*All images in the post copyright Lauren Clark*

NEXT WEEK: Bobbi of Bobbi + Mike

{To nominate women you'd like to see in this series please list them in the comments-or if you have a question you'd like to see in the interviews--make sure to include your info in the comment fields so that I can get in touch with you- or write to me at: davina at davinafear dot com }

As always make sure to leave comments for the women who are featured. They like comments as much as I do I'm sure...let them know if you have questions or just to say thanks! for their insight and wisdom...

You can check out the rest of the series by clicking here. Tell a friend!

Lauren,  You are a fun person, full of energy and a let's do it now attitude.  I love that you are always up for living life to it's fullest, no holds barred.    You get ideas and charge ahead making your dreams come true.  You started your business very young and have become extremely successful.  Over the last 9 months you've made some big decisions and changes that have changed your life and business. You are a fantastic friend, smart business woman, always a Jesus loving person, and loving wife. Thanks so much for being here!

You are moving to Oklahoma soon, what made you make that decision?

As cheesy as this may sound I have had a personal awakening thanks to the Love Affair Workshop. I was the only one who didn’t really care much about the time-life balance part of the workshop. I knew that my life was not balanced and I didn’t really think that I needed to fix it. Over 4 workshops of hearing Davina speak on it I think it finally sunk in. My life was being counted away by the number of weekends I had filled with weddings, which averaged in the 40s each year. I took on sessions anytime and any day. My dreams had vanished and my life had been overtaken by a greedy, overworked monster. I began to think about what I really wanted my life to be like other than photography.

I had always dreamed of living on a farm and live like the Amish, simply and self-sustaining, and over a few months of contemplating where to choose our landing spot, Stillwater, Oklahoma became the perfect place to build a business and live my dream.

You have made some big decisions in the last 6 months.  What changes have you made?  What inspired those changes?

It’s funny how movies always teach you a lesson. I watched Julie and Julia a few months ago and seeing her blog her life away and get so involved in the people out there who read her blog and commented that she forgot who was most important… her family. I have paid less attention to my blogging and only read other people’s blogs about once a month. It was like a strange burden lifted. I no longer had an urgent desire to check blogs every morning. I could wake up and get started on my day. I always let myself have a few fun breaks throughout the day so that I don’t go cross eyed staring into this computer screen or too bored with work.

What does your workflow look like?  Do you outsource or keep everything in house?

I keep everything in house, but let my husband and sister do most of the work. My sister is my part time employee and she culls through weddings and color corrects them. Josh does all of the album orders and print orders for me. They are my life savers.

What do you do to help your clients be so comfortable with you during a photo shoot?

I talk… A LOT. I tell them exactly what to do so that they aren’t guessing and getting awkward. I feel like a director on my shoots and I love it. I think it’s the bossy, dominant side of me getting its hour in for the dayJ

What do you recommend women do who are just getting started in the industry?

Brace yourself. There are so many people out there starting new photography businesses that it makes my head spin. People who I would have never thought would be photographers are all of the sudden becoming one. It is an awesome career, but education, balance and charisma are what you need to beat out the other new photographers.

What do you do for fun…that has nothing to do with photography?

I bought a horse in July and it has been the most fun thing I have ever done. I have always loved animals and wanted a horse like most girls did when they were little. I took lessons last year as part of trying to recover from burnout and it was the coolest thing ever. I keep my horse, Rev, out at this cute little nostalgic stable and in the warmer months I would spend a good 3 hours a day out there away from all of the media. I would come home smelling like a sweaty horse, but was fully recharged!

What are you most proud of as a business woman?

I am most proud of how far I’ve come. I believe that God has a plan for it all and that he allowed me to keep getting better for a reason. Who knows what tomorrow will hold? I would have never thought 7 years ago that I would be a full time photographer and about to start a farm!

What do you do to keep your marriage fun?

 We watch movies and play the wii. Sounds a bit boring to the old me, but now that I’ve been married to a movie buff for almost 5 years it is super fun. We have wii contests where I beat him pretty badly and then he will practice for hours just to prove that he can be better. Nothing beats a bit of friendly competition. We have also come alive in our marriage since purchasing the 20 acres in Oklahoma. We are able to dream about something together and build our lives with the dreams.

How do you keep your marriage safe from the stresses of your business?

I have a pretty laid back husband and luckily he travels with me to all of my out of town weddings. I wouldn’t say that it isn’t a bit stressed during the busy season, but at least I have him by my side throughout it all!

What is the best thing you’ve done to make your business successful?

I couldn’t pin point it to one thing. It would be a long list of people I’ve met and places I’ve been. It really isn’t what you know (not exactly but it helps), but really is all about WHO you know!

What do you do to keep from feeling overwhelmed?

I take a day off. When I start feeling overwhelmed I make a long list of small tasks to do throughout the day and I mark them off one at a time. Once I feel like I’ve got about half of them marked off I take a break and do something fun. It makes me feel so much better! I usually stay up late that night after my fun break and finish the tasks all to realize that there wasn’t really that much to do anyway.

You are such a fun person.  What keeps you going?

 Chocolate ice cream :)

What three products or things help you stay organized?

Bludomain’s backend calendar, my Raid Zero server system and my sister!

What do you do to get such great color in your images?

I use Totally Rad Actions in secret way! I watch the lighting and make sure that I pick the right light to make the colors pop.

What is something that you think women in the industry should not do?

 Buy a ton of equipment and things only because someone else does. I’ve bought thousands of dollars worth of junk that I bought because I saw someone else do it. Rent it first!

What is something that you think women in the industry should do?

Make time to find your real creativity. Shoot what you love. I quit doing large family portraits because I hated them! Now I only shoot things that I know I will be good at and send the rest along to someone else.

What five suggestions do you have for women who are trying to have a more balanced life?

Find a hobby.

Get a pet.

Schedule a day or two off each week.

Take a non-photography related vacation.

Hire someone to work for you to do your dirty jobs.

You recently came out with a Photoshop tutorial, UNO, with all of your secrets to great images.  How did you fit that into your already busy schedule?

I took 2 weeks off to make it. It only took me 2 full tries and about 8 hours to finish the recording since I outsourced the production of it all. I was so nervous about making it that I think I waited until the last free day to make it!

Why did you decide to put all of your secrets on a DVD?  Where can people purchase UNO?

I wanted to be able to share my post processing secrets with people so that they could have a head start in their business. I would be lying if I said it wasn’t for the money, so let me just get that out. It was for the money. My farm dream was much too expensive to not come up with something. It took me about 4 years to learn all of this in Photoshop and I knew that if people could jump that learning curve for a price then they would! www.unobylaurenclark.com

To see more of Lauren Clark's work:

Website

Blog

Uno by Lauren Clark

*All images in the post copyright Lauren Clark*