Her Excellence — Bby Chris

BBY CHRIS is the epitome of effortless. From photographing the coolest content to editing and directing videos, she truly is excellent. In our candid interview, we talk about her start and the challenges she faced in order to thrive in Toronto’s creative industry.

CHELLY IN THE CITY: For those who don’t know, who is BBY Chris? Where did the name originate from?

BBY CHRIS: BBY CHRIS is a multi-hyphenate creative. I am a photographer, videographer, a producer, a director, director first and foremost. The name BBY CHRIS actually came about as I am always the youngest. My birthday is the last month of the year, I’m the youngest out of all of my friends, I’m the youngest out of all my siblings, and I just always tend to be the baby. Everyone calls me a baby and my name’s Chris, so BBY Chris is just fitting.

CITC: Tell me about the moment you realized photography/videography was your thing and that you wanted to take it more seriously.

BC: I think it was my first year of university, actually, the summer going into university. I had just got a brand new computer and started editing. I actually started off as an editor, so I got an opportunity to shoot a concert for Tory Lanez. I was at that concert, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, I was so nervous! I was on stage and all of my photos turned out terrible. They turned out completely terrible and I think I totally blew that whole opportunity. I think that’s when I realized I wanted to be better, to be the best, and I wanted to really take what I was doing and take it to the next level.

❝ I totally blew that whole opportunity. I think that’s when I realized I wanted to be better, to be the best, and I wanted to really take what I was doing and take it to the next level. ❞

CITC: You make what you do look effortless. Can you share what actually goes on behind the scenes of your production process?

BC: I feel like effortless is such a fake thing. I think a lot of people especially in this day and age with social media, we all kind of see the end result. A lot of people will miss out on the process and we miss out on the sleepless nights, and the nights spent editing, the nights spent going over things, doubting yourself, thinking things don’t look good enough, going back between editors, going back between getting approval on certain things, and I think that’s what goes on behind the scenes.

I think we’re all instant gratification based and we all really like to see the end result, but what really goes on behind the scenes isn’t pretty. It’s not pretty. It’s a lot of no makeup, no lashes, and me behind a computer looking like I haven’t slept for days. It’s a lot of hoping that when I put something out into the world, the universe, that it’s received as well as much as the work I’ve put in.

❝ What really goes on behind the scenes isn’t pretty. It’s not pretty. It’s a lot of no makeup, no lashes, and me behind a computer looking like I haven’t slept for days. It’s a lot of hoping that when I put something out into the world, the universe, that it’s received as well as much as the work I’ve put in. ❞

CITC: Was there ever a time you thought about quitting? If so, what did you do to keep going?

BC: Like last week, I mean it doesn’t get easier, I feel like especially with freelancing. It’s very up and down, and in the air everyday.

I never know when my next job will be, really and truly. I create a lot of my own opportunities and I kind of just wait for my email to go off. That’s something people don’t know. People think I’m really rich, I do this everyday, and I don’t. It’s a lot of me putting things into the world and hoping somebody else will see the value in it and hire me.

So when I feel like quitting, I know that my purpose and what I’m here to do is so much bigger than just taking pictures or making someone’s music video look really cool. It’s more about me putting my energy into those spaces and allowing myself to be a light in those spaces, allowing myself to be different, allowing myself to be me. I feel like this has given me a lot of freedom, and a lot of confidence. Even though it’s been tough and there are days where I do feel like quitting, I wouldn’t trade it because it’s made me who I am today.
Whenever plan A doesn’t work, your goal isn’t supposed to change, you just change the plan.

❝ Whenever plan A doesn’t work, your goal isn’t supposed to change, you just change the plan. ❞

CITC: Often times, we see a lot of people poppin’ on the ‘gram, doing their thing in the city, or internationally. We then look at ourselves and start to question our own abilities and goals. Is this something you’ve faced and if so, how have you overcome it?

BC: It’s definitely something I’ve faced, I feel like even being really fresh in the scene, a couple years back, I was really intimidated by people with big followings and people who knew exactly what they were doing. I realized just like age, everything takes time. With age comes experience, with time comes experience, so I realized I can’t rush. What somebody else has isn’t for me and what I have isn’t for somebody else. I feel like I’ve been very hard on myself to just walk in my own path and walk in the path that God has created for me, and to really just stay on the straight and narrow.

