Name: Chris Pig
Current cameras: Hasselblad X1D 50c, Leica SL2, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 5DS, Fujifilm 645 and Leica IIIc
Favourite type of photography: Portraiture and landscape
Website: www.chrispigphotography.com
Instagram: @chrispigphotography
Location: London, UK
I grew up around cameras because my auntie worked in a Kodak shop. From an early age, I was fascinated by the fact that a picture captures a memory that does not have to be described by the person who experienced it, if that makes sense. A photograph is a split second in time frozen forever, unless it was a long exposure photograph, of course!
I am completely self-taught. Later in life, in my fifties, I attended adult education classes to make sure I was not missing anything. They were a great introduction to the work of other photographers, which I had completely ignored until then.
I must have been six or seven years old. My auntie, who worked for Kodak and always had a camera around her neck, must have noticed how I looked at the wonderful machine she was holding, a 35mm Ferrania.
She gave it to me and asked me to frame any subject through the viewfinder and, with the steadiest hand I could manage, click the shutter. I took a picture of my cat and was hooked on photography when she brought back a print a few weeks later. I can still feel how happy I was!
First of all, I love the cameras I use, especially film cameras. They are amazing pieces of engineering. I get so much pleasure from buying another one, reading the manual, polishing the camera and studying it.
That is about the camera as a machine, but photography is also an amazing medium that allows me to tackle and highlight issues that are very important to me.
Some of my photographs are staged, and creating the set, sourcing the props and finding the clothes gives me a lot of pleasure. I am an avid collector of clothes and also have a background in fashion.
I wish I had learned more about other photographers and technical subjects such as studio lighting.
It’s definitely my studio, otherwise known as my living room with all the furniture pushed to one side!
Not really.
I try to get everything right in camera as much as possible. With digital photography, that is quite easily achieved for obvious reasons.
The only post-production work I usually do in Photoshop is cropping and occasionally adjusting the levels.
I also use a digital camera converted to 590nm infrared. With this type of photography, I do a little more processing, such as swapping the blue and red channels in Photoshop.
I know prime lenses are often preferred, but I love my zoom lenses!
My trusted Manfrotto tripod. It is so heavy that it doubles as a portable gym!
I wish I could say yes, but I have not found it yet. I am not keen on rucksacks and prefer shoulder bags because I don’t do much outdoor nature or landscape photography.
During the Covid lockdown, I started a project called Isolation Portraits. Halfway through it, I learned about an amazing photographer called Samuel Fosso, whom I had never heard of before.
To my surprise and disbelief, we seemed to be seeing the world through the lens in almost the same way. Obviously, he did not inspire the project because I did not know about him when I began it!
My main inspiration comes from the golden age of Hollywood cinema.
I feel as though all my photography-related wishes have come true, but I never know what is around the corner!
Read: Creative Photography: What It Is and How to Get Started
Not really.
After I learned about Samuel Fosso, I took a self-portrait in homage to him. A few years later, I heard that he was giving a talk at a gallery. I attended dressed in the same outfit that I had worn in my portrait. I met Mr Fosso, had a picture taken with him and gave him a print of my homage portrait. We are still friends and exchange messages regularly!
I wish I could be invisible. That would produce excellent results for candid street photography!
Listen to or Watch the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast
I might sound strange, but I don’t like sweets or cakes!
I am Italian, but I’ve been based in London since the early 1990s.
Growing up around cameras had a profound effect on me and helped shape my love of using photography to create stylish, expressive work.
I am slightly shy and a little introverted, so I often rely on photographs to express my opinions and frustrations. I have a tongue-in-cheek approach to life and can often diffuse a heated situation with a smile or a joke. A good sense of humour is very important to me.
I am influenced by films from the 1940s and 1950s and by Hollywood’s golden age, with its beautiful costumes and iconic divas.
With a background in fashion and tailoring, I make many of my costumes myself and source the vintage clothing and props used in my photographs.
My images are heavily staged, usually very colourful and full of props, with a strong vintage feel. At times, my work reveals a darker side of emotion and personality.
My photographs tackle issues that are personal to me and close to my heart, including homophobia, bullying, greed, money, politics, the environment and poverty, as well as anything that limits another person’s freedom.
I see photography as a powerful and important tool. As an artist, I believe I have a duty to use it to raise awareness of social issues.
