Today we’d like to introduce you to Clara Andrade.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started in photography in 2018, two years after moving abroad from Brazil to the US. At the time, I was working as a PR in the art industry in South Florida, and would take my camera to the exhibits, photographing the events, people, the small and big moments. It wasn’t long until I realized I wanted to expand on telling my own stories and create my own art, so I decided to attend Miami Institute of Photography, where I learned my grounds. My first born was two years old then, and I was in the thick of motherhood, which made me lean into family documentary photography. I found it to be a powerful tool – to comprehend that time of my life, and help other families see the beauty in their everyday lives as well, with all the chaos involved. I found inspiration in Sally Mann, Diane Arbus, Alan Laboile, David Alan Harvey and many others. As I dived deeper into photography and my own studies, I started creating my own projects and series, as a form of self expression and world comprehension, merging documentary and fine art. Often my topics rely on the relationship we have with our surroundings and the passage of time. Some of my projects are Riverland, Detached and The Yellow Couch. I love my work, both authorial and commercial with clients. If I can bring a moment of observation, so the viewer finds distance to see beauty and daily unnoticed aspects of life, my mission is complete. To me, photography is a sort of meditation, if you allow yourself, it will take you deeper into this life experience.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road hasn’t always been smooth. When you are independent, you rely on yourself to stay motivated and look for opportunities. Add motherhood to it and you have a constant juggling game. The challenge is to find time to be creative and get the work done while still being present for my children. They are, though, one of my main sources of inspiration, so I try to look at motherhood more as fuel than an obstacle. The field is also quite solitary. Finding community is crucial, as we sometimes lack the thermometer of how good or bad our work is. It’s a mining work to find good mentors and peers. Sharing the journey is vital so we don’t loose ourselves in the middle.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a documentary photographer, working with families most of the time. I also develop personal projects and series, as a way to express my comprehension of the environment and circumstances. Being an immigrant has made me quite relatable, I know the struggles of not having much familiarity around and the awe of seeing the marvelous in the obvious. I like to approach my family work with an open eye and lack of judgment. There are so many ways of being, and I aim to see the beauty in all of them (which is very different from aesthetics if I may say so). To give my clients a glimpse of their unfiltered lives, a way to perceive their everyday with more tenderness and love. Maybe a chance of reconciliation with themselves the way they are.
That same ability I bring to my authorial photograph, giving a scene space to exist in all its complexity. I am proud of my project “Riverland”. Back in 2022, post Covid-19, I started photographing the changes in my neighborhood. South Florida went under massive development, maybe loosing a bit of its character. I would get out of the house and look for frames that could represent that. Those images landed in a soon to be launched book by O Miami – “Literally, Everyone is Invited” – that sums the past 10 years of South Florida in images and poems from about 450 locals. It’s a beautiful collective artwork and I’m so excited to see Riverland there.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I’ve had a few special mentors and peers along the way. Mikaela Martin is a friend and fine art photographer I found through the Documentary Family Awards. She has mentored and given me great input on how to approach scenes and express the abstract. Gesi Schilling is the editor behind the book “Literally, everyone is invited” and has opened doors to me and many other photographers in South Florida to make this book. There’s also been some online collaborations with other documentary artists like Amy Dangerfield and Allie Clarke, we share tips and feedbacks on each others images. It’s vital to have other creatives around, both as colleagues as well as mentors that can pull one to the next level.
Pricing:
- Short Story (2 hour session) – $750
- Half Day in The Life with Book (4 hour session) – $1250
- Full Day in The Life with Book (8 hour session) – $2350
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.claraandradephoto.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsclaraandrade
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claraandradefl/
