Even he calls himself a hobbyist we are of the opinion, that Chris Harrison is a real photographer and, when it comes to street style, absolutely pure in his work. We love his work and therefor like to share some of his photos with you, that he has chosen out of his great collection, and give you some background about this amazing photographer with an interview.

Have you been involved in the arts in some form other than photography?
I am not actively involved in any other artform but photography. I do like to watch, listen and emotionally feel the work of all kinds of artists. I love music, in all its varieties, I also can enjoy an afternoon in an art museum, but most of all I like to watch what is going on around me, be it the wonders of nature or the unpredictable behaviour of people.

Seeing your remarkable work, I am curious where your creativity comes from?
I am a self-taught photographer. That means I had to learn everything from books, from the internet and from what I saw from other photographers. I still read a lot and I watch the work of other photographers. All those images I see create a melting pot of ideas in my head and then all of a sudden, there is this one thing that gives me an urge to do something with it. That thing could be a location, a colour, a type of lighting, a person (I love redheads), almost anything really. Lately, I have been working a lot in my new studio to search for its boundaries and limitations and see how far I can push things there and in there I often let the model be my inspiration. I have to admit that the better your work gets, the better the models get that would like to work with you and a lot of the momentary inspiration comes from the interaction with a good model.

Seeing your remarkable work, I am curious where your creativity comes from? 
Love Pinterest. I can’t get enough of it. Once I look over a few imagines that day my mind kicks into overdrive. At my age that takes a lot so kudos to Pinterest and the people posting. Funny thing is I spend hours going over what I want it to look like, feel like as well what will be accepted by a client or a team if I am doing TFP. Then comes shoot day and bam! Everything goes as faith will have it and I wind up creating the final imagines as the day dictates. Just one of those things, if something can go wrong it will. Yet at times it may quite possibly create something even better then planned if you just go with it and not fight it.

Could you share with us how you first became interested in photography? 
I have always loved seeing a woman show her own personal beauty through fashion and style. Over the years, I saw women fall out of this due to life issues or having the wrong people around them. Taking a picture of a woman who feels less about herself and then looking at one of my pics and seeing the smile on her face when she says " Is that me? Damn I look good" means everything. This holds true to today.

Do you see a particular influence, be it a photographer or school on your work?
Sean Archer. Love his work. His understanding of the form of a woman, limitations of his equipment and the use of light is above most. Someday I may get to be that good, some day.

What would you say characterizes your work in comparison to other photographers?
The constant use of flash. I see it all over people saying they are natural light photographers. Which is fantastic! But I just love the extra punch added to my shots with the right combination of ambient and flash. And if a light situation becomes not that of the norm, I can adapt accordingly.

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Among your works, which is your favorite and why? 
My most recent stuff. My equipment is more refined these days and what I am producing is created with more combined light use, incorporating ambient and flash to minimalize what is needed on location. Been experimenting more with creating my own actions and presets as well. Fun stuff!


Tell us your funniest or most awkward photography story. 
Recently we were shooting one of our model friends. Towards the end of the shoot, we decided to have her try on one of those roaring 20's dresses, with all the fringes hanging. When she came out she reminded me somewhat of Tina Turner and her Nice N Rough concert tour. The dress was so much like it. Out of the blue the model, who is a fantastic dancer began mimicking the whole dance move and started singing Proud Mary. Her hands going, grabbing a light stand for her mic, dress swinging, twirling and all. It was hysterical! Yes, I shot off a few stills even laughing hard.

After purchasing my first DSLR Camera, I started immediately studying photography techniques in any way possible: books, video tutorials, workshops, and working with photographers.
 
I started photographing landscapes, then I had some work-experience in any kind of genres: from portraits to reportage, from ADV’s to Sports (cars).
 
I later found myself more interested in the ‘’art of lighting’’ and in the portrait and fashion photography, which has quickly become my main genre I work with.
 
I’m using off-camera flash in my works for several years and I’m a huge fan of the Strobist techniques, which almost always use in my shoots to control and '' build '' my light and make the most of my subject’s lighting.
 
For me it is very important to seek a sort of ‘’connection’’ with the subject, to search for the most important thing: convey an emotion. That’s the most important thing in photography, and is that I always try to do.