2025 07 28
An image by Jack Garland. November, 2022. Easy Does It, Chicago, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck
Can a photo change your life? For me, a working photographer some two decades into my journey, the answer is a clear yes. Images have been shaping my path more than I’ve known for quite a while. I found my wife while making photos (she was, too!). I’ve bought a house and a few cars through making photos. But do the individual images actually have such an impact on things?
This image, displayed during a photo show at Easy Does It, got me out of my house one night and into the world, where I met my now friend Jack Garland. Since the meeting, we’re now running a photobook popup called Realm, with the aim of giving this operation a physical space of its own. I’m now sensing the possibility of this new path, formed at the head by a single image, becoming even wider and guiding me through the middle years of my life.
This message has been paid for by the Photography Corporation of America
-Clayton
2025 07 26
Lost shoe? Chicago, Illinois. November, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
It is quite remarkable how, in the blink of an eye, one missed day balloons into three.
-Clayton
2025 07 25
Lil house on the South Side, Chicago, Illinois. November, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
From the recent archives… working on the zine… which will realistically become more of a booklet. I have minimal expectations for how many of these I will actually sell, but much like this here blog, that’s not why I’m doing it. The process, so far, has been very enjoyable and motivating. It’s giving me purpose, which is nice. Printing and pairing images is exciting and I’m hoping to partner with some friends on the design portion, which is where I am weaker. It’s giving me grand ideas of doing all of this more and making it part of what I do. Becoming a publisher, an imprint, whatever it may be. Of course, dreaming is easy and things often change corse once the going gets tough.
-Clayton
2025 07 24
Jason Little during a Keep it 100 session at See You Soon, Chicago, Illinois. February, 2025.
It is time, I think, for another in my series of Becoming a Portrait Studio Updates. See, previously:
1) Becoming a Portrait Studio: 2025 03 24
2) Update Number One: 2025 05 13
I really dislike getting all negative on here but, to be candid, the momentum has stalled quite dramatically. I’m sure it’s a complicated mix of reasons as to why, and while it’s easy to blame myself I do think a lot of these things are out of your control, to an extent. Consistency is the only real solution, but with the drop in bookings I’ve seen this time around, it’s hard to want to keep pushing forward! All that said, I’m going to commit to carrying on, largely because some of the more exciting things I have planned for this setup haven’t been rolled out yet (namely, the everyoneisfamous.com website, which is admittedly stagnant currently, along with doing on-location versions of the setup).
Rambling aside, and before I get to the numbers for the previous run of dates, the big reason I hit a demoralizing snag is that for the first time my email blast had absolutely zero effect on bookings (I need the good leads — the Annie Leibovitz leads!). I had more people unsubscribe than I had book a session. Relentless social media posts also had basically zero effect on bookings. The only thing that somewhat saved me on the current run of dates that are happening now (nobody booked today, so I’m venting a bit here!), is that I had two families sign up for the higher price point. One of those families then reached out asking where they can get prints made, so I clearly need to work on communication, as I ofter prints myself! Perhaps that is the big takeaway overall: that in treating this like a side hustle and not like a proper business in itself, many things get lost in translation or never communicated to the people who need to hear them.
I won’t get into the numbers for this month but they are quite horrendous and not at all worth the time I set aside to offer this. When factoring in the cost of the space, I am losing money on the endeavor (and not at all covering my rent, which was the goal this month). But again, money is not the sole motivating force here! I’m still hoping to explore a related approach to the Keep it 100 setup in a small town later this summer — the idea is creative and interesting but will also likely require me to fund it myself to make it all happen. These things are only sustainable for so long. Being an artist is hard. But we knew that…
In May, I put some dates on the calendar and bookings were slow. I blamed the late notice I gave people and accidentally scheduling it between Mother’s Day and Memorial Day while people are likely busy with life stuff. Because of all that, I wasn’t too hard on myself, but I was bummed at the tepid turnout. Over six dates, we had nine sessions resulting in $1,400 in revenue plus $300 in tips (which came from one person), or $1,700 total income. This equals $283/day which is about what the space costs to rent. The general lack of tips also inspired me to increase the base fee from $150 to $175 per individual session. This is still a steal in my view but quite in line with what a lot of other local portrait photographers are charging for their sessions. Again, the economics of photography are borderline impossible these days!
