Carina Allen is a freelance photographer and model living in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a custom B.A. in Visual Media Production & Magazine Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, MA. In her spare time she likes to exercise her green thumb with a strong love of plants and flowers.
“My work spans fine art, fashion, portraiture, and nude photography. I shoot on both a digital camera along with a variety of 35mm and medium format film cameras, and I also shoot video on occasion. All of my work is very dreamy and colorful, and when the weather allows I love to shoot in (and with) plants, flowers, + nature. I like to feature a variety of models and subjects and pride myself on making everyone I shoot with feel comfortable and beautiful. I like to create scenes that feel out of this world or unreal without doing much extra editing. My personal work also includes various series of self-portraits focused around the themes of intimacy and relationships, which I will be showcasing for one night at a small gallery show in May.”
What social / political issues are the most important to you?
There’s so many issues in today’s society that it’s hard to pick just one or two, especially when on top of it, it feels like some of the biggest issues right now are so out of our control. In an attempt to not be so overwhelmed with all of the world’s traumas that I am rendered mentally useless, I try to focus on how I can make a difference in the small bubble of the world I’m in. This has led me to feeling very strongly about increasing both racial and body diversity in the fashion and media industries. Of course on the larger scale there are bigger issues than fashion, but frankly, the fashion and media industries are all around us, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The amount of content we get fed on a daily basis is hard to think about and undoubtedly has an affect on our psyche whether or not we like to admit it. We need to hold companies up to higher standards and a higher level of accountability. My goal has always been to build up my career to a point where I have control over things like this in a substantial way, or at least have a platform to speak out about these issues. Until then I try to keep my own work representative of real people and make everyone feel valued and seen.
How would your utopian future world look like?
Women run naked through flower fields all day eating pastries served on silver platters by boys in angel wings and aprons.
What keeps you sane in this insane world?
My friends….I would be nothing without them. I’m also just so extroverted, if I didn’t have people to interact with daily I’d probably self-implode. Music keeps me sane. Plants, being in nature. Good food.
What do you see as your biggest challenge?
For most of my life I’ve been very lucky to have a lot of support from my family, both in tangible ways, like being able to go to college and leave without student loans–which is no small advantage in 2019–and in nonphysical ways like being supportive of me pursuing my passions from day 1, and being there for me when I call crying over a big photo gig that I lost, or a boy that’s being an idiot. This being said, I find that my biggest challenge will always be living up to my own expectations for myself. Freelancing is hard and is a challenge fully in itself, and I keep telling myself I will do it at long as I can. The day I can no longer freelance I will surely feel very defeated and a little lost on what direction to take. I went to school intending to end up with a job in the publishing industry, which I’m realizing now may never be attained considering the industry seems to be crumbling beneath us as we speak. I do fear that neither career path for me is fully sustainable and finding a way to navigate that as time progresses will probably be my biggest challenge. I’m always striving for more so I’m never quite satisfied but I think that’s just what being an artist is.
What would be your message to young girls around the globe?
You’re all so beautiful! You’re so smart and so beautiful! Media is a lie! Follow your dreams! Never accept less than you deserve! Eat desserts!
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