Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Slusher.
Hi Lauren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In the early 2000’s, when I was in college, I’d take pictures at parties and post them on my Xanga blog (throwback!) the next day. Then people started regularly asking me to make portraits of them; those were my first “commissions.” Social photography on the internet wasn’t really a thing yet, so it was special to have a cool picture or two of yourself floating around. I was also taking photojournalism courses and looking at a lot of Avedon and Arbus portraiture. During my sophomore year, I took an internship at W Magazine in NYC for a semester. That led to a post-graduation internship with a fashion photographer, which fell through before it started, but I moved to New York anyway. I rented a bedroom in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and started taking every portrait and event photography job I could get. I interned with a fashion photographer, a wedding photographer, and a travel photographer, and I developed really different skillsets and insights from each one. I was working on everything and my client network grew fast. I lived there for eight and a half years, photographing a couple hundred weddings and families, as well as numerous musicians and artists. I built a solid foundation as a freelancer, and I felt confident enough to change it up and move to Austin in 2014. I traveled back and forth for a couple of years, partly out of necessity and partly because I thought it would be fun. And it was fun, for a little while, but it wasn’t a sustainable pace or a good way for me to grow roots and community in Austin, which is important to me now.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I used to think that the 2008 recession was a good test of strength for my business. I got through that and felt pretty invincible. But the pandemic uncovered a totally new set of challenges unrelated to financial ones: in particular, the challenge of finding inspiration for new ways of working when everything feels impossible and staying hopeful about new beginnings.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My primary work is in wedding photography. Clients hire me because they appreciate my mellowness and respect for what’s happening naturally. I’m known for thoughtful advice, good style, affability, and photos that reflect people’s personalities. Outside of client work, this year, I’ve been working on a floral still life series.
What does success mean to you?
Success in my work means finding the right balance of artistic output, financial input, and happy clients. That balance shifts depending on what is going on in my life, but some substantial combination of all three of those factors has to be present for me to feel successful.
Contact Info:
- Email: Lauren.slusher@gmail.com
- Website: https://laurenslusher.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenslusherphoto/
Image Credits
Lauren Slusher
