Feature- Christopher Onstott

I reached out to Christopher Onstott of NashCo Photography in Portland and met up with him to do an interview. He has a background in working for newspapers and transitioned into more commercial work, particularly on location type jobs. I enjoy the humor in some of their photos so I was really excited to get to talk to him.

What made you want to pursue photography?

Basically I didn’t want a real job. I didn’t go to college until I was 24 and still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I had a friend working on the school newspaper who invited me to come shoot a game with him and I liked it and wanted to keep doing that.

What was your first job in photography?

I worked with newspapers for a long time. I started with my college newspaper and did a lot of shooting in sports. When I first moved to Portland I did some work with the Portland Tribune. Once newspapers started going downhill though, I realized I need to switch focus onto other things.

How did you narrow down what type of photography you wanted to do? Did you end up having a money making direction and stuff you set to the side as more personal work?

I’m not a sports fan, but I really enjoy shooting sports, how you have to anticipate what the athletes are going to do so you can be there and be ready. It’s not a great way to make money these days though so I had to steer away from that excitement and found interest in other things like portraits.

What are some of the biggest obstacles you face working as a photographer today?

Honestly, staying motivated. When you do freelance work, you have to do everything. Like right now I need to finish my taxes and I really don’t want to, but I have to. You also have to keep finding new ways of doing the same thing. You have to stay current and interesting taking the same kinds of photos because otherwise someone new is going to start getting your work. It can be a lot of pressure.

How much do you put your own personality into your work?

In every single photo. I really love adding my humor into what I do. It’s important to develop your own style. Some people say it takes 10 years to really develop it but I think mine is always evolving and that’s okay as long as it’s still yours.

Do you have any gear recommendations for someone just starting out?

I would say go ahead and buy used cameras. When the newest model is coming out and everyone is getting rid of the previous one, get that. It’ll still be a great camera and you’ll save a lot of money. If I could go back and do things over, I would have invested in good lights earlier. I wasted a lot of money on lights that didn’t do a great job and I had to keep replacing. I have some speed lights I probably spent 800 dollars on that I never use. I would invest in some Profoto B1s that you can take anywhere and you’ll be pretty set.

How do you usually use Photoshop?

I do use it, but not in many advanced ways. I do some skin retouching and then mostly focus on light and color. It’s important to understand how you can carve out an image with your blacks, whites, and grays. This is also where you can develop your own style.

What advice do you have for me?

When you’re in class, look around and think, I’m going to get better than every single one of these people in here. You need to work harder and stand out and then from there progress to a new group, and think again that you’re gonna get better than every single person. Keep upgrading your network and working 10% harder than everyone else and you’ll be successful.