Christopher
Shadix
The Brief
"Shoot me like I'm in a lookbook for a brand that doesn't do obvious."
Christopher Shadix — Creative Director across design systems, brand, UX, and digital. Long medium-brown hair, warm-neutral skin, dark brown eyes, tortoise prescription frames. Auto_nerd.
Gay corporate unicorn. Acne Studios meets Maison Margiela. Intelligent without being cold. Stylish without being costumed. Cars are characters too.
Pink-purple color casts in shadows and backgrounds. Warm earthy midtones on subject — cognac, forest, plum, camel. Skin tones protected and warm throughout.
Not a headshot. Not LinkedIn. No ring light. No stark white. No bookshelves. No forced smiling. No silver jewelry. No short or slicked hair.
Visual References
Your Colors
Light-medium warm-neutral skin. Medium warm-brown hair, chin-to-shoulder, natural wave. Dark brown eyes.
No stark white — use cream. No jet black — use charcoal. No cool pastels. No silver.
Coloring sits in the warm-neutral zone — golden-beige skin in good light, hair that goes amber in sun. If it looks earthy, rich, or autumn-toned, it works.
Avoid anything too cool or pale near the face. Forest green, deep teal, oxblood, and warm plum are the power zone.
The pink-purple grade lives in shadow space, while skin and clothing anchor the warm midtones. The contrast is the point.
Metals: Gold, brass, bronze only — never silver.
Looks
- Black longline double-breasted coat
- Charcoal or cream-stripe shirt
- Dark wide-leg trousers
- Black leather shoes
- Gold watch
- Camel wool overcoat
- Forest green chunky turtleneck
- Chocolate wide-leg trousers
- Cognac leather boot
- Gold watch visible
- Oxblood rib-knit sweater
- Black wide-leg trousers
- Black longline coat open over
- Black leather oxford
- Dark indigo denim jacket
- Cream off-white tee
- Black wide-leg trousers
- Black leather boots
- Mustard oversized cardigan
- Cream shirt underneath
- Chocolate corduroy wide-legs
- Tobacco suede boots
- Cream tee (NOT stark white)
- Dark wide-leg jeans
- Barefoot or suede
- Glasses on
Color & Grade Direction
Two zones: background and shadow pulls cool-purple (plum, lavender, mauve), while subject midtones stay warm and earthy. Skin becomes the warmest thing in frame.
Avoid fully desaturated or teal-shifted grades. Intimate and rich — like a Campari ad shot by someone who only listens to The xx.
B&W: warm tone curve. Mauve split tone — shadows warm purple, highlights near-neutral cream.
Lighting Direction
Do & Don't
- Slightly bored not disengaged — there's a difference and it reads on camera
- Hands relaxed — pockets, at side, on a surface, forearm forward on knee
- Let clothes do structural work — you wear them, they don't wear you
- Eyes at or just past lens — psychological presence
- Long hair natural and slightly undone throughout every shot
- Glasses stay on in every shot
- Warm metals visible — gold watch, brass ring if worn
- Cars as characters — interact, don't just stand near them
- No smiling — not hostile, just not performing approachability
- No crossed arms "I'm a creative" power pose
- No looking at phone thoughtfully
- No laptops, Moleskines, coffee cups in frame
- No WeWork, no coffee shop, no exposed brick
- No stark white near the face — cream only
- No silver jewelry — warm metals only
- No short, slicked, or undercut hair
Retouching
Even tone only — no smoothing. Retain beard texture, pores, lines. Protect warm-neutral undertone.
Subtle clarity only. Don't over-brighten. The slightly heavy-lidded quality is on-brand.
Clean seamless scuffs. Push toward warm plum-mauve in post — actively encouraged.
Shadows: warm purple-plum. Midtones: protect warm skin and earthy clothing. Highlights: desaturate slightly.
No reshaping. None. The clothes do proportional work intentionally — trust the silhouette.
Full res TIFFs + web-optimized JPEGs. Color + optional B&W warm split tone. No watermarks.
for a brand that doesn't do obvious."