Meet Clara Rice | Commercial & Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clara Rice and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clara, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Social media can make it look like photographers are always at cool locations, camera in hand, living a pretty cushy work life. While that certainly does happen at moments, it’s just like the majority of modern jobs — plopped in front of a computer. Some of that computer work is fun and creative; much of it is the administrative backend needed to run a business, none of which we are actually very good at. It’s a struggle! A shoot day can feel like a nice break from editing and backend work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Even 10 years into being a full-time photographer it still feels like I stumbled into this as a career. Much credit goes to the naïveté of being in my young 20s, stringing together part-time jobs and taking more and more photos without overthinking the trajectory. My current self would never take such an unplanned leap, but age and circumstance treated me well. My work somewhat speaks to that: it’s curious and inspired, reactionary to the subject in front of me, a mixture of planned and unplanned. It matches my stage of life. I’m hoping to incorporate more children into my next batch of work to reflect my current world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in the Bay Area, though I grew up in LA and work there on occasion. In LA I love the Hayden Tract, a simple stroll through a strange architectural neighborhood. It has now become much more hip and you can grab coffee or lunch as part of the journey. I live in the East Bay, not far from Berkeley, and enjoy exploring my favorite off-leash dog park on the water, Point Isabel. There is also always a mandatory stop at Berkeley Bowl, the end-all of produce sections at a grocery store.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A friend of mine from a former life has been hand-illustrating the most gorgeous objects in Alaska. Buoys, hides, shells, bones, glass — it’s all extremely intricate and gorgeous. She also produces work at a rate that seems impossible, especially with a kid at home. www.AllieSpurlock.com, @sallisonspurlock on Instagram.

Website: www.ClaraRice.com

Instagram: clara.rice.photo

Other: Family photos: www.JunoBee.com

Image Credits
All photos by me.