Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Lindsay.
Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I became a photographer on accident instead of with an idea this could be a fun business venture. In other words I became a photographer due to a never-ending curiosity of life, love of the world/its many beauties and coming from a big family with a loving mother that perpetually had a camera in her hand saying, “hold on so I can get a photo to remember the moment.”
My mother instilled in my siblings and I the importance of celebrating life daily. She emphasized taking note of something that may be taken for granted (often to the annoyance of my siblings & I who like many children assumed knew more than our parent) but actually is a “once in a lifetime moment.” This love of life my mother embodied and vicariously shared with us molded me to also see ephemeral nature that no two instances are the same, each moment is unique and worthy of being noted bc if they aren’t recorded they will fade and with time maybe forgotten.
Thus I have always loved capturing moments. Many times while out with friends I’ll hear my mother’s voice asking, “did you get a picture,” which turned into a habit of being an unofficial chronicler for first my family, later my friends and eventually after many years the general public under the name Chris Lindsay Photography.
I believe photography is all about story telling and my clients are the focus.
You aren’t simply capturing a moment, but you’re telling a story and the better you plan your shoots the more immersive a story can be relived once the time comes to review it, but it isn’t just about the angle of the camera or the location. The most important component is the subject and their presence, connection and ease while we work with them. This is why I start photography sessions the same way I do any conversation with, “hi, how are you and how’s your day been,” in order to see where my client’s mind is at and to center us both on the moment ahead. When we do a session with a client it isn’t a photo shoot, rather the client is our primary hero reminiscent of the verbiage used on a film set. Our goal is to showcase their life, their moment and of course their best angles.
They are our rockstars, the center of attention and at the same time whatever they want us to ensure they come off as ie a proud mother to a new born, a husband and wife newly married with the hope & promise of the future ahead of them or a graduate ready to be the change. We want to give our audience (whomever will see the photos) something that is aspirational. They should want to achieve the same, feel it and experience it with them.
This emphasis on story telling came from my professional background as an actor, something I still am involved with today. I originally came to Orlando to work with the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre where I’ve done several plays both classical and contemporary. The most recent being Lord Talbot in Henry 6th. I also work as a lead actor at Disney, Universal Studios and do tv & film (I’m the lead male Chuck in the series “The Advocate.” We are shooting our second season this summer & my most recent feature was “Cash Out,” opposite John Travolta, as Commander Cyrus fyi).
I have been involved in the theater, film & tv and enjoyed learning about story telling & how to focus an audience attention to what you think is the most beneficial for their visual journey. Listening to past directors philosophy of how to “capture a scene,” and that (per their understandings) people don’t remember plays, musicals or movies in their entirety, but transformative moments frozen in time almost like a postcard to simplify a experience like a picture. Think of the moment at the end of a big musical number where there is a large tada end where the audience is given a moment to realize the song has ended and they may clap.
That is a moment that typically tells a story and gives an impose of “what a great show, experience,” and because of the way it’s blocked made extra easy to remember like a grand painting. With photography we don’t necessarily block out our clients but it is our goal to anticipate these tada moments whether right before a hug, the moment before a speech is given when you can see the emotion in someone’s eye welling up or the excitement of a crowd cheering on their friend, family member or coworker. All of these moments are praiseworthy tadas and the way we shoot is to look for them before they happen so we can block out our clients in the best framing, light and angle possible.
Fast forward to today my company is doing quite well as we sometimes do 3 weddings in one day. One particularly busy weekend was last January where we ended up having 3 8Hr weddings the first a catholic wedding in Altamonte, the next a muslim wedding in Downtown Orlando and lastly a nondenominational wedding in Lakeland all in the same day.
Needless to say my company has grown out from just myself and one camera to may other photographers, videographers and drone pilots that work along side with me or I hire out once they have passed a certain amount of training in order to acclimate them to my work philosophy and style. I never thought that I’d have a company that was photography based, but looking back it seems like I should’ve done it much sooner considering how much I enjoy it.
The phrase, “you’ll never work a day in your life if you love what you do comes to mind.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been smooth, but it has been enlightening in countless ways.
Again I didn’t start out to do photography as a business, rather I fell into it. I used to host abroad which kept me traveling 9.5 months a year and while abroad I’d routinely take photos of the many destinations I visited which started a small following from friends and family. Of course that didn’t make me think “I’m great at this,” as much as people in my circle are entertained.
