Rachel Chandler was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She moved to New York after high school to pursue a career in photography and attend college. She worked for several notable photographers and after graduating worked at Conde Nast as a staff photographer for the newly launched Vogue.com. During this time she began earning commissions from publications including American Vogue, The New York Times, Dazed and Confused, Interview Magazine, and Marfa Journal.
The casting process (which is a part of making fashion pictures) was always of great interest to her. In her personal work she photographed friends, people from her community and people on the street. One of her clients, Hood By Air, encouraged her to include these people in commercial work and fashion shows for them. From this collaboration she understood that she had not only a photographic eye but an eye for people in general.
Although she works primarily as a Casting Director, Chandler maintains photography clients and takes commissions from magazines.