Clayton Hauck

Throughout his 20-year career, photographer Clayton Hauck has captured presidents, mayors, movie stars, and celebrity entrepreneurs for some of the world’s biggest brands, national media outlets and global creative agencies — but his true passion has always been capturing everyday people.

He first made a name for himself documenting the faces and places defining Chicago’s independent nightlife scene, honing his craft on the fly while capturing Chicagoans letting their guard down on dance floors, dive bars, and summer festivals — then posting the results on his website everyoneisfamous.com. Authentic, raw, and real, the photos were a breakthrough sensation. Before the rise of iPhones and Instagram, party-goers religiously checked the site for candid shots of themselves to share online. Soon, major brands and commercial opportunities came calling.

These days, Clayton wears many hats in addition to his career in photography. Post-Covid, he opened a studio space dubbed See You Soon which caters to Chicago’s creative community and serves as a neighborhood event space when not being used for photo production and casting. In addition, he’s 1/2 of Realm Books, a photobook and zine popup shop with the goal of providing space for Chicago’s photo community. Lastly, his original everyoneisfamous.com project is back once again, this time with the aim of shining a light on our friends and neighbors here in Chicago and beyond.