Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Grier.
Hi Christian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I always loved Film and Photography ever since I was younger I looked at the way things were lit up in movies and pictures and always wondered how they made people look so beautiful with lights and colors or even the sun. I did some YouTube videos when I was in HS (which I’m embarrassed about now but I see now I always was creative). With me being at a performing arts school I had no choice but to be exposed to art in many different forms from rap, modeling, acting and even singing.
Fast forward to me getting out of the military and looking for my path I kept looking up cameras and looking at these music videos and wanting to create so bad— I caved in and bought my first camera last august. I got started doing Photography and Film last year and haven’t looked back since. Now I’m in school for this and I absolutely love it. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than creating.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. It’s been a struggle. I haven’t made MUCH money yet but that’s not entirely why I got into it. I also didn’t know how hard it was to find clients and especially your FIRST clients. I got blessed with my group of friends (The New Groove) because they let me take their pictures first and let me learn and build my confidence with them. I had countless people supporting me, but my biggest problem was my confidence. I was not confident in myself or my work. It took a lot of shooting on my own to build the confidence I have now.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in using color with my photos. I love color and it makes things stand out from your normal pictures. I love to see how different colors mix to give you a different mood and almost tell a story in each photo. I chose to use colors for multiple reasons but it TRULY makes me FEEL something when I see a picture with color. My favorite and most proud moment (and probably when I realized I’m really good at this) is when I did my Angel Photoshoot with my cousin. My assistant and I built the backdrop and then lit the backdrop and once my cousin got to us we then got to shooting. It was lovely and is still my favorite shoot.
How do you think about happiness?
Music MUSIC MUSSSICCC. I love music if you’ve ever heard The Heart Pt 2 by Kendrick Lamar in the intro the man says that if it wasn’t for music he’d kill himself. I understood that. Since I’ve been alive and some of my earliest memories were of me hearing music and listening and singing to it. Watching Mother and Grandmother sing Gospel songs and seeing my sister sing. I even sing in the church a little! My musical taste was also groomed more and more by the styles my friends would show me and eventually finding music like Nujabes and Lofi Hip Hop styles. I absolutely love music and it ties directly to my art. I can’t even edit without music going in the background!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ChristianGrier.CGP
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/christiangrier.cgp?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Image Credits:
All Shot by me Christian Grier
