“Acting should be bigger than life. Scripts should be bigger than life. It should all be bigger than life.” – Bette Davis

Right off our first meeting, you can tell that he is bigger than life.

Christian Rey is a performer and entertainer that has graced the stages of Asia, the United States and Europe. But its been awhile since he’s rendered a performance on native soil. And so when he asked me to photograph him to update his portfolio, I just knew that he would be a wonderful subject. The man can emote.

The great thing about performers, is that they are so comfortable in front of the camera. They take directions well if not that they don’t need it at all. Explain the vision of the shot you have in your head, and without a doubt, they’ll nail it.

So on top of the portraits that he asked me to do for him, I told him that I wanted him to give me exaggerated expressions from happy, to sad, to angry, and bashful. Without telling him  exactly what it was I was going to do with these particular shots, he trusted me and just went along with it.

And as fast as I was pressing the shutter, I found it extremely impressive that he could switch gears on his emotions in a split second. An absolute professional. Though some people might think he’s crazy, but between two artistic people inspired by each other’s creative energy, to me he is a genius.

On the day I submitted his portraits, I did a lay-out of the photos and used it for his very own photography post card with all his details below it.

A couple of months later, he said he snagged the role of Ravana in Ballet Philippines’ re-staging of Rama Hari at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Knowing that in a few weeks he would be busy getting ready to move to Manila, I asked him to pose for me and he so willingly obliged. It was definitely a treat for me. By this time we have become good friends. The shoot certainly felt like a play date full of fun, laughter and chuckles. But I was glad to have somewhat directed him on my own little stage, that is, before he steps into the real one.