When Lauren Trantham picked up a camera professionally 3 years ago, she knew the pictures had potential to be powerful.
“I did a photo-shoot myself and I was really surprised by the results,” Lauren Trantham says, “I looked at the photos and I thought, ‘holy cow that’s me?'”
“I realized I could do that for other women.” Trantham adds.
What’s followed is a successful business, that’s centered more around the person than the picture.
“It becomes a realization that they are beautiful, and that’s how the world sees them, and that’s how their loved ones see them as well.”
But her next project, is likely her biggest, riding 9,000 miles to photograph survivors of sex trafficking.
“I’ll start here in Southern Oregon, and I’ll go up towards Seattle and then basically straight across to New York City, down to Florida, then across to Los Angeles and back up.”
Trantham has partnered with the Rebecca Bender Initiative to raise money along the way. Their goal is to raise $60,000 dollars so that more survivors can receive support and education in the initiative’s online program.
“It’s gonna take me 2 months, so it’s a really big project, a big endeavor but I’m really excited.”
And when she returns, Trantham says she’ll pick up right where she left off, encouraging women to embrace who they are one click at a time.
“It’s a big joy of mine,” Trantham says, “I’m very passionate about what I do and I can’t wait to pick up with my clients when I return in the fall.”
Trantham leaves Saturday, September 3rd, but her “Ride My Road” campaign kicks off September 2nd at the Schneider Museum in Ashland. You can follow here journey and donate by visiting HERE.
Executive Producer Kristin Hosfelt anchors NBC5 News weeknights at 5 and 6. Originally from the Bay Area, Kristin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from San Jose State University.
She came to KOBI-TV/NBC5 from Bangor, Maine where she was the evening news anchor. Kristin has won multiple journalism awards including Best Feature Reporting in the State of Maine. In 2017, her investigation on lead pipes in Medford’s water system was named Best News Series by the Oregon Association of Broadcasters.
When Kristin is not sharing the news, she’s traveling, hunting down the best burrito, or buried in a Jodi Picoult novel. She’s also a Green Bay Packers shareholder; if you see her out and about she’d be happy to tell you the story of how a California girl became a cheesehead.