out, it's something that will hurt the accounts if you just cheap out as you'll be spending more than saving. Final thing to say is to have fun, if you want to do photography as a job. Remember to have fun and know this is a game of struggle at first. You will not be the best photographer off your first shoot, so have fun and explore what the world we live in currently has to offer. Remind yourself to be open and don't forget that you can create anything with the right amount of creativity behind it.

What’s Next for you?

What is next for me currently is to tackle what I truly wanna do which is work in film and video projects. Photography was my outlet to let me get close to video without doing it and I put off video for a long time due to my own lack of confidence. Even to be afraid to fail at something that I had no experience at. Thankfully and super blessed that I’ve failed in this medium. As well as flourished, onto new ventures and more work to be shared with roles that I am proud of.