Chloe MooreFounded on instinct, ambition, and a healthy dose of improvisation, Chrome Studios is the product of a photographer carving space for himself in an industry that often demands permission before opportunity.
Now based in Paris, the Dublin-born creative behind the studio speaks candidly about self-representation, creative survival, and learning to trust his own eye. From shooting Portra 400 on a Pentax 6×7 to finding clarity while wandering an isolated volcanic island, this conversation traces the slow, deliberate shaping of a photographic practice rooted in feeling, persistence, and community. More than a studio, Chrome is imagined as a future-facing collective, one built on collaboration, curiosity, and the belief that making art is reason enough to keep going.
What’s the story behind Chrome Studios? What inspired the move to Paris?
I found that I was not being hired by clients, and I thought that it was because I wasn’t represented by an agent. I saw all these agencies that represent photographers, and I thought to myself, Why can’t I be represented by a photography agency? So I decided, you know what, I’m just going to set it up myself and basically fake it till I make it and pretend to the world that I am the agency.
Rent was more affordable than in Dublin, so I wanted to leave my parents’ house, so I packed my bag and hit the road just at the end of COVID. The city took me under its wing and made me struggle, you know, struggle to fly, still flapping my wings. And that’s how I ended up here, which is a nice kind of way.
Who are your main inspirations in photography?
Annie Leibovitz, in particular, I like that photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. If I could capture moments like that, that’d be ideal, capturing reality and using what you have in front of you. Cian Moore is an Irish New Yorker, always been a huge inspiration; all in camera work with big sets. Marie-Claude de Decker, an incredible war photographer from France, took crazy portraits of soldiers from Chad. My grandfather also loved to take photographs.
What makes your photography style yours, and how has it changed?
What makes mine, mine is that I’m the one who’s taking the photo, it’s my world I try to show. I don’t like to think of my photography as that unique, but I guess if you knew my work, you could probably point it out and say that’s my photo. Now I shoot less, quality over quantity, more put-together, more studio lighting, more teamwork. I’m trying to scale it up a bit more and shoot different ideas and organised ideas.
Which location provided the most significant creative challenge or surprise?
Stromboli was the most creative challenge because I was essentially trapped by choice on an island, and there’s nothing really to do except be with your own thoughts and take photographs. My days were just walking the same loop, looking at hedges and rocks and volcanoes and the open sea.
You have to figure out the photo and think about it a bit more, but then again, it’s never really a creative challenge; it’s just you and the camera floating around
In any situation you throw yourself into, you end up with some photos guaranteed.
Do you have a favourite format to shoot in, and why?
My favourite format is shooting Portra 400 on my Pentax 6×7. It looks like a dream, it looks like how the world should be. There are only 10 photographs on each roll; you really have to think about each photo. The first one needs to be the right one. The photo is the film negative, and it will last forever.
What is the most challenging aspect of managing a creative studio, and what fuels your passion?
Do not forget who you are, and do not forget where you’re going. Most of the work I get is not the work I want to be paid for; it’s just work, and the stuff I want to do in 10 years I have to do for free now.
I need to work my side job so that I can fund my life here and sharpen my tools. What fuels the passion is looking at a photo I took, printed, framed on a wall and saying, “damn, that’s pretty cool, that’s from my imagination, and now it is reality”.
It’s 100% just for the love of it all.
How does support for the arts in Ireland compare to Paris?
I just did an exhibition in the RHA, which has been my dream for the past 10 years, and it was pulled together by Sean and Ingrid, two artists who supported the idea. It’s not necessarily the government that helps; it’s the people around you who are proud of what you’re doing.
I’ve never really gotten any grants, and I don’t really fit into paperwork. Opportunities come up because of people; we’re all in the same boat, and we can help each other out.
Wherever you go, there will be problems, and I think you really need to support yourself somehow. Keep the ball rolling, or as my mother would say, “stay on the bus”.
How do you approach adapting your style to different environments?
If it’s an event, I bring my flash and my camera, and I don’t change the settings; it is what it is. If I’m doing editorial stuff, I really think about what we are trying to convey and work backwards from the end goal. It completely depends on the situation. I’m confident in my own style and eye, and if that loses me clients, that loses me clients. It’s kind of just about the fun of the photos, which is silly, but it’s why I do it.
How does your approach change when photographing recognisable subjects?
It doesn’t really change, and that’s an important part of it all. It’s really just hello, what’s your name, do you mind if I take your photo? Everybody’s equal, and everyone is interesting. You talk about breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and get a real photo and a real expression. Some people don’t like their photos, and that’s alright, it doesn’t really matter.
Has social media fundamentally changed photography as an art form?
Has it pushed creativity forward? Yes and no. Photos are just a scroll away now and not really that important to the viewer unless you show them physically. You’re lost in an endless timeline, and things are quickly disposed of. My favourite photos are from years ago when I wasn’t thinking about digital marketing. I still just go around taking photos for the craic.
What story does your work tell about you personally, and what is your vision for Chrome Studios?
Each photo is proof that I exist and the tip of the iceberg of real situations I’ve been in. I could talk for hours about how I got there and the butterfly effect that led me there. The future of Chrome Studios is supporting artists, pulling together teams, and bringing people together to make a living somehow. I want us all to be happy and living off our passion. That’s the vision.
