My name’s Rachel, nice to meet you.
I used to say I take photos; I now say I make them. My undergraduate professor always made the distinction; you’re doing so much more than just hitting the shutter behind the lens. You’re putting yourself in the way of human interaction, intentionally creating an outlet for connecting to others.
The best part of making a photo is capturing the moment you get to feel from behind the lens: the face-off side-eye of a Blackhawk at a Flyer, the unplanned portrait that perfectly grasps your bff’s personality, the moment Remi Wolf leans over the stage barricade singing directly to a front-row fan.
Yes, I’m behind the lens, but I’m also in the moment.
These days, I’m a freelance producer and contributing photographer for music publication Staged Haze. I also creatively lead work for The Ross K. MacNeill Foundation, which we founded in my late younger brother’s honor, funding pediatric brain cancer research.
Outside of work, I get a kick out of restoring old photographs, searching for the best second-hand additions to my closet, and maxing out my notes app with extensive lists of project ideas/restaurants to try/general nonsense.
Published work includes Chicago Tribune, Lakeshore Magazine, The Dickinson Press, Grandfork Herald, The Miami Student, Appalachian State Sports, and Staged Haze.
Currently based in Chicago.
Pronouns: she/her.
In case you’re dying to know more:
My name’s Rachel, it’s nice to meet you. I’ve been freelancing for 7 years now, and I never see myself getting out from behind this camera of mine. I received my BFA from Miami University, but despite any official study, I’ve always been crazy in love with making pictures.
Photography has always been my escape. I don’t care how cheesy that sounds because what I get to do with my camera brings me so much joy. My earliest clients included my first Border Collie, Augie, my little brother Ross, and any of my childhood friends who I’d outfit (courtesy of middle school Tumblr feeds for fashion inspo) and forced to pose for portraits. I fell even more in love with photography through my middle school years, as my brother was undergoing treatment for brain cancer. I used my mom’s Nikon to capture my brother’s smile, sparkly blue eyes, and all the regular, un-special moments of the days I spent with him.
Time has always felt warped when I'm behind the lens, whether I’m creating for just myself or a client. As I got older, my escape became the darkroom. The tactile and unhurried process of developing film felt almost spiritual to me: quiet, creative, ritualistic, and mine. I saw the craft in a new way when I got my first 35mm camera, the Minolta X-370 (rip, it ended up growing mold…thanks eBay), and learned my way through analog photography. Film has a special place in my heart, and you can often find me scanning my family’s and my negatives.
Exhibitions:
2021 Creating Space, B.F.A. Capstone Exhibition
Heistand Galleries, Miami University, Oxford, OH
2017 Seeing Doubles, Group Show // 1st place - Analogue Photography Award
IHSAE General Exhibition, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago. IL
IHSAE Senior Scholarship Exhibition, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL
Inspiration, Burning Bush Gallery, Wheaton, IL
2016 Gels, Group Show, Wheaton, IL