Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Naylor.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started taking photos when I was in high school with an old 35mm camera. Pretty classic start. I took a lot of double exposures, pictures of street signs, clouds, stuff like that at first. I started taking self-portraits and that’s when I discovered my love for capturing people. That slowly progressed into taking photos of friends, and that progressed into taking photos of models. Soon people were actually coming to me requesting to shoot. Which is a great feeling.
I’ve always been attracted to dreamy and strange imagery. My style is always progressing and changing, but that’s a part of my work that I think has always been there and will be there forever.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all! It’s still a rough road almost every day. But I love it. I can’t imagine it any other way. I think the biggest struggle for me has been my constant dissatisfaction with my work.
Being creative, naturally, I am super hard on myself. And I’ve often felt immense pressure to be the best—to push myself to stand out amongst the crowd of all the talented photographers out there. It can be very taxing emotionally. But at the end of the day, it keeps me pushing forward.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a full-time, freelance photographer. I specialize mostly in conceptual fashion, editorial, and portraiture work. A lot of people describe my work as bordering dream and reality—I love that description because I’ve always been so fascinated with dreams. I’d like to think that my photography holds meaning behind every concept, and in those ideas lies a foundation on human emotion. It begins by channeling my own feelings through my work. The end goal is for the viewer to relate to it emotionally on some level.
I’m most proud of the team of amazing people I work with that truly make the ideas come to life! With the type of work that I do, it takes a talented group of artists—such as set designers, stylists, hair & makeup artists—to produce something stunning. I would be out in the gutter without them!
I also recently started a new endeavor called Supervirgo—a community for female creatives here in LA. The goal is to get a ton of badass women together to strengthen our positions across all creative industries, and also provide a supportive network to empower female leaders. I’m so excited for what’s to come!
What were you like growing up?
I was pretty introverted as a kid. I loved coloring and drawing. I always felt a little different than other kids, like I didn’t quite fit in.
I loved hanging out with the boys. When I was around 5-6 I remember never having a shirt on, haha, because I wanted to be just like them. That has always stuck with me—not being girly and the desire to be on an equal playing field.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lnaylor.com, www.supervirgo.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @lnaynay, @supervirgo.la
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