My friend, Chris of Elden Images

I have a very talented and intelligent friend named Chris. Several years ago, Chris wanted to add a new passion to his life, and he experimented with several different options before finding his new pursuit in photography.

We had a conversation about how to find a particular style that people would recognize as his own. I suggested to keep playing around with what he’s doing. When an artist keeps exploring techniques and subjects, a distinct style will eventually come around and stick. Now Chris does thematic portrait photography that look like dark classical paintings.

His girlfriend, Ryan, is the hair and make-up artist. Her role in the photoshoots cannot be underestimated, since she brings out the best features of every subject in Chris’s photography. Ryan is quite meticulous when it comes to her craft. (She also colored my hair purple a few months ago.) Together, Chris and Ryan make a good team for these photoshoots.

I brought whatever fancy dark clothes I had, and we mixed and matched pieces. In some of the shots, my hair was swept back, exposing my face more and accentuating the cheekbones. Here are five more photos that Chris has put finishing touches on.

To see more of Chris’s portrait photography, please follow @elden_images on Instagram. Ryan’s hair artistry can be found via @ryan_alexis_d.