allie russell: class of 2013

Meet Allie Russell. I’m so glad you are getting to meet her because she is truly a beautiful person. I remember meeting her on our first assignment for Blue & White magazine back in the day, then we worked countless hours working at the world’s best college newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, where she just finished up her last paper as Director of Visuals. She’s got a great eye for photography & a killer eye for what looks good…her pinterest boards speak wonders, people. While Allie & I go way back, I couldn’t have been happier to be asked to take her senior portraits! She is so fun to be around and had some awesome photo ideas, and while we couldn’t find a field of flowers, she was game for laying in a flower bed in UNC’s arboretum and then going to shoot in our favorite Franklin Street bar, Linda’s. Good luck to you after graduation and at your internship at the Student Law Press Center! Can’t wait for our delicious basket of cheese fries later!

rdu baton: may 1, 2013

This year, my birthday was pretty awesome. Mainly because y’all made it fabulous & because I got to do what I love all day (make pretty photographs…duh)! I held the RDU Baton instagram account, a collaborative photo project held by the wonderful people of the Triangle to let the world see how AWESOME the Triangle-area of N.C. is! I didn’t have an unusually eventful day, but worked to make all my shots count! It’s definitely nice to have a challenge when shooting since I haven’t had that since the good ol’ days of Pat the photo professor! I included the original captions beneath each photo for y’all. You can sign up to hold the baton here.

Also, if interested, all shots are iPhone and I use a diverse group of photo apps and textures: Mextures, pictwo, pictapgo, vscocam, snapspeed, and squaready (although this is just a handful of what populates my 2 “photo folders” on my phone).

Hello RDU! I’m Lauren V. Allen, a local photographer based out of chapel hill! I’m also a high school photography teacher at Northern High in Durham. I always start my mornings off really early, around 6:45, at work with a cup of coffee in my “great mustaches” mug! #chapelhill #durham #latergram by @viedfinder / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YxR9cGjh-z/

My intermediate photography class at #Northern decided it was best to do a crazy class picture! These kids are the next movers and shakers of the photography world and have quite the eye for it! They are my #durham #babyphotoninjaz! check out my blog, viedfinder.com for some upcoming class galleries! Photo by @viedfinder / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/Yxei5ejh8l/

I’d like to thank @google for making this girl happy with a #google #doodle! By @viedfinder #techgeek / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YyKKEMDh55/

I’m always lovingly greeted home by my sweet yorkie, Eloise. Today she fought over a new hair bow while barking at our neighbors at the bus stop. She thinks she’s the biggest dog in all of #chapelhill. Photo by @viedfinder #adventuresofeloise / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YyOUsSDhwP/

So freaking excited for my birthday present & good company! I sure do love my husband & his memory of my favorite color ! #chapelhill photo by @viedfinder / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YySIowjh11/

Fresh cut lines for my favorite #chapelhill @thetopofthehill knock-off: Kansas City Ice Water! Love dinner parties! Photo by @viedfinder / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YyXa2DDh9O/

Confetti cupcakes with great friends are better than confetti cupcakes alone #ftw. It’s been a great day with you lovely North Carolinians! Couldn’t have had a better social media birthday:) now to spend my time with friends and the hubs! Be on the lookout for Emily @mlelynn and her day with the baton! #chapelhill by @viedfinder / on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YyjBqBjh9K/

Thanks for all the well wishes! Such a great way to start off a new year!

intermediate photo:light painting

This week in intermediate photo, we did light painting! We needed a fun project to get us back up on our feet after our Art Gallery last week. The students did most of their light painting in-camera then photoshopped for contrast and saturation. Here are some of the best from class!

class of 2013: leslie locklear

It’s spring time on the Hill and graduation is just around the corner! I was so excited when Leslie asked me to do her senior portraits because she is such a fun & beautiful lady to be around! I had an awesome opportunity to work with Leslie on my capstone documentary, roots, in the Fall of 2011. I learned about her heritage and how it much it shapes her as a person which is something I will always admire. She dons a beautiful pair of feathers on her graduation cap, a tradition that is gifted to graduating seniors in her sorority by her sisters and elders in her community. Leslie is graduating from the UNC School of Education & will be returning in the Summer to start her graduate program for school counseling. This session was full of laughter & smiles and a LOT of goofing around across UNC’s campus and the beloved Franklin Street! Leslie–I wish you all the luck in the world with your future; nothing can stop a strong, loving, and sassy woman like you!

a panda prom.

Prom season has begun! And more than anything, I love unexpected photos like this one. Happy Spring, y’all!

+ high-res version

senior mini-sessions.

Contact Lauren V. Allen on facebook, laurenvallen.com, or laurenavallen@gmail.com.

a f(r)amily easter.

F(r)amily: a group of friends so close they are practically family; typically found in a military community or a small town.

Every year we do 3 holidays with the framily: Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Easter. This year, we met for Easter dinner at the Pfau’s. It was different this year-for the better-because instead of crying over baby dolls, the babies we old enough to easter egg hunt & break cascarones! We also had my aunt & her significant other, Esther & Culley, come in from Texas to eat Aunt Betty Lou’s Rolls and take in the North Carolina pine pollen. Here are a few shots from dinner this year–enjoy!

Yay for juice cups!

And tummy tickles!

Sometimes I wonder how my mom lives with his crazy eyebrows, but they make us all laugh, so that must be how.

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Eggs, eggs EVERYWHERE!

After dinner led to some crazy cascarones (a Mexican tradition known here as confetti eggs) & toddler wrestling!

Anabelle has nothing but hugs & kisses after wrestling her momma!

Jerry’s White Coat Ceremony

Well, let’s just say I couldn’t be more proud of my husband! Many hours of studying, stress, and prayers have gone into this jacket and he completely deserves it! The White Coat symbolizes the transition of pre-clinical studies to clinical studies (Yes, he will have patients in a month! Eek! ) and to serve as a humbling reminder that he & his classmates are responsible for the oral health of North Carolina & beyond. This milestone means he can start earning the trust of patients as he takes care of their pearly whites! I couldn’t be more thankful to have such a determined, smart, and ambitious partner in crime! Here’s to 3 more years of friends, family, hours of studying, & teeth!

So many pictures were taken of these UNC Dental kids!

That’s one proud Momma…

…and Dad!

Instagramming that white coat!

Great friends help the world go ’round!

I love you & I’m so proud of you!

20% off!

france, a one-week love affair (pt. 3)

I’m so sad because this is the last film installment of Jerry & I’s journey through France (visit part 1 & part 2 and be on the lookout for some digital & instax blogs). Oh, how I love black & white film so much. These shots come from our rainy day walk throughout Paris & our view of Charles de Gaulle airport the night before we left. There is something magical about airports, the lights, the coming & going. Let’s just say…I can’t wait to go back.