Chris Santi was born and raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. A self proclaimed "computer geek" since the age of 18, now 33, Chris has grown his self taught hobby of photography into a passion for the art. Along with his brilliant eye for photography, Chris is also an amazing self taught Photoshop wizard with a keen eye for design. He is currently a co-founder at AllStarzz.com, a hybrid event promotions company, specializing in Glamour modeling and photography where he has been building the Web prescense, marketing/promotions, as well as refining the business model for the company. Teaming up with his two partners, both top photographers in the industry, AllStarzz.com is the apex for obtaining amazing photographs for commercial work. With their industry network reach, the AllStarzz events are a huge step into getting your photos in front of the people that really matter, not just other "Co-workers".
He has photographed over 100 models from around the world including "on-location" shoots in the Bahamas, Jamaica, California, and Florida. He has been printed in Ultimate MMA , TeaseUm Bikini's 2010 Calendar, Krown Magazine, Moves Magazine, and has appeared in a number of online magazines. Some of the models he has shot: Playboys Models: Angela Sommers, Amber St. James, Sydney Barlette, Dylan James, Brandi Corbin. Some others are Fetish model Randy Moore, Kari Nautique, Trish Danieli, Danielle Lipski, just to name a few.
In addition to his model list, Chris has also work along some of the top glamour photographers in the country learning their tips and tricks. "Spending many weeks learning from some of the best photographers in the industry does tremendous things for your work. Being able to retain that knowledge is the key." Some of those photographers have been: Todd Plinke, Mark Mozzier, and Matthew Cousins. "I actually roomed with Matthew for some time and learned a shit ton from that old guy !
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His design expertise has allowed him to create TeaseUm Bikini's 2009 & 2010 Swimsuit Calendars, Numerous business cards, logos, event flyers, and websites.
As the recent CIO of TeaseUm Bikini, Chris' passion for the industry has been an eye opening one. His recent separation with the company has allowed him to see a need for structure in the industry. He's determined to make modeling & photography affordable, fun, safe, and lucrative for everyone involved in the business.
His thoughts:
"If you have the drive and passion for your modeling or photography and you wish to be treated respectfully, then that's what I want for everyone else. Why can't we all be professionals in this industry, pay the model, pay the photographer, that way everyone is happy. The commonality is simple. Great photographers = Great Photographs. Great Models = Great Promotions. Great Promotions = Great Revenue. Great Revenue = Happy Photographer & Models. Now here's the catch, you could have a great photographer, but if he's an asshole and pisses off the model, how does he get a great photograph? That makes for Bad Promotions which equal Bad Revenue, and it goes down the line. Bottom line is, we are our own business within an industry. No one tells us how to run it, we just do. But just like car mechanics, you're gonna have a few bad ones. No one regulates that. Now how does the customer (the model) know if this mechanic is ASE certified? She doesn't. This guy could have ulterior motives or just wants to jerk off to the pictures he took. That's not fair to the model. It's a waste of everyone's time...well except the guy jerkin off.. but do you see what I mean? No regulation is bad for business. We need to take it upon ourselves to uphold that level of professionalism that makes or breaks Great Photographers. Dudes make up probably 90-95% of the industry photographers, you may be great, but if you're a creep or give off bad energy, you probably should find another occupation, seriously. Then there's what we call, GWC's. These are "Guys With Cameras." They are essentially the wolf on the hunt for the sheep, preying on unknowing models who are still naive to the industry. Who knows what their motives are and, personally, I don't care. All I know is that they have a camera and usually a slick tongue and make you believe they are someone they are not. Sometimes there's a fine line between hobbyist and GWC. You can usually tell a GWC within the first 10 minutes of meeting them. They want to get you naked, ask you out, whatever it is they give off that creepy vibe and energy odds are they're a GWC. But if they actually collaborate with you and show an genuine interest in the ART you two are creating, then odds are he's just a guy with a camera trying to make something with something he loves to do. I was that guy once. "
Chris recently moved to Southern California and works out of his 4 bedroom house.
If you're looking to hire Chris for Photography or Design, please email him: Chris@ChrisSanti.com
Chris' work can be found at his website:
http://www.ChrisSanti.com/
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