I met Christine Day Lorico (known as curlytops in Deviantart and Tin to her loved ones) two years ago from a model who invited me to collaborate with her. When she gave me the address, I found out that Christine lives near me. Wow! Another photographer from the South. Normally, I expect photographers with that much of a fan base (she's got fans abroad too) to bring a whole entourage complete with lights and gear but when I got to the location, I saw a curly-haired girl wearing shorts, a tank top, flats, and carrying a camera bag. "Hi! I'm Christine!" she smiled her bedimpled smile and gave a firm handshake. I remembered her ModelMayhem profile and it read, "Don't expect a whole entourage when you meet me. It's just me and my camera!"
Simple and low-profile would definitely be the first impression when you look at her. She's also very charming and I have a private joke to her that she could charm her way out of a parking ticket or driving offense. At first, you wouldn't think that this petite girl could produce pictures that could wow. But she sure could! As Christine narrates:
"Photography started for me when i joined Deviantart to learn some digital art tutorials there and browse the galleries. I've always been drawn to art. I guess I ended up uploading some vacation photos and strangers gave encouraging comments. That's really how it started. A kind word from strangers," she told me.
Extraordinary talent never goes unnoticed. Christine used to keep a low profile just posting her works of art in her Deviant Art page featuring self-portraits or shots taken by her then semi-pro cam. Looks like the kind words from strangers did get her far. Christine started out shooting with a semi-pro camera first, because she thought photography would just be a hobby that would just pass by. But it was one talent and hobby that got her heart pumping and she started leveling up now to fashion photography.
Venturing to fashion photography was a result of Christine's own drive to pursue her career to better heights. "I got restless. lol. I always want to learn and absorb everything I can get when I get obsessed with something. the next step I guess was fashion. I've been collecting Vogue magazines since I was fourteen anyway so it's no wonder that I wanted to learn fashion photography." Her fashion photoblog, Wear Your Lipstick Right features her work on fashion portraiture, which separates her from the point-and-click machine guns. Christine truly imbibes art in her work. With her portraits and photographs, you think Christine has studied abroad through scholarships subjecting herself to intense photography bootcamp. However, Christine's talent is just as raw as the salad on my plate. She never went to photography school. Everything she learned was through experience. Her works remind most people of lomo and fisheye, but she didn't knew the terms until they told her.
Christine works best with natural light, as most of her photos show. She has graduated from a semipro to a Canon d10 and Canon 450d, and a reflector, "na ginagawa kong pamaypay sa shoots!" she would say with a laugh. Oh did I mention she's already playing with lights now? It looks like Christine is now finally serious about going through photography, learning the technical aspect of photography from established photographers who are also, fans of her work. She's open to new knowledge and techniques and even sees and looks forward to the day she would be finally stepping to photography school.
Christine narrates to me the sign that showed her that this is what she truly wants. Funny thing was it was the day her camera conked out.
"When my camera suddenly broke, [and] I felt antsy. I took it immediately to Canon that same day. I found out that that was the last day of my warranty. 'Somebody up there loves me' that's the only thing that went through my head because I had no clue about the warranty. Then out of the blue without pursuing it, I got signed by two agencies consecutively. It also helps that everyone that matters to me seems to believe in me and help me. "
And who doesn't love Christine right? Not only does she produce excellent photos, she's fun to be with. Shoots under intense heat or on the middle of nowhere are fun. Imagine just driving around BF and then seeing an empty lot. "Ayan!" No diva attitude as to the shoot location, Christine has shot in a posh condo unit, an abandoned old hotel, or the rooftop of her old office and the office itself and producing fantastic images each time. I remember our shoot in her old office in BF. I got there, did my makeup, changed to an outfit, and in an hour or so, we were done with five layouts. That with matching kwentuhan.
So what's next up for Christine? I've featured in my previous post Christine's next venture, which is prenuptials and wedddings, a niche that's very much in demand here in the Philippines and one niche that's close to Christine's heart. Being the girly-girl that she is, her love for chick flicks and cheesy romantics has reflected in her work behind the lens, writing love stories via digital imagery. Recently, she was the photographer for my Jhojho's prenup and for my own prenup, I booked Christine to do the shoot (more on that soon). Christine has recently created a new photoblog, Bubblegum and Kisses for her works with couples, children, and close friends and family as subjects.
She vies away from the usual pose-y poses and creates a story in each layout, making each picture truly romantic and unique
As of the moment, Christine enjoys what she currently does, and continues to work harder and leveling up being the best as what she could be. Does she see this as a forever thing? Christine smiles, "I learned to accept my unpredictable nature." Let's stay tuned as to what surprise this new talent has.
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