The current run, which is still happening through the end of the week (book a session, why don’t you?!) had more dates, far more advanced notice, and has so far resulted in less revenue than May did. Basically, I’m only doing this for myself at this point and it’s not a viable business endeavor. That said, I’m not giving up just yet and want to try to crack the code. Nearly 40% of the few who did book this run are people who previously paid for a shoot, which is remarkable to me! It seems very clear people love these sessions and I generally love doing them (the time commitment for little money is a drag, obviously). This tells me the failure is largely in communication, which might be repairable. I’m also learning things and growing as a photographer, which is an intangible value but not one my landlord accepts as payment. The hard costs will eventually kill me at this rate, however. Eventually the camera will break down. Two strobe batteries just needed replacement and that alone set me back the cost of three sessions! And I haven’t even given a thought to taxes yanking away 40% of the gains. Grim economics.
All that said, I’m excited to get the companion website everyoneisfamous.com in a better place as it’s still in a sort of beta hibernation state. I just haven’t had the time for it yet. Once that happens and I get a few summer popups going, perhaps we’ll see more enthusiasm later this year. Also, while this setup is really fun for me, it’s admittedly not for everyone. I haven’t made an attempt (see: lack of time) to offer more conventional portrait sessions, which I think I’d both be really good at and enjoy, plus could command a higher price point. It’s something I plan to further explore as my entire photography career shifts in ways I am still navigating.
Thanks for reading and good luck shooting if you’re doing so to pay your bills!
-Clayton
PS- it’s fitting that, while writing this, we have WBEZ playing and it’s a constant fundraising plea after they just got their federal funding yanked. As someone who has always been a commercially-focused photographer, I am learning firsthand the economics of the arts and it’s wild.
2025 07 22
French fried potatoes. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
While yes, it’s true, I’m very busy with a lot of things (I’ll get you those photos soooooon, everyone!), the real reason I missed posting on time yesterday was because I discovered an amazing lil game (via youtube, where I learn about most things lately). It’s called Open Front and it’s free to play and quite addictive. I’d def recommend checking it out if you’re at all a Civ nerd like me (however — maybe don’t click that link if you have things to do).
-Clayton
2025 07 21
GO E-Z. Chicago (I think), Illinois. November (I think), 2022. © Clayton Hauck
When I first got my Ricoh GRiiix back in 2022, this here blog did not exist. Also, the camera date was wrong for a few years, so I have no accurate information about when the images were made beyond my naming conventions, which are fortunately a close approximation.
Lately, I’ve been going back through these old images in an effort to turn them into something a bit more tangible. A printed zine is the current working plan, which will feature both images and writing. This image likely won’t make the cut, but I like the message it sent to me: Go easy (on myself).
One quick takeaway was how frantic I was shooting when I first got the camera. It’s no wonder the thing is so coated in dust that it’s almost unusable now.
More on this another day soon.
-Clayton
2025 07 20
Another busted car. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It’s officially the end of Catalpa Season in Chicago. Busted Car Season never ends.
-Clayton
2025 07 19
Looking down on The Loop. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Here’s an image made with my relatively new Ricoh GR3 (not the X, the wider lens!), which I haven’t been using as much as I’d planned to (lack of time). Also, I haven’t been writing (here or in general) as much as I want to (lack of time). What is the point in telling you, dear reader, all of this? I’m not sure. I guess it’s simply a reminder to myself that, while there are many things I would love to do, there is only so much time to do them. Prioritization is crucial! Stacking images for the rest of my life, like a modern-day Garry Winogrand, is realistically not the best use of my time in today’s age of image over-saturation.
-Clayton
PS- on the subject of not having spare time: if you happen to see this post on or prior to July 20th between 10am-2pm, you should totally come to our Realm photobook popup (happening from 10am-2pm at New Wave Coffee in Chicago’s Logan Square). In addition to myself, Jack Garland, and a bunch of amazing photobooks that you can buy, we’ll have fellow photographer Cengiz Yar in person signing copies of his new book This Alabaster Grave. Hope to see you then!
2025 07 18
Double rainbow. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Sometimes a double rainbow really helps brighten your day. I continue to think someone needs to make an app that sends you a push notification whenever a rainbow or pretty sunset is occuring nearby. Feel free to steal that idea.
