We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauren Erwin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauren below.

Lauren, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I started my journey as a photographer roughly 5-6 years ago. When I picked up my first camera, I originally thought it would be a hobby at best. I was in a really rough place in life and quite frankly didn’t have the confidence or financial independence to try to pursue any career that was out of the “norm” and it felt like it was too much of a risk. It felt impossible, and like a lot of people I know, I didn’t think that I had what it took to make that happen. I was always telling myself I wasn’t good enough, I didn’t know enough, I couldn’t compete with other photographers and creatives. I then slowly came to realize that the only thing holding me back was me. It’s amazing what a change in thought patterns and attitude will do. As the years went by, and my friends and family pushed me to keep going, I found that I was becoming pretty proud of the work I was producing. At the very least, I was having fun, which I think is the most important thing about any career. When you start from the bottom, you can only go up from there. So I guess, to make a long story short. I very much wish I had taken myself seriously sooner in my journey. There’s no wrong time to invest in yourself if what you’re doing is something you love. It’s a lot of hard work most of the time, but it’s usually very rewarding, and I couldn’t be happier that I’m in a place now that I can do what I love and make a living at the same time.

Lauren, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

It took me a long time to figure out my style and what I even wanted to photograph. I started out shooting nature, and while that was fun, it didn’t feel very much like me. It wasn’t until about a year or two later that I finally said to myself “Maybe I should try shooting models.” That was a game changer, and luckily, I have a ton of friends who are either already full time models or are very photogenic that were willing to work with me to build my portfolio. As I practiced with my friends, I started to develop my style and hone in on what I actually wanted to do. From there it was just a matter of getting the equipment and getting in a lot of practice. I firmly believe that I’ll never stop growing and evolving. I will never perfect my style entirely, but I will never stop trying and and growing my brand. I shoot a lot of creative portraiture and a higher fashion boudoir, and the occasional concert. I am lucky to have a community of people that support me and want to see me succeed. I am proud to say that taking myself seriously was the best decision I ever made.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Overall, I just want to do what I love and be able to live comfortably. Being my own boss is a huge plus. After working in the service industry for over 10 years, I’ve learned that a lot of the time people are not very kind or understanding. I love that my career as a creative allows me to pick and choose who I work with and set my own hours. This is an industry that allows me to not overwork myself while still making enough money to pay my bills, take care of my cats, and have fun when I’m not working. I’d also very much like to be published in both Vogue Italia and Alternate Press at some point in my career. A small goal, in the grand scheme of things, but it pushes me to do my best work.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that the biggest hangups for creatives in not really any particular order are insecurity, finances, and marketing/networking. There are so so so many social media apps that are great for creatives, but they are changing so often that a lot of the time it’s hard to keep up with. Terms and conditions for what you can and cannot post, algorithm changes, new apps. Technology is ever changing, and while I think that we should be as well, it would be nice to have something consistent for artists to be able to share their work as it is and not be banned or demonetized. It would be much easier to market and stay relevant if we all had a shared space to be true to ourselves and our work. As far as the financial hang up goes, a lot of people don’t have the funds to make their dream careers happen. Everything is just getting more and more expensive by the day it seems. More affordable options are out there, but they are few and far between. I think there should be a lower income option for everyone, including studio spaces and storage space. With rent going up so much the last couple of years, if people can’t pay the rent for their homes how can we expect them to be able to rent a studio or office space to do their jobs?

Contact Info:

• Other: instagram.com/beaniebphoto instagram.com/brokesticksphoto Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Lilith Jenovax Cass Bridges Logan Simmons Bunny