Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Gustafson.
Hi Chris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I first picked up a camera in my early teens. Taking pictures of people, places, things, etc., was just something I began to do somewhat regularly. Fast-forwarding through life and assorted sales careers, and somewhat regularly having a camera by my side. Digital photography began to emerge in the late 90s and early 2000s.
I got my first digital camera (very low rez by today’s standards) but started close friends and doing more portrait work. Bluntly now with digital and the ease of post-processing. You could shoot very edgy, and sometimes nudes, etc. and not have to worry about going to the local dept store to get your images processed. That said, this was also kind of the early days of photoshop. The quality of the images out of the camera were, “fine,” but… sometimes not so great, so learning and processing with some of the tools inside of photoshop, I slowly created kind of a style that more and more subjects began calling me… saying hey… will you take my picture. Well, this a few years later lead to me submitting some of my digital portraits into the largest photo contest in the Detroit area, “The Metro Times Photo Contest.” Metro Times was the largest weekly publication in the Detroit metro area at the time, and I happened to Win 1st place with an extremely controversial image that was put on the cover of the paper.
I also received two honorable mentions from my submissions. The resulting exposure I got from all of the controversies over the winning image (one of the judges note, was Dirk Baker, whom was at the time head of photography at the Detroit Institute of Arts)… anyway, that resulting exposure leads to some consistent calls, and getting some actual “paid work” in many different forms from editorial/documentary and of course some other portrait work. Was it enough to make a living. No… but I was having a blast doing what I loved, and I even had something like 10 or 12 assignments those following years for Metro Times cover story. Fast forward a number of years later, I met a woman in the Detroit area who owned a wedding chapel company. We sort of hit it off, and I began shooting wedding ceremony’s regularly. This lead to over the next decade of literally thousands of weddings and half as many receptions. Obviously, the equipment got upgraded as digital photography improved greatly over the last 20 years…. however, I would say that it was those early days with those first generations of equipment, and early versions of software, that I sort of created a style that tended to stand out to people. Some loved it. Others thought it was to process. Again like any artistic journey, it is always evolving.
Most of the work I do is pretty straightforward, with an edge toward bold color and very vibrant images. However, sometimes I would get in a mood to explore other styles, and I suppose over time, if you really delve into my portfolio of thousands of weddings and family interactions… you will see a range of styles, and frankly, a cross-section of humans that I am really proud of. The interesting thing about having been so involved for that period in the Chapel world… i.e. mostly lower-end weddings… you see a range of clients you just would not get if you only shot hi-end.. Now that said… five years being in Florida now, I have marketed myself much more to the larger events, as (gotta make a living and pay the bills). Obviously, I am not real good at writing about myself, and I am even worse when it comes to spelling, etc. LOL, I communicate with people through my imagery… but hopefully, this will give you a little bit of a background of where I started and where my work is rooted from for should you decide to move forward with a write-up… it gives you a place perhaps to start?
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
NO… LOL, I suppose when your doing something you love, and like they say, some artists make great art, but they don’t know how to sell it. Struggles along the way from fast-changing equipment for better and better images and quality that commercial clients would need/want vs. paying the mortgage and at the time child support etc. Also, paving the way with a style that was not “like everybody else”. It was always a struggle in that in sometimes longer shoots… of course, most of the shoot was a pretty straightforward documentary-style, but then I would sometimes take a few of the images that I really liked and make them look like a movie poster or sometimes really push post-processing over the top to the point (now on some of them I look back and I’m almost embarrassed but at the time was a cool style… made an impact and the clients loved it) but my point being is sometimes people would only remember me or think of my work as “just those crazy images,” and not the more straight forward stuff, so again defining your style and finding your clients for your style and what you can do is always a challenge.
In 2018, two years after moving to central Florida, I had a major heart attack, followed by “quintuple bi-pass” surgery. At 56 yrs old at the time was sort of touch and go if I was going to make it. Then had a pacemaker put in later that year and the following year had a cardiac ablation to keep my heart beating right. Three years later I am doing pretty darn well by all the doctor’s accounts, but yeah… you want to talk about some struggles there.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Photographer… Love documentary-style work and shooting people. I suppose that’s why falling into the wedding business years ago was so compelling to me. I love using off-camera flash in almost all conditions, and like to best I can craft a scene whenever possible as opposed to like many (which there is nothing wrong with) simply being a “natural light shooter”… Again, I do that sometimes as well, and occasionally it’s requested, but my true love is being able to craft the light the way id like to see the images.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I spent the better part of the last 13 years marketing, shooting 95% of my weddings connected to my x girlfriend of that period’s chapel business. The volume was huge, so yes, I was very, very busy all the time being the primary shooter for all of them. Again I would not trade that experience or portfolio of a cross-section of people for anything. However, that very close association for so long… Most people who perhaps admired my work and style simply assumed that I did not shoot events “outside” of that/those venues, so it was always a pleasure when I would get calls, “Hey, love your work, but we’re not getting married at that venue… would you come, here, or there, etc. and then answer is “of course,” but it always did indeed suppress my marketing my brand and look… for myself, as oppose to frankly building her brand based on the look… (if that makes any sense).
I have a wonderful, talented daughter who has a day job career in her own right in the real estate world… however years and years ago, she took an interest in photography and started her shooting some chapel weddings way back and post her move from the Detroit area to central Florida as well… again outside of her day job, she has created a solid photography business of her own, and has developed a style of her own… that yeah… proud dad here. I couldn’t be more proud… (Paige Nicole Studio’s) Paige Gustafson.
Pricing:
- 300-3000 honest it so just depends on the event and time
Contact Info:
- Email: ChrisGusFL@gmail.com
- Website: chrisgustafsonphoto.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ckreationz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CgusPhoto
