Chris Ortiz
Documentary, Environmental Portraiture, Concert Photography, College Professor
MFA
I picked up a camera at six years old and never really put it down. What started with my step-father teaching me the basics grew into a lifelong obsession that eventually took me through ceramics, printmaking, painting, and a Bachelor's in Art History at Baker University — before landing me, somewhat inevitably, in the photography program at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I completed my MFA in 2017.
My work lives at the intersection of music and documentary photography. I shoot the people who make the music and the people who need it — both sides of the same story, in digital and medium format black and white film. Projects like Living with Sam — a documentary body of work on Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD — and the ongoing punk rock documentary We Are All We Have Tonight reflect a consistent belief: that a photograph earns its keep when it tells the truth about someone's life.
Based in Arizona. Still developing film. Always looking for the shot nobody else waited around for.
