The Collective’s Chanelle Leslie caught up with Claire Alice Young about internet fame, photography, and perfection.
“I’m perfect,” says the fresh-faced 18-year-old, with a giggle that reveals her innocuous insincerity. It’s South Australian photographer Claire Alice Young, of course, responding to my vain quest for dirty laundry to air.
It’s certainly true that perfectionism colours every aspect of Claire’s endeavours. Nobody can accuse this independent spirit of living a half-hearted life.
Having lived alone since completing Year 12 last year, she’s worked to support herself and her photography, balancing regular shoots with office work, photography assistance, and a long-term boyfriend. In the past year, she’s travelled to Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmania for shoots, been sent to shoot Falls Festival for a Sydney-based magazine, and photographed a lookbook for local designer Casper&Pearl.
Even so, she doesn’t hesitate to dish out her own criticism.
“I often get angry at myself and my work,” she says, naming creative blocks as her biggest challenge. “There’ll be long periods where I don’t photograph anything and I get disappointed in myself.”
“I sit around and procrastinate too much.”
You get the feeling Claire is simultaneously blessed and cursed with youthful optimism. She knows what she wants, but the steps to getting there are hazy. I ask her who she is, and it takes her minutes to respond.
“I’m Claire Young,” she starts, faltering. I offer her time to think about it, and she gladly accepts.
“I’m Claire Young, fashion photographer,” begins her second attempt. “Shit. Don’t make me do this. Let me think about it.”
A few long minutes, and an inconclusive answer: “I’m Claire Young, a fashion photographer who’s extremely awkward and isn’t so great at communicating, but that’s probably why I like to take photos.”
If Claire’s work has a trademark, it’s the whimsical quality that’s reminiscent of the imagery of her Australian contemporaries Nirrimi Hakanson and Lucia Pang, both of whom rose to fame after going viral on social media. Comparisons are inevitable, and she’s upfront about her wrestles with being juxtaposed with such high achievers. “I don’t think [I’m] trying to be someone else, but I feel very disheartened and discouraged sometimes when I look at someone’s work and [think], they’re amazing, and I’m not so confident in myself.”
“I’m not jealous or anything, and I think it’s great for them,” she says of her internet-famous peers. “I’m not desperate to be [internet-famous].”
“I wouldn’t want to have thousands of people wanting me to write blog posts… I think it might put a stress on my own photography, to create something that everybody wants to see instead of what I want to do.
“It’s nice having fans, but I don’t get carried away with it.”
Although she often uses the words disappointed, disheartened and discouraged to describe the way she feels about her work, Claire is careful not to allow any lack of confidence taint her dogged sense of ambition. For her, there’s no question that the future revolves around photography.
“I really hope I’m getting more jobs in photography, and hopefully shooting for a magazine,” Claire says about her five-year plan. “I hope that I can move my photography forward into something that’s more natural, and using girls that are beautiful in their own way.”
At the end of the day, her mantra is clear: “I want to stay true to myself, and my own ideas, and the way that I like to photograph.”
You can find out more about Claire Alice Young on her website.
Images © Claire Alice Young
(Chanelle Leslie)
