We recently connected with Lauren Friedman and have shared our conversation below.
Lauren, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My name is Lauren Friedman and I am proud to say that my passion for photography has really shaped me as a person and as a professional. While I have my master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a speciality in juvenile delinquency, I have such moved away from that profession to pursue my real passion in life: photography. Since I was in high school, I always knew I loved taking photos, specifically newborn photos. In fact, I was always the first person at the hospital with my camera taking photos of the special moments my friends and family shared with their new babies. When I met my now husband, he bought me my first HD camera lens for my birthday and thats when I really began my photo journey. I just loved to know that my photos would be keep sakes for years to come! Babies to me, are just so new, so innocent and so adorable. I always loved the newborn photos I saw on social media and knew I wanted to be a part of that world.
Soon after getting my first HD camera and after knowing I felt comfortable taking photos, I took a part-time job working at the local hospital in Annapolis, MD doing fresh-48 photos on the weekends. Fresh 48 photos are those taken within the first 48 hours of a newborn’s life. Initially, I was very nervous, but excited to be part of a family’s special memory. I was speciality trained not only on how to safely handle a baby, swaddle, and change diapers, but also on how to pose a family and a baby and how to make sure the photos were taken properly. This job meant a lot to me personally because new moms go through A LOT after a birth. Most families don’t even have visitors in the hospital at all, so to be privileged to be invited in the room and to capture photos was considered to be an honor to me. After a few months on the job, I was knee deep in a creative spark and truly began to love my job! Because it was commission based, I learned to truly take my time with families, often helping new moms shower, get dressed and even fix their hair sometimes so they felt more comfortable in their photos. I spent my nights learning which photos did better than others when it came to sales and spent time on websites like Pinterest and Facebook groups learning from others.
Within a year of working this job, I interviewed and landed a job working as a traveling newborn photographer with a company doing posed newborn sessions. This journey started with intense hands on training with some of the best in the business and continued online education throughout my employment to perfect my skills. Ever since then, my education journey hasn’t stopped with them; there is always something new to learn whether it’s safety, posed or prop related. After a year of being with that company, I felt confident enough to start my own photography business doing newborn and family photos. I work mostly with newborns and children doing milestone sessions (newborn, 3 months, 6 months and year old photos), but also hold “mini sessions” that coordinate with holidays during the year. I even started working with local dog and cat breeders doing newborn photos on their litters of puppies. I can get creative with props and photo backdrops with the puppies and it’s so much fun! Ever since I started my own company, I have had over 300 new clients. I love to see return clients come back for their second and third babies, milestone session or even family sessions. It’s so interesting to see how children have grown and come into their own personalities. What’s even more special is seeing my art work grace their walls and social media pages.
In my personal life, I went through a pretty dramatic experience with my second baby who passed away at 24 weeks gestation. This experience changed me in a very profound way. I began to look at life differently, to cherish my health, my family and hold the good memories stronger. I am more compassionate to new parents and make a conscious effort to ask important questions and hold empathy when needed. From this, I learned just how important photos can be to families as well. I hold dear all my sonogram photos of my baby and the announcement photos we took and even those taken after he passed. When I was pregnant with my now third baby, we honored my son in my maternity photos with blue butterflies. Those photos mean so much to me. My passion for photography actually grew much stronger after this because I know how much those photos helped in my healing journey.
My passion in photography has always stemmed from being able to hold on to special moments and memories and thus gave way to my purpose. My goal and purpose in my photography business is to be able to best capture the memories a family wants. Photos are memories frozen in time because ultimately they are the only things left from a person, a visit, a trip, etc. They can bring back so much emotion and bring so much comfort to a person.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I have had a photo business for over 5 years now. We recently moved to Jacksonville, Fl, but originally, I am from Baltimore, MD. I have my master’s degree in criminal justice with a specialty focus in juvenile delinquency. I have worked in the field of substance abuse, high crime areas as well as worked in the mental health field as a military subcontractor. I have been published several times in journals as well as books. Interestingly enough, my education and work experience taught me the importance of empathy and patience and this can be relayed in some areas of photography., especially when working with small children. Holding space for empathy and patience can go along way.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back at how far I have come, I think the most important quality/skill needed to stay prosperous is the want to always learn. If you look at my work over the years, it has progressed each year and thats how it should be. The “very good” photographers are always learning and it reflects in their work- whether it’s trying out different editing, poses or incorporating new props. If you aren’t learning, you aren’t growing.
Another important quality/skill needed is empathy and patience. When dealing with newborns and small children, you need these skills. It can take several hours to successfully complete a newborn session- you never know how the baby will do. While I try and mitigate my sessions with scheduling them soon after birth and trying to educate parents on what to do to best prepare for a session, it’s still a baby and patience is key. I use those skills with my other sessions as well. Can you imagine the patience it takes for a litter of 8 puppies?!
Finally, another important quality/skill needed is learning how to ensure that my passion holds. Holding passion for me means finding out what makes me smile and finding ways to always want to do better. When I loose passion, I tend to move on to different things, so for me this is important. Part of that again, involves always learning to better perfect my skills through continued education and learning from others. I have made some really special friends from all over the world that I collaborate with and these photographers and content creators really inspired me. Another part of keeping my passion is trying to avoid professional burnout. Burnout can lead to poor work performance and can negatively affect my mood and mental health. I have learned to create boundaries with customers and to make sure I am spacing out my sessions. My work never ends after a session, I have to edit, answer emails and deliver galleries. Making space for work and my personal life is needed. I have always learned the hard lesson that not every one will appreciate your work as much as you, so I make sure I do the best to truly enjoy my sessions and connect with families.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
When I stop and reflect on my work ethic I know I get that from my parents. My mom is an immigrant from Italy who came to America when she was 13. She didn’t have the easiest life and has always taught me to work hard. She always told me that as a woman it’s important to make sure I had the education and work ethic to never rely on anyone else. My father has the same work ethic. As an environmental sales associate for his entire life mostly working on a commission basis, he always encouraged me to engage with customers and constantly keep learning. When I was growing up, he always helped me on my school projects in making them look more creative and engaging. This skill proved to be the most beneficial as creativity is key in the photography world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.laurenfriedmanphotos.com
- Instagram: @laurenfriedmanphotos
- Facebook: @laurenfriedmanphotos
Image Credits
The dog in the leather jacket and car- Lux Bulldogs The doodle and beach dog is Diamond City Bulldogs
