We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Rund a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I’ve had a handful of meaningful creative projects over the last several years or so. Each one is so unique and I’m honored that part of my creative craft is helping others tell their stories. I think in the last year or so, I’ve really leaned in to telling the motherhood story. My Mother’s Day Mini Sessions are some of my most popular to date, and I began offering these sessions only after I became a mom myself. The journey of motherhood is equal parts grief and joy. The motherhood journey begins with great pain (whether you have biological children, or you adopt or become a caregiver of sorts) and you are subsequently thrust into joy along with the good, the bad, and the ugly–I love capturing that for my friends, family, and clients. I’ve taken photos for friends before kids, during their parenting journey, through grief and loss, and beyond. There hasn’t been a season of my life that has stretched me as a person more than motherhood and it informs my art in unexpected ways. Because children don’t keep, capturing moms with their littles is an ever changing art form and it takes on so many faces and changes. It’s beautiful to see a mom and her kids grow over time and I love capturing that, specifically in my motherhood sessions.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I have always been a creative at heart. I have scribbled in journals, poured out poetry, and chased sunsets with cameras for years. I’ve always felt a pull to create; to tell stories. I’m pulled mainly to writing and photography and hope to continue both in the years to come.
My story, in a nutshell, is I majored in English and earned a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I subsequently taught English in public school for several years and upon relocating to the Dallas area, set that profession aside to pursue my photography, in hopes of earning a livable income. I’m now a “part time” photographer, full time stay at home mom to my two beautiful children. My husband is incredibly supportive of my photography and together we are working to build a peaceful home where our family thrives.
Being a business owner has it’s ups and downs, and I find myself frequently burned out by all the backend business work, but I’ve never been able to stop myself from dreaming and creating. Last year was my most profitable year as a lifestyle and family photographer (I’m very proud that I’ve grown my business to where it is). But I am no finished product, and still have much to learn. This year I’m finally to a place where I want to take creative risks, try new things, and be bold in asking for help.
Right now, I offer bright and joyous portraits for individuals, couples, and families, as well as natural branding for small business and entrepreneurs. My main goal is to provide imagery that lasts–images that are emotive and joyous and memorable.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Society can best support artists, creatives and create a thriving ecosystem by not just by consuming but by GIVING as well. We only give to what we find valuable. We give our time, our energy, our affection, and our money to things we find valuable. I think society would render a healthier creative ecosystem if we found more value in it–and gave to it. Gave creatives our time. Sought out painters and artists and musicians and the like and heard their stories and asked them truly how to support them. The question we can ask ourselves is, when was the last time I intentionally sought out a creative to experience what they are offering to the world?
In the fall of last year I took my daughter to see The Nutcracker Ballet at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. It was her first time to see the beauty of ballet in real time. She was enthralled and enchanted, and I carefully and dutifully explained to her that dancers spend years of their lives (if not every waking moment) perfecting their art and craft. Spending hours breaking their bodies, and rebuilding them, learning musical appreciation and time and choreography to produce such a show. Such is with many artists.
More often than not, society consumes art and then walks away. What we don’t value and appreciate is the painstaking labor it takes to produce such art. Artists need financial support sure, but in the long run, they need to be valued, shared, and experienced. Ultimately art should be intentionally shared with our younger generations so an appreciation can blossom over time.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
One of my favorite monologues in film is from Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society (1989). He’s teaching English and emphasizing to the young men in his classroom that language is powerful and meaningful. That though most of the men in the classroom are aiming at careers in business or law, but it would be foolish to neglect the beauty that is language and poetry. Williams says, “we don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.”
At the end of his speech he quotes Whitman saying, “The powerful play goes on. And you may contribute a verse.” It’s a call to action–for every young man in that room, but also the audience at large. We are alive, and because we are, we have purpose and a story to tell. This speech was so moving in fact that Apple Inc. latched on to it several years ago and made an iPad advertisement with William’s voice. Go check it out on YouTube, it’s rad.
When I’m feeling creatively drained or unmotivated this is one of the pieces of media I go back and watch. It’s a sobering reminder that we have one life to live, and we get to choose what foot we put in front of the other. We get to contribute a verse, if you will. And that is true in my photography as well, I get to choose how to story-tell, what to focus on, how to create and love the people standing in front of my camera– and I long to do it well. I long to tell their stories and capture them in a way that is joyous and honoring to who they are as a person.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laurenrundphotography.com
- Instagram: @laurenrundphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurenrundphoto
- Other: Use Session: https://book.usesession.com/i/OC5WWzN4-