Biography

Craig X. Sotres  began his photography career in the fashion world of New York City. He was originally exposed to the fashion industry as a model working with clients such as Sasson Jeans, Prell Shampoo, Superior Beer, Christian Dior, Sergio Valente Jeans and Newport & Salem cigarettes. An invitation by a model agency to work in Mexico City was so successful that he eventually moved and  became a favorite of the country's premier fashion magazine Vogue Mexico.

     Always having an artistic bend he was attracted to the instant gratification of photos. Even though he had never been schooled in photography, the friendships that were created by continually working with the top photographers, gave him the chance to learn first hand from them and then experiment on his fellow models.

     Ultimately he found himself behind the lens more than in front of it. So when he returned to New York in 1984,  Vogue Mexico gave him his first pro assignment, shooting the fall runway fashion collections. This led to numerous editorial assignments for the men and women's sections and work shooting the models of top agencies Ford, Wilhemina and Elite. Soon he was asked to  become the New York staff photographer for Vogue Mexico. Responsible for the hiring of models, stylist, hair & make-up artist, he was charged with the complete creative control and editing. This relationship eventually produced over 50 Vogue covers and hundreds of editorial pages with the magazine.

     This in turn led to advertising work with clients such as Bloomingdales, CitiBank, FiberTrim, Ogilvy & Mather Agency, EZ Wider and Diners Club. He has shot for such designers as Valentino, Geoffrey Banks, Francine Browner,  Robert Stock, and J.H. Collectibles and his work has appeared in magazines such as Details,Teen, McCalls, Casas & Gente, Interview and of course, Vogue.

     He moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and continues to produce advertising for the likes of Tomboy Clothing, A.J. Morgan Eye-Wear, Molto Fino Designs, Chorus Line, Southern Exposure Swimwear and Tecate Beer.  Music clients include Engelbert Humperdinck, Sunz of Man and Z-100 radio and his photography regularly shows up in the pages of Playboy magazine.

     Craig has also shot for the film industry, including still photography for films such as "Quest of the Delta Knights" with Olivia Hussey & David Warner, "The Good Life" with Dennis Hopper & Sylvester Stallone and "Changing Habits" with Moira Kelley, Teri Garr, Shelley Duvall and Christopher LLoyd.

     At the start of 1996, his long time video production client Hot Body International, asked him to become their Creative Director. Now he not only shoots the VHS and DVD box cover art, but is in charge of the graphic design, art direction and the general look of the Hot Body product line.

      Taking advantage of his many years of shooting with Hot Body and with the advent of the internet, Craig created a stock photography website company in 1999. Hotbodystock clients include 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. On projects like the "Minority Report" with Tom Cruise, "Analyze That" with Billy Crystal & Robert Deniro,  "In the House" with Steve Martin & Queen Latifa, "American Wedding", "Girl Next Door",  "Ladder 49", with John Travolta and "Surviving Christmas", with Ben Affleck, “Eagle Eye”, “Death Race”, “Body of Lies”, “Untraceable”.  Not to mention television work  with "The Man Show", "Jimmy Kimmel Live" , “Entourage”, “Generation Kill”, “Tell Me You Love Me”,  HBO and print calendars and posters with Trends International, bCreative, Comda Calendars, Island Group and  Zebra Publishing.

       Happily married to his wife Sherry of over 20 years, who also produces all his major shoots, he splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City and Mexico. Hot Body Productions takes up most of his time now but music projects for clients like Clear Channel has had him shoot the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Lionel Richie, Gavin DeGraw, Switchfoot, Jesse McCartney, Natasha Bedingfield, Daughtry, Bon Jovi,  Corinne Bailey Rae, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne and John Mayer.

Having just produced his 8th edition of his hot selling Hot Buns calendar he is happy to be working with legendary singer Engelbert Humperdinck on his very first fan calendar after photographing him for concert posters for many years.

© COPYRIGHT CRAIG X SOTRES 1982-2019

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