Everything I Do is Self-Taught

Featuring Chrisean Rose Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski

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Born and raised on Exuma island in the Bahamas by his grandparents, who valued self-development and hard work, Chrisean was taught to dream big while having both feet on the ground. Polishing his skills both in-studio and outdoors photography, he learned to build a story at any location. His work is versatile from saturated colors to minimalism, from portraits to magazine shoots and fashion campaigns. Chrisean is styling most of the personal projects, bringing an additional touch and perspective to the end result.

Chrisean tells us about the prominence of understanding how your work is differentiated from other artists while learning to communicate your vision to distinct types of clients in a way that will maintain their branding. Chrisean is an artist and a businessman with work ethics and values instilled by his grandparents. He is an achiever and a self-made professional who has developed a business model working in two major cities on personal, commercial, and fashion shoots. Chrisean shares some valuable tips with the starting out photographers and tells a story of one of the most challenging shoots, which led to impressive results.

Chrisean Rose is a photographer based in Atlanta, and working between Atlanta and New York. Christean owns a studio in the westside Atlanta, which can be rented as a creative space for shooting days. He believes in working with the same team of professionals on his personal projects, which enables smoother processes and lets the work tick.

‘I am someone who likes structure and spends a great deal of time planning my projects. My initial inspirations are usually triggered by nature, a single piece of garment, or the model’

Hi Chrisean, so happy to speak with you! How is it going?

Thank you for having me. Not sure if I should give you the real answer or the generic answer. Haha. I am doing well. Overworked, but well nonetheless.

You have opened a studio this year, another milestone reached. Let’s speak about Atlanta, Georgia, and the creative scene in the city. Do you meet more photographers because of the new space you offer?

Thank you, thank you! Yes, Atlanta is like a hub for many talented creatives. It is the capital of the south and is so rich in culture, and that reflects in the art here. Opening up my space and making it available to other creatives, on the days I am not working, has exposed me to so many amazing photographers, stylists, artists & musicians. I would have never met these creatives had I not opened the space. So yes, most definitely. 

Walk us through the creative process, the technicalities of building a moodboard, and gathering the right team for the project.

My process is pretty much the same each time. I am someone who likes structure and spends a great deal of time planning my projects. My initial inspirations are usually triggered by nature, a single piece of garment, or the model. Once I have a general idea of the mood I want to accomplish, I search for images with similar styling, emotion, and setting to create a moodboard. I have to admit, though, that I am a slacker with creating moodboards. Moodboards are great because it helps the team with the direction, however, I play so many roles with my shoots, it’s usually just my makeup artist, my assistant, and myself. Unlike other photographers, I don’t like big teams. I try to keep my team as small as possible, and I use the same people on all my projects. I also style and creative direct 99% of my projects outside of big jobs. So I often go into the shoot without a moodboard because I know in my head what I want the outcome to be like.

What do you think is the most important step in building a career as a photographer and closing a first commercial project. What was your story, and how would you encourage the emerging professional? 

The most important step is knowing who you are as an artist and the clientele you want to target. I can’t stress that enough to new photographers. You want your work to be versatile but also have your work look like the clients you want to attract. 

From the very beginning 7 years ago, I knew what I wanted to shoot, and I’ve maintained that. Over time, however, I’ve created different books, targeted to different types of clients. I have password-protected websites with work that I don’t want public, but it’s available to show commercial clients when pitching for a job.

When comparing the vibes and opportunities in Atlanta and New York, how would you differentiate the cities from your perspective?

While there were more opportunities for my style of work in New York, I’ve made more money in Atlanta from photography. There are big commercial clients here in Atlanta, and the opportunities to be a working photographer are vast because the market isn’t as saturated as New York. Like I stated previously, I’ve had to expand my work and created another book that was less fashion editorial and more commercial. Once I did that, it was easy for me to get up and work. 

I bounce between the 2 cities for different opportunities. I keep busy in Atlanta with e-com and commercial work, but Atlanta isn’t a fashion market, so the resources to shoot editorials here are slim. So, I often return to New York whenever I have an opportunity for a fashion story.

Could you suggest a film, a series, or a book about photography that was eye-opening or inspiring to you? 

You know I was going to google some books and make up a response to this question. Shamelessly lol. But I’ll be lying if I said I’ve ever read or watched anything pertaining to photography. I don’t want my work to be technical. I’m not traditionally trained, and I consider myself an artist before a photographer. I actually started off as a painter, then a stylist prior to becoming a photographer. Everything I do is self-taught. 

‘From the age of about 8 years old, I would wonder the sea in the back of my childhood home. When the tide goes down, the entire sea is so low that you can walk miles and miles’

Shooting in the studio when you have the most control over the set design, the light, and the atmosphere is very different from shooting outdoors. Working outside can be challenging in terms of the unexpected changes in weather, people (busy with their things), etc. What do you love about shooting in the studio, and what are you excited about while shooting outdoors?

I definitely like having the control that comes with shooting in studio. Being able to determine my lighting, and the ease of mind not having uncontrollable variables like the weather and distractions from crowds are all pluses with a studio setting. 

The things I like about outdoor shooting is just the opposite. I absolutely love natural light. I like my images to look true to the eye and realistic looking and I feel I achieve that most in natural light. I also love the mystery about shooting outdoors paired with shooting analog. I actually just recently started shooting full editorials in studio. I’ve always liked mixing indoors/outdoors shots in my personal work.

What are the brightest memories you have from your childhood, the neighborhood, or the hobbies you had at the time?

I am a West Indian. I was raised on a small island in the Bahamas called Exuma. From the age of about 8 years old, I would wonder the sea in the back of my childhood home. When the tide goes down, the entire sea is so low that you can walk miles and miles. This one time, I recalled staying out too late and almost got stuck out in the sea because the water level had risen above my head. Luckily I knew how to swim and was able to swim home. Lol. It’s crazy that I had that much courage to do things like that at that age. I definitely wouldn’t have my child wandering the sea at 8 years old, and I wouldn’t even do that today as an adult.

How do you think your family’s values and beliefs shaped you as a human being, a grown-up? 

I was raised by my grandparents, who were super religious. They never forced religion on me, but growing up in that household definitely straightened my moral compass. My grandparents were also very hardworking. We had multiple family businesses, and my grandparents both had jobs apart from businesses. So seeing their hard work encouraged me to be an overachiever myself. I have a degree in finance and work as an analyst at a bank apart from my business and photography career, and I think I got that drive from them.

What was the most challenging photoshoot you had been on? How did you make things work out to reach your initial vision for the project?

The most challenging shoot I’ve had so far was a lake shoot. (One of the photos included in this interview). The shoot was supposed to be at sunset with a red gel light, but we arrived too late. We had to drag so many equipment, including a generator, to get to this location, but it was too dark. I was shooting film and wasn’t able to focus, so many of the images were out of focus. There were so many things wrong with this shoot. It was also very cold, and there were plenty of bugs, and the model broke out in hives. You couldn’t see the lake in any of the shots, and everything looked dark. 

In the end, I wasn’t able to save the shoot because everything was too far out of my control. We had a budget of $2500 that was a complete waste because we only got a couple of usable shots.

What’s next? Do you have a New Year’s Resolution ready?

What's next... well, I’m just striving to take my art to the next level. I am really close to signing with an agency and really hoping that this will be the push I need. My New Year's resolution is to shoot more and keep expanding my book.