Ladies and Gentlemen... let me introduce you to our amazing Austin Newborn & Family Specialist, Lauren. (And one of my favorite humans on the planet!)
Lauren photographs the sessions in Austin that I do not get back there for, and we work very closely together on a daily basis. She's our lead Austin team member.
Lauren and I first started working together in my Austin Miles of Smiles Photography business in the Spring of 2019. I remember her resume coming across my desk when I was interviewing candidates for a Photography Assistant position, and I remember writing "FAVORITE" on the top of her resume... before even meeting her. The tone of her writing, her cover letter, resume, and leadership experience at the veterinary clinic that she managed shined right through that paper in my hands.
She was hired, and jumped right into Miles of Smiles Photography like a pro. At that time, she assisted me at all of my Newborn and Family sessions, she helped me with special events, and she rocked it. There is no one I'd rather have by my side at sessions than this talented, sweet, funny, hard working, detail oriented gal!
{Fast forward a bit to March of 2020. (The month and year that will forever be "etched" into our minds, am I right?! #COVID) It was a week before the world shut down.}
I remember sitting Lauren down in early March 2020 at my Austin Studio and telling her, "Lauren, you're not going to believe this... but my family has decided to move to Colorado for a "One Year Experiment." She was like, "Waaaaaiiiiit.... Whaaaaaat?!" It was hard to believe for her, because my Austin business has been absolutely BOOMING for many years now... and the thought of me not there was an interesting one. But my family knew it was what we needed to do. And as I told her more about it, and the fact that I had interviewed several photographers to possibly become my Newborn & Family Specialist - but that I didn't feel like anyone was a great fit. And that SHE was the only one I wanted in that position (even though she had never shot a session in her life!), her jaw dropped.
I reassured her that we would schedule lots of practice sessions to teach her newborn posing, detailed camera settings, how and where to shoot, etc. before my family moved.
Well, we all know what happened the following week... Mid March 2020. COVID. The whole WORLD shut down.
So - Needless to say, like the rest of the world, the rest of businesses, work places, families, etc. - we learned to PIVOT. ;) Instead of working with real, live newborns in practice sessions, I bought a $400 newborn posing doll (built, weighted, and jointed just like a real newborn) for Lauren to work and practice with. We lovingly named her "Lucy" and she is absolutely adored to this day by Lauren's 3 year old daughter! {Her daughter even buckles her into a car seat when they head to my Studio there. So cute!}
Lauren worked and worked with Lucy and all of the training videos I sent her, all of the training we did by phone and email and zoom. I wasn't sure how it would all work out with me leaving 3 months later, but if anyone could do it, LAUREN could. And did she ever!! Even in the middle of a global pandemic.
See below for my (Sarah's) very first newborn session in 2011. And notice the difference in Lauren's very first session. (It's amazing what working with newborn sessions for 2 years, and having someone teach you all.the.things will do to your quality of images! Oh what I would have given for that mentorship when I was starting out. But it's all a part of my journey, so no regrets.)
Let me just tell you... learning camera mechanics (there are 100 things to work with, watch for, and coordinate on the camera while shooting sessions), learning newborn posing techniques (it is an absolute science), and all.the.things of photography are NOT easy. But she did it. And look at her now! We are one year in to Lauren being my Newborn & Family Specialist, and there is NO ONE I'd rather have in that position than her. She oversees our 2 Photography Assistants there in Austin, inspects and delivers client orders, keeps the Studio running well (and a hundred other things), and I just LOVE getting back to Austin three times a year to shoot sessions myself, as she's my right hand gal there assisting me at those sessions.
And - a little over a year after my family moved to Colorado for our "One Year Experiment" - my Austin Miles of Smiles Photography business and Studio is as busy as ever! Lauren is such a great team member, and I am beyond grateful for her talent. I still run Miles of Smiles Photography in Austin (and now in Durango and Telluride Colorado, as well!) and I coordinate session set up, preparation, and the client Order & Design Appointments afterwards. But she is my shooting queen there, and is doing an INCREDIBLE job!
Let's just say that my images after only having shot for one year look NOTHING like Lauren's incredible images. (I sure wish I had someone teaching me all the things I've been able to teach and show Lauren... but that was all part of my learning process.)
To know Lauren is to love Lauren. She's one of THE friendliest, most thoughtful, fun people that I know, and I am so grateful to be able to work with her on a daily basis... even if it is from 1000 miles away most of the time. And there is no one else I'd rather have working with my Austin clients and keeping things going there when I'm not - than Lauren. And - icing on the cake... I'm also lucky to call her one of my dearest friends. We are an unstoppable team, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Miles of Smiles Photography, and our Studios in Austin, Texas and Durango, Colorado.