Meet Chloe Aillud

We recently connected with Chloe Aillud and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chloe , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

At 33, I finally feel like I’ve found my purpose. I’m doing what I believe my soul has always called me to do.
It’s taken me a long and winding path to get here—at times veering in directions I never saw coming, often feeling lost. But I let curiosity guide me, trusting it would eventually lead me where I needed to be.

I always knew I was destined to work in a creative field, but photography wasn’t my first calling and neither was being so connected to nature.

I started my working life in visual merchandising, swiftly transitioning into interior design whilst working for a large Swedish furniture company (you can guess which one…) and living in the city. I loved my job—designing and opening stores across the UK and beyond. Then at the age of 22, an opportunity arose to work with the team in Japan. I’d never left Europe before but driven by curiosity, I said yes. I was SO nervous.

Japan truly cracked my world wide open, I was hooked on travel; on the creative inspiration it gave me and I instantly wanted to see more of the world, now so aware how wide it really was.
When I got home, I eagerly saved up, took a six-month career break, and headed off backpacking around SE Asia with a friend. Every new place completely fuelled me, I loved all the newness I was diving into and life being so full of uncertainty and surprise.
Inevitably, my bank account emptied, and it was time to come home —where everything suddenly felt very grey. I knew at that point for sure, that I wasn’t meant to stay in one place. I needed to make travel my lifestyle, not just something I took breaks from life to do.
So, as much as I loved my job at the time (I went back after my career break), the pay wasn’t great and the ladder to climb was SO high, and I just didn’t see how my desire to have a life driven by freedom and wandering paired with this job was going to work.

That’s when I took my first major detour.

I landed a job as a project manager at a boutique construction company in London.
It was…..wild and not necessarily in a good way.
I quickly became completely detached from creativity and was exhausted all. the. time. I could tell you about that job in 100,000 words and it still wouldn’t be enough, but I won’t, all I’ll say is—it changed me. Some lessons I’m grateful for, some took a long time to unlearn.

Then came a defining moment.

One afternoon, I was sent to a local photography studio to quote some renovation work. I walked in and quickly realised —it was Nick Knights studio. A photographer I had admired for forever (I had books filled with his work on my shelf at home).
The energy in that space was electric, everyone so unique and radiating bold, bright energy mid-shoot. And there I was, during London fashion week, ushered to the basement and talking to them about screeding a floor. I tried to engage in some brief “fashion week” chat whilst taking measurements I needed for my quote (I am cringing SO much remembering this now…!) and they looked so confused, literally a “what is this girl on about” vibe.
Of course they did, I worked in construction and was measuring the basement, they didn’t see me as their creative peer! I just hadn’t quite realised that myself until then.

I quickly left, took a deep breath and said out loud to myself WHAT AM I DOING?!

I was four years into that job and realised I had lost sight of my plan. I had entered survival mode, nearly accepting that this was just “life.” But that moment snapped me out of it.

So, I made my plan of escape and got back to it.

I saved up, quit my job, and my partner and I moved to a tiny Greek island to decompress. Sounds dreamy, right? But soon, another WTF am I doing moment hit.
I had spent four years building a career I didn’t actually want, and now that I’d quit, I had no idea what was next.
I knew I wanted to travel, that was always the goal, but in terms of finding my way back to creativity, I hadn’t given it much thought.
So, I took advantage of the time and space I had (quite literally) bought myself and went on a path of creative re-discovery.
I painted, I sewed, I wrote, I baked. All fun, but nothing felt like it quite fit and I was becoming more and more aware I was deeply in need of a new purpose when it came to work.
Then, one day, frustrated by my iPhone’s inability to capture the island’s beauty, I dug out an old camera I had used for interior design work—and something clicked. That was the thing that re-sparked my fire and I started to play around more.

At this point, if I’m honest, I still doubted photography could be more than a hobby. I kept thinking of that day in Nick Knight’s studio, how out of place I had felt and how far away that world seemed. My time away from creativity had wrecked my confidence.

Then—another sharp turn.

COVID hit. We were on the island without being able to leave for 15 months. My soul was restless and that itch to see more of the world hadn’t been scratched, so as soon as restrictions lifted, we returned to the UK, converted a van into a camper, and set off across Europe.

Yep, I did the “vanlife” thing. And it was UNREAL. It changed EVERYTHING. It expanded my periphery wider than I could have imagined.
Living on the road connected me with places and people in a way only that lifestyle can, and I felt free to really rediscover myself all over again through my creativity.
A good friend had lent me an old camera before we left, a slight upgrade from what I had been experimenting with in Greece. I started capturing our journey, and quickly realised what really lit me up—photographing people. Telling stories through imagery. Blending the beauty of nature I was discovering with peoples energy.

This was over 3 years ago now, and I am still exploring the art of photography, but now I call it work. Which feels so surreal, because I love it so much, it consumes me in such a beautiful way.

Another twist in the road—I now find myself settled, living in one place again. But this time, instead of the whirlwind of London, I’m living on a small piece of land in a 200-year-old cottage on the west coast of Ireland. A place I had never even visited until I was traveling in my van—yet the moment I arrived, I instantly fell in love. It felt like home. Being here has given me an even greater sense of purpose, drawing me to create with even more thought and connection amidst the abundant, dramatic landscape here.

Finding my purpose was not straightforward, but every twist and turn built the foundation for the business I now run. Sometimes I wonder—what if I had found photography at 18? I would have had 15 years of experience in a straight line by now. But honestly, I’m not sure I would be as capable of handling the non-creative side of my work without everything else I learned along the way.
More importantly, without the drive to escape and the experience of what I now know I don’t want, would I have found what I do? Maybe, maybe not.

But I do know I got here by following my curiosity. By refusing to settle for the easier path. And by keeping my vision in mind (losing it only for a moment), even when it felt impossible.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My photography is always fuelled by my creative vision and direction and blends visual design with a deep connection to nature—its textures, cycles, and quiet poetry—evoking emotion, nostalgia, and a sense of grounding through organic aesthetics and natural light.

I create bespoke productions for brands both locally in Ireland and worldwide, telling their story and giving them a strong visual identity through my work.

I also offer collaborative productions for smaller brands, providing them with editorial-style imagery while sharing the cost equally among all participants. Supporting small businesses has always been a passion of mine, making these productions especially meaningful.
I have four beautiful locations planned for collaborative shoots in 2025 so far, with the first taking place next month!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

As a photographer, good communication is essential at every stage of my work. From pitching to new clients and conveying my creative vision, to making a model feel at ease, so their true self can shine in front of my lens, communication is invaluable. I truly believe that my ability to communicate effectively has been a key factor in getting me to where I am today.

I also think that being led by curiosity is crucial in a creative field. As long as you stay curious, you’ll keep developing your skills and using your talent to be of service others.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to start and fail. I know it’s cliché, but when it comes to creativity, we often hesitate to share anything that isn’t “perfect” in our mind’s eye. I’m guilty of this myself, and it’s something I still battle with regularly. But the truth is, nothing is perfect—and it never will be. So, we have to just put our work out there!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

This year, I have a deep desire to expand my portfolio and work on some creatively free projects, so I would love to connect with any stylists, MUA’s and Models that also have this desire to intertwine our visions and bring them to life!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chloeaillud.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chloeaillud/