Eventually it became a part of my identity and once I got into videography things transitioned from a free-time hobby into something that would change my outlook on what i do as a possible career.
A lifetime opportunity soon presented itself when my little brother was getting married and they didn’t have a videographer being a young military couple. Upon hearing this I decided I would do the videography for them. They didn’t ask for this but I thought to myself who wouldn’t want to relive this moment, hear private messages from their guest & since I’m equipped why not just make this their wedding gift? The rest is history from there.
Once it was finished I presented them a 3 Day 1.5hr feature film. Before delivering the film I immersed myself into how to map out a once-in-a-lifetime-event that spanned 3 days. I needed to understand how to make transitions make sense, when to cut off dialogue vs when to allow it, how to include countless guest, the ambiance that would establish the day, time, weather, music and more. It was nothing short of a self-taught master class for months as I knew what I wanted the finished project to be while understanding my limits till I could learn how to execute them.
This was the first time I had ever attempted such a large project & it took months before I was willing to share it but once I did I can honestly say it was beautiful and special to not only watch my brother and sister-in-law relive their wedding but also witness their reactions in real time.
Seeing the joy on their faces as they were able to observe one of the biggest days of their lives was nothing short of magical and a worthy payoff. This project reaffirmed in real-time the importance of documenting moments, asking questions and letting those that aren’t necessarily the center of attention or focus of the day give their insight as one of the biggest take aways was hearing personal messages to my sibling from the many friends and family that were in attendance. This became even more poignant as time passed and some of the messages from the elders became eternal well wishes. Messages their unborn grandchildren could one day watch seeing and hearing from the family they were never able to hug yet able to see them speaking from beyond.
Doing this for my family was a big deal, but it wasn’t “work” as far as I was concerned. Little did I know by trying this one day I would be able to apply these same techniques into my business years later.
All that to say learning how to do videography and photography has had a lot of trial and error mixed with ceasing opportunities when they present themselves. When I first started doing photography with a quality camera I asked my friends and family to pose for me for portraits. I spent a great deal of time creating a portfolio before I ever imagined charging someone. As a matter of fact the first few times I was offered pay I refused because in my eyes “I wasn’t ready to open up shop just yet.”
Sometimes we ourselves can be what holds us back most, but I didn’t start the process of learning photography with the idea that I wouldn’t actually learn it, rather what I wanted was to have a legit vision, style, portfolio, website, gear, etc. Accumulating these took time but I knew it’d be worth the wait.
Being asked to speak on my journey for you at this junction in life makes it pretty relevant that the time to “open shop,” a work with the public happened and it’s going well. Since I began I have had the pleasure of working with large corporations, fortune 500 executives, ceos, politicians, private citizens, college graduates, new borns and I’m happy to see/say it was worth trusting the process, learning what I needed and has all paid off in the end.
As you know, we’re big fans of Chris Lindsay Photography . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a minority owned business that specializes in photography, videography and drones with about 10 associates that work with me depending on the size/scope of the project. I would say our focus on connecting with our clients, celebrating them and ensuring their vision in regards to whatever achievement we’ve been tasked to capture is brought to fruition.
I am very proud that we are able to inhabit an industry that specializes in once in a lifetime moments as if normal. Every day, every session we are blessed to share with a client is special and it is my hope that our clients understand we take their time serious and the uniqueness of capturing their event with utmost care is vital to us.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love orlando (the City beautiful) because it is a true melting pot. As I spoke to earlier this is a great place to become immersed in different cultures, people and life. When we did a catholic wedding, a muslim wedding and a nondenominational wedding in one day it was a testament to the rich quality of life, community and opportunity orlando has.
Being at Bengali celebrations one moment, Vietnamese fashions shows the next, Brazilian baptisms on a weekday and later a family reunion in a 5 story mansion complete with a lazy river in reunion is a festive schedule to keep that some would think not possible, but here in orlando that is our norm and we love it!
Pricing:
- Unlimited Portrait Session $200
- Family Session $300
- Photo only Wedding $1,600
- Photo & Video Wedding $2,200
- 2 Photographer, 2 Videographer, Drone package, Magic Mirror, Feature Film Package 8 Hr wedding $5,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ChrisLindsayPhotography.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrislindsayphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrislindsayphotography
