Meet Lauren Chambers | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Chambers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Wow that’s a loaded question. Well, I went to business school with my sights set on being a Fortune 500 CFO for a major corporation; having never stepped foot in a corporate office. It only took 3 years for me to burn out and realize I was completely unable to politic. However, my love for business and the need to still be involved with one never waned. Fortunately for me, I married a brilliant sculptor whose career was just beginning to take off, so he needed a manager and we needed a studio for him to work and teach; KLC Studios was born. 2 years into that, the studio was pretty much running itself and multiple galleries had picked up Kevin’s work, but I became bored. We had always had connections in the art consulting world for hotel/restaurant art, so I thought if Kevin could make the original pieces of art, then I could make the molds and production casts. That way I stay busy and money keeps coming in when his fine art sales were at an ebb. KLC Hospitality was born. 2 years into that (dead serious) I noticed we weren’t getting many of the “big” hotel installations and realized it’s because we could never get any images of our work installed to put on a website or on social. Lauren Chambers – Interiors was born, well sorta. I had been doing product photography as a side hustle for years, but that kind of went away with cell phones and light boxes from Amazon. So, I took some interior photography workshops and set out to take a road trip to all of the hotels/restaurants we had artwork in. Then Covid hits (insert record scratch) everything stops…. Except construction. KLC was one of very few studios still open and producing art. Probably because it was only the 2 of us and we live above our studio. Well now I couldn’t travel to take photos but I did have some time to scour the internet and social to find anything people may have posted that had our art in the background, so I could make a website. It worked. We no longer teach sculpture classes because Kevin is creating art nonstop and KLC Hospitality is run by Kevin and his apprentices. So where did this leave me? I decided to pursue the interior photography because I absolutely love design and the hospitality side of things had me linked with a few designers that would give me a shot. At this point, it was clear I needed to be my own boss and let go of any hope of being a “company girl” of any kind.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I didn’t mention this in my first answer because that was more about the business side. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “once your hobby becomes your business, it’s not fun anymore.” That is certainly true for me and interior photography. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and its challenges, but it still left something missing in my soul. Because I never thought of myself as an artist or set out to be an artist, it never occurred to me that I could use photography (at a time when EVERYONE is a photographer) to send a message that means something to me. In 2019, I went hiking by myself in a rainforest in Costa Rica and came across a troop of capuchin monkeys passing through at almost eye level. I couldn’t wait to show my friends, who lived there, the footage I had captured. When I did, they preceded to tell me what was killing them, and howler monkeys at alarming rates. I was shocked and saddened that I stared at the photos for hours trying to come up with a way I could use the images to save these animals. CR is breathtaking, and every time I looked at one of those shots I was distracted by the beauty of the environment and lost focus of the animal. So I attempted to erase the background as well as make it black and white. Of course like all things photography and most art, it’s been done before. But that was just the beginning. One of Kevin’s students saw the finished image and said she wanted to connect me with someone at Zoo Atlanta. Until that moment, I had an uninformed disdain for zoos. I felt they capitalized on the animals plucked from the wild and stuck them into cages. Well, that couldn’t be farther from the truth; and it is that truth that put me on this journey. My mission very quickly shifted from a message about what’s killing endangered species in the wild to not only what is killing them, but what role zoos play in their survival. Working with zoos provided me with more intimate experiences with these creatures and their handlers; I just needed to figure out a way to set my work apart from other similar styles. I have always had a special connection with animals on a level I don’t completely understand yet, and I knew that would have to play into this somehow. So, I started talking to them. Literally. I tell them who I am, and the reason I am there is to tell the world their story. I can see it almost immediately, whether or not they will engage. if they do… well, you see the result. I never use a flash because I will never stress an animal for the sake of the shot which is why I shoot in black and white, it’s much more forgiving in low-light situations. The eye contact is everything to me for this project because I believe each animal in some way understands my message and is absolutely present with me at that moment. My goal is to capture what I see in their eyes, then interpret that into clear and compelling images that speak straight to the viewer; making them seem more human-like… therefore worth trying anything to save. This eye contact became what has set me apart (so I’m told) from other photographers. This series is called “Obsolescence” and has filled that void for me with photography.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a really difficult question for me because I never go anywhere, seriously. I hate Atlanta traffic so much I’d rather be home than endure the stress, and we live in the heart of West Midtown so it’s completely unavoidable. Human behavior is also a big stressor for me, just sayin. I truly don’t know what weekends are because I work the same amount every single day, whether shooting or editing. My hubs is exactly the same, maybe worse. I honestly couldn’t tell you about any hip restaurants, bars, or hangouts. There are 2 places I visit weekly because they are on my street and I can walk to them. The Daily, for a morning smoothie, and Floral Park Market, for my organic fruits and such. So essentially, I’d have to pawn my best friend off on my other friends for them to plan a good time. So, now that you think of me as a hermit, I want to say for the record, we do live above our studio which hosts numerous types of art classes all week so there are people here all of the time, so it’s kinda like hosting brunches and dinner parties a few times a week. I might just be completely taxed… all the time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow, of course there have been many along the way, but hands down this would have to go to my husband Kevin Chambers. I call him my “Prize Pig.” Not because he’s a successful artist but because I am literally nothing without him, especially creatively. I would have never picked up a camera or pursued a creative career (other than managing his.) He has inspired and supported every step I’ve made including giving up a 6-figure salary to become an artist too.

Website: laurenchambers.com

Instagram: @laurenchambers_interiors, @laurenchambers_wildlife, @klc_hospitality

Image Credits
Lauren Chambers