Emma Chamberlain is no stranger to being in front of the camera, but did you know she actually got her start behind the camera? We know her as the queen of YouTube, so naturally, cameras have always been part of her creative process. Whether she's manning the Met Gala red carpet or vlogging through the streets of Copenhagen during Fashion Week, the version of Emma Chamberlain's life we get to see on our feeds is always first filtered through a lens — quite literally.
“I always loved a school project where it was like, 'We're making a little movie,’” Emma Chamberlain tells Teen Vogue. She also shared with us the origins of her content creation days and how it all began with her dad's old Canon camera. “I was struggling with a serious depressive episode, and my dad said, 'You know, you need something that isn't related to school, isn't related to your future, that's just for fun.’”
Chamberlain's dad lent her his Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera when she was just 16, and that's how her YouTube channel was born. Now 22, she has become a multihyphenate — content creator, podcast host, businesswoman... you name it — and Canon has been there every step of the way. That's why it should come as no surprise that Canon has tapped Chamberlain to be its newest ambassador, even launching a new “creator kit” inspired by her journey to allow fellow content creators to get their start.
To celebrate the new partnership, Teen Vogue sat down with Emma to discuss how she got her start behind the camera, how her career has evolved since, and her love for cameras as a whole.
Teen Vogue: Hi, Emma! Can you recall the first time you picked up a video camera?
Emma Chamberlain: So it was with my dad’s old camera. He actually helped me. It was not like, “Oh, this is lying around.” He was like, “Hey, I have this camera. I've actually never used it really to film a video, but it's definitely capable of it.” He had been using it for photos, but he was like, “I don't know how to film on this thing either, but I really think you need a creative outlet and I want to help you. And so I'll take my camera out with you and we can film your first video on this thing.” We filmed quite a few videos there. We were both new to video recording like that. Eventually, now we both use five different Canon cameras, but we started on one that was mainly for photo, but it was still great.
TV: I love that! What were you filming? Was it just for fun or was the plan to be a content creator from the start?
EC: Well, so I was actually going through a pretty rough time when this came about. I was just struggling at school, not really feeling like I clicked with many people, just overworking myself. I was struggling with a serious depressive episode and my dad said, “You know, you need something that isn't related to school, isn't related to your future, that's just for fun.” I've always enjoyed video editing. It started with my cousins and I making stuff on the webcam, dumping it into iMovie and playing around with it. Then later [on, it was] my friends and I at school, making funny videos just for ourselves and me editing those videos, again, slapping it all into iMovie and just making something funny just for us to enjoy. I always loved a school project where it was like, “We're making a little movie.. Always loved that.
TV: iMovie was the GOAT back then.
EC: Totally. I think it still is. I'll use it sometimes. I mean I'm a Final Cut [Pro] gal now.
TV: Oh, okay, noted. Emma Chamberlain is a Final Cut Pro gal. Moving on, did you ever plan to post your videos on the internet? Or how did that come about?
EC: So, the editing especially was fun for me, but I was excited about all the pieces of it. From a creation standpoint, that's what was really exciting to me, and my dad just really, really pushed me to find a creative outlet. He was like, “Listen, you love YouTube from every angle. You love making videos and you love watching videos. You'd probably love being in them too, so you should try it.”
I think the videos were less about who was going to watch them and more about me just creating something. In the beginning, they were definitely less creative. In the very, very beginning. Like my first say 10, but eventually, I got to a place where I was being a bit more creative. I think the beginning was just about just trying to do anything, just making a video period. And then, as I got better at it, I was able to express myself more.
TV: Can you tell me the story behind your first camera?
EC: It was more just about having a camera that could capture as much content as possible. For years and even to this day, I have used the G7X Mark II and Mark III, but for the majority of my career, [it was the] Mark II, because the Mark III wasn't out yet. That was just such a great camera that I could throw in my bag and pull out at any given moment because my goal back then was just to capture as much good content as possible. Now I'm a bit more interested in the visual sort of aesthetic of it all. It's not always my concern, but it is a bit more, so I've upgraded to the M50, the R50, and cameras that have the ability to switch out the lenses and just cameras that have a bit more visual capabilities because that's more of my focus as of right now. But I love anything that is easy to use and easy to take around and travels well. And I've found that the G7X and the R50, M50, all of those are incredibly capable cameras that are easy to bring around and honestly, easy to use even for a beginner. I'm still a camera beginner in a lot of ways.
TV: Do you recall the moment you saw your first video go viral? And if so, what video was it?
EC: I think the first video that got traction was probably, like more traction than usual, was a vlog that I did. It was like, I just got my driver's license and it was me driving alone for the first time. I haven't seen that video in years and years and years, but it was kind of the first time I had sort of a clickbait-y title on accident. I think it was something that drew people in. That video just got substantially more views than normal. The [other] video that really blew up was a video I made about the Dollar Store. And I remember being excited, but also kind of like, “This is not going to last.” I just didn't really think it was going to last. I was like, “Wow, this is cool, but I don't think this is going to be anything that huge, so it doesn't really matter, I guess.” I think I didn't really care. I think it's when you hit a point down the line when it becomes consistent [then] you're like, “Oh, whoa, okay, now I'm like, now this is getting weird. It's not going away.” And then it gets interesting.
TV: Throughout the years, your career, from the first time you uploaded to YouTube, has evolved from global brand deals to hosting the Met Gala twice. How has your cinematic process evolved, or has it stayed consistent? This can be technique, equipment, etc.
EC: Well, I think my style for the majority of my career on YouTube was very much just documenting my life and turning that into something that was entertaining and engaging and a real reflection of my life, I guess. To me, that was sort of an art form, although to the viewer, it might not seem like a Wes Anderson film because it wasn't. That's not what it was supposed to be. The art for me was editing in such a way and filming in such a way that felt very true to life. It was still a reflection of real life in some ways, so I think I was more concerned about getting as much interesting footage as possible. I was less concerned about setting up a shot or having the camera be perfectly straight or whatever.
My last video actually that I made about the Met Gala, I actually did edit that entire video in iMovie because I just was like, “You know what? I don't need any fancy tricks for this specific video.” The fancy tricks were more in the filming of it, I guess. So I was like, “I'm just going to edit this thing in iMovie.” And it was great.
TV: Fast forwarding a bit, having all these brand deals and offers, how do you decide who to work with? Especially in an era of influencer authenticity when it comes to these deals.
EC: I would say I am very fortunate that I think I've always attracted such incredible brands just by coincidence. Maybe it's just because I put such a… I mean I really do reflect my true personality out there. So I think that's sort of attracted brands that align with me so well. It's been tough because there's obviously times when brands are an automatic no because it's like, “Well, I don't enjoy this product, or I don't use this product, or I don't believe in this product.” Whatever it may be. That's an obvious no for me. There's not even a price tag on that. I don't care. I will not do that. But there's been times when I've even had to turn down brands that I like just because I don't have the time or I don't have the energy. It's a combination of two things. It's number one, do I feel confident that I can create content for a brand that we're all going to be proud of? Do I have the energy to put in to make it good at a given moment? But also, do I feel like this is something that feels just natural and will connect with the people who follow me?
And again, I've just been fortunate to have found those people, but also, I tend to know who I want to work with. And so I even do some reaching out myself at times because sometimes I'm like, “Oh, I really want to work with them. I'm already talking about this anyway, might as well.” Canon was definitely one of those. It's like I've been using Canon cameras since day one, so this as a partnership was like…nothing's ever been more obvious. It was like, “Uh, duh.” It was literally like, “Uh, duh.” And I try to have as many of those “uh, duh” moments as possible when it comes to collaborations.
