LAMPLIGHT FILMS

   
     Over the past twenty years, Chris Benson has served as Director of Photography on a multitude of films, commercials, music videos, and documentaries.  After graduating with departmental honors from Webster University in St. Louis Missouri, Chris immediately began shooting his first 16mm feature film Amateur Hour, which was very well received in his hometown city of St. Louis.  

 

    With the success of Amateur Hour, Chris moved on to photograph the Emmy award-winning short film Full Circle which premiered at the Urban World Film Festival in 2001.  This success led to an adjunct professorship teaching film studies at Webster University. 

 

    In 1999 Chris’ first 35mm feature film Hairdo U brought him attention from producers in Los Angeles allowing him to shoot such feature films as Sy-Fy Channel’s Showdown at Area 51 , Ghost Image distributed by Fox International, Say Goodnight and Phase 4 Film’s The Tomb, the last of which took him to the Ukraine.  Chris has also shot 2nd Unit/Additional Photography for such films as Alice Upside Down, Saving Shiloh, Saving Grace B. Jones directed by Connie Stevens, The Weinstein Co’s Killshot, and the Oscar nominated Paramount Pictures film Up In The Air.

 

    The success of his Music Videos have led him to shoot such iconic characters as Nelly, Chingy, Richard Marx, Murphy Lee, Lil Wil, and Yo Gotti.        

 

    Chris’ commercial work continues to grow everyday and he has won many Telly Awards and regional Emmys for his clients which have included Trendmasters Toys, Scottrade, Verizon Wireless, St. Louis Rams, Honda, Aunt Jemima, Anheuser-Busch, Bacardi, the U.S. Army and the St. Louis Cardinals.

 

     In 2005 Chris became the only Local 600 Union registered D.P. in the state of Missouri.