-Clayton
2025 07 16
Greed. Do you see it? Chicago, Illinois. June 2025. © Clayton Hauck
You don’t need to leave your neighborhood to make good photos. This is what my dog Buddy has taught me. He’s also harassing me to finally print those zines I’ve been meaning to get to. Okay, Buddy. I’m on it!
-Clayton
2025 07 15
On the road, to somewhere. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Well, it finally happened — we hit a busy period with work and life, then vacation hit, and the next thing you know I’m a few weeks behind on posting to this here blog. It is what it is, and I’m not going to be too hard on myself. That said, I do aim to pick back up where we left off and (hopefully) stick with the daily posts once again, especially considering I’m sensing a bit of a shift in my photography career and I have lots of new work, heading in new directions, to explore. This here blog is a nice, low stakes place to do that.
While up north on vacation, we briefly explored some places I’d never previously been (Bayfield, WI; Ironwood, MI; Hurley, WI), along with a few I had (Ashland, WI and the Bad River Reservation land), and some we didn’t get to but that I very much aim to make happen soon (Laurium, MI and Marquette, MI). I bring all of this up because this land has sparked some new ideas in me that perhaps I will explore in the coming years. Some photography-based projects and ideas, which first I will explore remotely through reading and researching. We’ll see if that leads to something, but just getting excited about the potential helps keep me motivated to push ahead in this weird world of photography.
More soon, thanks for reading.
-Clayton
2025 07 01
Dead plant. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
While out doing yard work this morning, I was pondering the idea of time, and how it’s so beneficial to work on tasks with the figurative wind at your back. It took me hours to give our yard a minimal dose of needed water, as I aim to help the plants I wish to thrive grow as big as they can in the time they have. Had Mother Nature decided to do the job for me, it would have been completed in mere minutes without my assistance. This may be an obvious observation, but lately I’m using this analogy quite a lot in my own life. As my list of tasks grows larger than possible to accomplish as one person, I can either choose triage or expand my capabilities through the help of others. Neglect is, of course, also an option. Like this plant, parts of my life will wither and die, with likely undesired weeds taking their place.
The garden is life. Everything can be compared to the garden.
-Clayton
2025 06 28
Moonlight through bare trees. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Take more photos of people! Nobody wants to look at the moon!
I get it, I get it.
Another Paulie B banger popped into my feed today, with photographer Andrew McEnaney, and it really inspired me to get more people into my personal work. It’s a work in progress, I swear! But it’s coming. Until then, you can enjoy the moon photos. Or not, that’s up to you.
-Clayton
2025 06 27
Another Busted Car. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
As I post another Busted Car image to this here blog (content!), I’m reminded of this banger Noah Kalina post from a few days back.
-Clayton
2025 06 26
Another Mr Peepers. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It’s been too long since a Mr Peepers has made an appearance on this here blog.
-Clayton
2025 06 23
Another day, another busted car. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This is one of my favorite Busted Cars. I know I keep saying it, but I really do think a zine is needed to house these images. If only I’d been neatly organizing them on my hard drives. I need to get on the cloud or whatever y’all are using to search your image libraries these days.
-Clayton
2025 06 12
Summer storms are the best. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Lately, as I struggle to check all the things off of my daily mental to-do list, I’ve been finding myself walking around the house saying, “One thing at a time!”
Really, it’s a dozen things at a time, but if I just tell myself one thing at a time, perhaps I will eventually listen?
-Clayton
2025 06 11
Haley and Allison. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Short one today, as I am knee deep in tasks. Taking a moment to appreciate these two lovely people I have in my life. As I get older, it becomes increasingly clear just how necessary it is to have loving and supporting people in your life. It’s something I neglected for years, as I spent far too much time focused on myself and advancing my own interests. Sure, I’m still full of interests and realistically take on more than I can handle, but if it wasn’t for these two, who knows how damaged my brain would be at this point.
-Clayton
2025 06 09
Buddy, the dog. Chicago, Illinois. 2025. © Clayton Hauck
This will not become a dog blog; this will not become a dog blog; this will not become a dog blog.
That said, we have a dog now! Or, at least, we are co-parenting a dog now. Buddy, the dog. He’s the best. He’s a weirdo. And surely I will be making many more photos of the dude. But I promise not to post any of them here. Unless they’re too good not to, of course.
-Clayton