“make something.”

Christopher Ray is a Filipino/Hispanic photographer and filmmaker based in Virginia.

His photo work explores the authentic documentation of people, and the relationship between environment and light.

His video work ranges from brand endorsement to music videos to documentaries, while his personal work explores transparency and humanity within the photographic space by utilizing relatable storytelling and a large dose of humor.

Selected Clients: SmallRig, Brevitē, Dehancer

 FAQs

 

  • This will usually depend on the kind of work you need, as well as the time required for me to travel, shoot, and edit. Contact me via the contact form and we can discuss pricing!

  • This will typically depend on the time required for me travel, transport gear, film, and edit. Contact me via the contact form along with your budget and we can discuss pricing!

  • I’m located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, but I’m willing to travel.

  • I wish! I have been working for a well-known tech company for the last 10 years and do photo and video work on the side.

  • Because I work full-time, my availability is limited unless prior notice is approved 4 weeks in advance. However, I am available every Monday and Tuesday!

  • I love to work with other creatives! Hit me up and let me know what you have in mind!

  • No.

    Because my focus for every photo shoot is capturing genuine emotion and interaction, you have my word that you will receive every photo that accurately tells your story, and that the photos I omit in delivery are either blurry, not exposed properly, or unflattering.

    Nobody wants photos of themselves with their hair looking a mess, blinking, or worse…boogers in their nose.

  • I shoot on a variety of cameras and choose accordingly for the task at hand, but Leica and Fuji are my cameras of choice.

    Digital: Fujifilm X-T4, Leica M10-R, Fujifilm X100V

    Film: Leica M6, Mamiya 7, Mamiya 645 Pro, Canon AE-1, Olympus OM-1

a bit more about me.

did you study photography?

Nope! I spent my life in fine arts all throughout grade school and the beginning of college, studying traditional 2D mediums like paint and color pencil. I found that a lifetime of practicing and executing the fundamentals of color, composition, etc. translated to photography pretty well.

so…when did you actually start photography?

I started dabbling in photography as a hobby in 2008 with an old deactivated iPhone (the first one!) and used apps like Hipstamatic to create images with a retro, polaroid look to them. This eventually led me to shooting film with a Diana Mini in 2012, though I only did that for about a year before my interest waned.

After several years of focusing on video work, I purchased a “real” camera in 2019 so that I could film and edit bigger projects with higher quality, and it was during the process of learning the camera that I fell in love with photography.

Here’s me, circa 2011 with that Diana Mini.

wait — you mentioned video. when did you start that?

My passion for video started in 2009 with making music videos…in my bedroom. In addition to photography, I’ve been playing music for most of my life! I started off with recording guitar and vocal covers with my webcam and phone (good ol’ 240p) and editing them in Windows Movie Maker.

As the years went on, these music videos got more complex and creative, and I really fell in love with the editing process — lighting, filming, cutting, and matching audio with a visual compliment. It wasn’t long before I started to notice a shift; the recording of the music was becoming a means to an end. I was enjoying the video editing process far more because it was where I got to see my vision come to life. I viewed the video timeline as a blank canvas, and every edit was paint being added to the finished piece.

The creation of these videos, along with a brief stint of editing video game reviews and highlight reels, is where I learned the ins and outs of my editing software and discovered a love for visual storytelling. This new passion for video made me realize that my artistic sensibilities extended beyond paper and pencil.

now video game reviews?! what is happening? who are you?!

Yes! When I wasn’t editing music videos, I spent a huge chunk of the 2010s working in the gaming space. I wrote blogs, contributed opinion pieces to gaming websites, and eventually co-owned an LLC/website dedicated to gaming news, reviews, etc.

This afforded me the opportunity to travel to gaming conventions, do press coverage, and eventually led me to Twitch, where I built a community and led a successful gaming channel for a few years.

Life is crazy.

is there anything else I should know?

  • My first “real” camera was a Canon T6. My coworker graciously gave it to me during a very low point in my life and I can’t thank him enough for putting me on this path.

  • I currently shoot on Leica and Fujifilm cameras, but I believe good photos can be made on anything — even your phone. (And believe it or not, but some of the work on this very site was shot on a phone. Would you have known?)

  • My favorite photographers are Vivian Maier, Saul Leiter, Garry Winogrand, Fred Herzog, and Joel Meyerowitz. Some modern favorites would be Faizal Westcott and Joe Greer. I can honestly say I take influence from just about all of them.

  • When I’m not behind a camera or a computer, I love to workout, play video games, read, and hangout with my girlfriend and our two dogs, Pippin and Merri. (Yes, that’s a Lord of the Rings reference.)

  • My favorite game is The Last of Us. I’ve been a diehard fan since 2013 and I’ve amassed a decent collection of memorabilia and artwork since then. Other than photography books, it’s probably the only thing I actually collect.

  • My favorite movie is Pulp Fiction, and I can shamelessly quote the entire movie.

  • If I could photograph anywhere in the world, it would be in two places: Italy and India.

  • If I think of more, I’ll add it!