I feel like I have to worry about me because at the end of the day there are going to be more people with high followings than me, there are going to be people who take better pictures than me, there are going to be people who take better videos than me, have better clients than me, but they aren’t me. It’s taken a long time to get here, don’t get that twisted.

❝ At the end of the day there are going to be more people with high followings than me, there are going to be people who take better pictures than me, there are going to be people who take better videos than me, have better clients than me, but they aren’t me. ❞

CITC: What is it like being a black female creative in Toronto?

BC: It’s rough, especially being a dark skin girl. It’s a topic that doesn’t come up very often. People think that inclusivity is something that they’re for, but being someone who is actually black, someone that is actually very undesired, I feel that on a level that nobody else feels it.

I remember my first corporate job, I was the only black person in the room and I felt like I was back in elementary school all over again. I felt uncomfortable, I felt unsafe, I felt like I was being judged, I felt like I had to talk and act a certain way, and then it took time to realize I didn’t have to.

It’s really tough and it takes a lot of time and that’s why representation is so important. However, it’s taking double that amount of time to even get that representation. That’s why I go back to my purpose and I am in those spaces to be that person because when I was first in those spaces, I didn’t have anybody like that. I didn’t have anyone that looked like me, but I have something in the works that I’m hoping will create that representation.

❝ That’s why I go back to my purpose and I am in those spaces to be that person because when I was first in those spaces, I didn’t have anybody like that. I didn’t have anyone that looked like me. ❞

CITC: What is something the creative community is missing that you bring to the table?

BC: Being multifaceted. I feel like a lot of people only do one thing and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I spent a lot of time perfecting a lot of different things where I can do almost anything, I believe, and I believe that cold-heartedly. I feel like a lot of people maybe they’re good directors or photographers, but they’re just that. I feel like a lot of people don’t see the bigger picture, and I think that that’s something the industry is missing.

CITC: Looking back when you were starting out, what advice would you give yourself?

BC: Go harder. I feel like I took a lot of breaks, I’m lazy (laughs). The thing is, even when I say go harder, I would still say, but be easy on yourself. I was going so hard and the reason why I was taking breaks was because I was going so hard, it was like binging. I would go so hard and then as soon as I hit a roadblock, I would be like “f*** it, I can’t do this anymore.” It’s because I was being so hard on myself, like I gave my all, and once I got a little bit of negative feedback, I’d be like “f*** it all.”
So go hard, but be easy on yourself. It’s okay to mess up, it’s okay to fumble, to f*** something up, it’s going to happen. However, once that happens, keep going.

❝ Go hard, but be easy on yourself. ❞

CITC: You have shot cool events and some dope people, what would you say is your favourite project thus far?

BC: Favourite project, I worked with Vanguard and we shot their campaign for Nike Toronto for a collaboration they did with the NBA/Raptors. That was really fun and it was really cool! It was the first time I ever got to really take my own creative direction on a shoot and really do something fun. It was the first time I was necessarily behind the camera but more actually my mind, my energy was more involved in the process, and that was really fun for me. That was the first time I realized I could really do more and I could push the envelope and I didn’t have to be behind the camera anymore. Sometimes, I felt really attached to it ( her camera) like that was my only way to get into spaces, but I realized I have so much more to offer.
It was a really dope shoot and cool opportunity and it turned out really sick.

❝ I realized I could really do more and I could push the envelope and I didn’t have to be behind the camera anymore. Sometimes, I felt really attached to it ( her camera) like that was my only way to get into spaces, but I realized I have so much more to offer. ❞

CITC: Finally, I want to ask you, what makes you excellent?

BC: My spirit. Life’s hard, you know? Life’s not easy and it doesn’t get any easier. Everyday I wake up, it’s a new challenge, it’s something different, and I never know what to expect, but I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person and I can’t be shaken. I’m very proud of the person I’ve become and my spirit and my energy is only to uplift, to make people happy and to tell good stories, and to give quality content and I feel like that’s just my purpose and I’m walking in that and I am trying to live that truth.

❝ I’m very proud of the person I’ve become and my spirit and my energy is only to uplift, to make people happy and to tell good stories, and to give quality content and I feel like that’s just my purpose. ❞

For more BBY CHRIS, follow her on Instagram.

CREATIVE DIRECTION AND INTERVIEW BY CHELLY
@chellyinthecity
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PHOTOS BY AIDA ABADER
@fxline