For someone who claims he “isn’t very creative,” this week’s campus celebrity has been extremely successful in his artistic endeavors. Born and raised in Pasadena, CA, Chris Ellis started taking pictures his senior year of high school. In March of his senior year he worked on his first professional photo shoot, as what he calls a “back up back up back up,” and by May he was shooting his first wedding. In June, before his freshman year at Occidental, Chris had started his own company, Chris Ellis Photography, LLC. I sat down with Chris to talk cars, photography, and his promising future.
What are your favorite subjects to shoot? How do you choose your subjects?
My favorite subjects to shoot are definitely cars. Anything cars. When I get press passes to an event like the LA International Auto Show or the Long Beach Grand Prix its like Christmas. I get all giddy and excited, as the event gets closer. But honestly the most fun event I shot this summer was the US Open of Surfing, which was absolutely incredible. It was the quintessential Southern Californian event, either days at the beach with the greatest surfers in the world. It definitely ranks in the top 5 events I have photographed so far in my life. Most of the people I photograph now are paying clients, I actually work 6 different photography jobs including running my own company so I don’t have as much time as I used to for photographing friends.
You often photograph Occidental campus events. How did you get involved with that?
Honestly I got into it because I just took my camera along places. But I have gotten involved in the Weekly, the yearbook, the admissions office, and then other organizations on campus because I like getting to know the people who I get to photograph. Oxy events are fun because I get to photograph both my friends, and now, I get paid for it. The most fun event I get to shoot at Oxy is definitely Dance Production. It’s a ton of work but it is totally worth it for me. By the end of production week last year I had amassed 4000 images to edit. Talk about a lot of pictures to get through. It almost took me two hours just to scroll through them all.
What are you currently working on, or about to start working on?
Right now I am currently working on photos for the admissions office and the Oxy In Action part of the website. Otherwise my next big event is the Los Angeles Intentional Auto Show, which is coming up in November! The press days are incredibly fun with lots of celebrities and great free food. I just recently did a mugshot photography project which you can check out on my blog (it has a lot of oxy people in it!) and with the holiday season coming up I usually get a lot of students booking sessions so they can give the pictures for presents.
What are your goals/aspirations for your future in photography?
My future is really unclear. It’s been less than three years since I started and I am already shooting events I could only have dreamed of. I seemed to have packed more into this short amount of time than most people pack into a decade of photography. It’s both really challenging and very rewarding working on so many different projects at once. But my goal ultimately is to try and find a way to do this the rest of my life and get paid to continue pursuing my passions. The best way I could possibly think of spending the rest of my life is to be an automotive photographer. I would give nothing more than to spend my days photographing all the cars in the world.
You can see more of Chris’ photography at his website, www.chrisellisphotography.com.
All image credits: Chris Ellis Photography LLC.