Courtesy Photo
By Anna Flagg
Reporter
Instead of facing a mundane, regimented workday behind a desk, one Baylor graduate is doing what she loves on her own time.
May graduate Lauren Guy’s passions for dance and photography have combined to give her a career that spans the artistic spectrum.
Guy, who was a Plano film and digital media major with a minor in dance, said she was not sure what her future would look like, but she knew dance would be a part of it.
Guy grew up dancing, a passion she brought with her to college.
While Guy was at Baylor, she was a chair for her sorority in All-University Sing as well as a choreographer of other acts for the annual off-Broadway production.
Megan Blaisdell, another alumna who served as Sing chair with Guy, said she enjoyed working with Guy to produce the act.
“Lauren has a go-get-em personality,” Blaisdell said. “She is an incredible choreographer, and had a lot of creativity to contribute.”
Guy worked with drill teams in the Dallas area while still in high school, helping them choreograph pep rallies and spring shows. She continued working with drill teams throughout college as the jobs kept coming.
By the last semester of her senior year, Guy was driving to Dallas twice a week.
“I really like the high school drill teams,” Guy said. “They are a fun group to work with because they are old enough to know what they are doing, and it is a blast to come up with creative routines for them.”
Now, these drill teams have become part of her career. She is frequently booked to choreograph routines for competitions and football games. Guy also teaches hip-hop and jazz twice a week at Highland Park Dance Co.
“Most of my advertising comes from Facebook or YouTube,” Guy said. “Networking and making new contacts in Dallas have helped as well.”
Photography came later. Guy took an introductory class on photography while at Baylor under Curtis Callaway, a full-time lecturer in the department of journalism, public relations and new media. Guy said when she discovered her love of photography, Callaway invested time in her and gave her the tools to improve.
“She already had a talent,” Callaway said. “She had the eye, she just did not know the manual functions of the camera.”
Once she began perfecting that talent, Guy started taking pictures for Uproar records and for friends.
She posted them on Facebook, and friends began to ask for portraits and even wedding photography.
That’s when she created her business, Lauren Guy Photography.
This summer she photographed weddings almost every weekend and continues to have a full schedule.
“I am so thankful for Curtis Callaway,” Guy said. “Hands down, he taught me everything I know about the photography business.”
Lauren said she enjoys freelancing because she can choose her own hours and work as little or as much as she wants.
“Every day looks different,” Guy said. “This lifestyle definitely fits my personality because I am able to do two of my passions and stay focused on what I love.”
Guy hopes to open her own dance studio in the future, but for now she said she is enjoying the combination of photography and choreography.
