Hidden Gems: Meet Lauren Engel of Arturo+Lauren

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Engel.

Hi Lauren, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve been doing photography since I was about 15, mostly portraits and creative stuff for fun. I never thought it would turn into a full-time career. My background is actually in marketing–I worked at Disney doing SEO, and I figured I’d stay on that path.

During COVID, my brother suggested I pick photography back up. I was working remotely, and real estate felt like something I could start doing without needing a big team or a ton of equipment. So I began shooting listings after work and on weekends. It started small, but it grew quickly.

That’s when I launched Engel Studios to focus on real estate photo and video. Around the same time, my husband Arturo, who’s been shooting for over 15 years, moved to LA. We started working together and realized there was a real opportunity to carve out a niche in hotel, architecture, and interior photography and video. That’s how Arturo+Lauren started.

Now I run both brands. Engel Studios handles the real estate side with a dedicated team, and Arturo+Lauren focuses on more design-driven work–hotels, interiors, architecture, and creative campaigns. It wasn’t some overnight leap. It was a slow build, a lot of trial and error, and figuring out how to shape the kind of business we actually wanted to run.

My marketing background still shows up in everything—from how we structure our shoots to how we think about visual strategy for our clients. That balance of creative and business is what makes the work really fulfilling.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but the challenges have looked different for each brand.

When I started Engel Studios, I was shooting real estate on weekends and after work. I didn’t set any boundaries, I undercharged, and I tried to do everything myself–shooting, editing, scheduling, invoices, client texts at all hours. I burned out pretty quickly. Eventually I built a team, but it took a while to figure out how to delegate and structure things in a way that didn’t rely on me being involved in every step.

With Arturo+Lauren, we started at a higher price point when Arturo moved to LA. He was already at that price point in Spain but being known he already had a lot of work and referrals. The work is much more produced and intentional, so the expectations were always higher–but that came with its own challenges. Sales has probably been the hardest part starting from scratch. The clients we work with tend to have longer decision cycles, more layers of approval, and tighter creative expectations. We’ve had to get really good at qualifying leads, communicating value clearly, and holding the line when it comes to pricing and scope.

Across both brands, building a team has been a huge learning curve. Letting go of control, giving creative feedback that’s actually useful, making sure things get done to our standard–it’s all been a process. I’ve made mistakes along the way, but each stage has pushed me to get sharper about how I lead and how we grow.

It’s still evolving, but I’m a lot more focused now on building something sustainable, not just reactive. Being intentional with who we work with and how we show up has made all the difference.

We’ve been impressed with Arturo+Lauren, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Arturo+Lauren is a photo and video studio that focuses on hotels, architecture, and interiors. We’re based in Los Angeles and work internationally, and most of our projects are design-driven. Almost all of our work now is video, which is exciting because that’s really what’s helped us stand out. There are so many architecture photographers out there, but not many people doing video at this level, especially with an editorial approach.

We shoot in a way that feels cinematic but clean. The movement, pacing, and framing are all carefully considered. It’s not lifestyle content with people walking through a space pretending to live there. It’s about capturing the architecture in a way that feels intentional and elevated. Most of our projects include stills too, but video is where we lead. We direct everything ourselves, from casting and styling to lighting and location planning. We’re thinking about how a space feels, and how to translate that feeling into motion.

We work with hotels, developers, and design firms who care deeply about how their spaces are shown. Our clients usually have strong design teams, and they’re looking for visuals that reflect that level of detail. Our job is to match that with visuals that feel just as thoughtful. It’s a slower process by design. We plan carefully, we stay late for the right light, and we adapt when something better reveals itself in the moment.

What sets us apart is that we come from both creative and brand backgrounds. I worked in marketing before I did this full time, so I’m always thinking about how these assets will actually be used. Arturo has been shooting for over 15 years and has a strong background in architecture and interiors. We’re not a big production company with layers of staff, but we’re also not the type to show up and wing it. Our clients come to us when they want partners who understand design and care about getting it right.

What I’m most proud of is the consistency and clarity of the work. Whether it’s a large hospitality campaign or a quiet residential project, we treat it with the same level of attention. The goal is always to reflect the project accurately and in a way that feels elevated. We’re not here to churn out content. We’re here to create something that lasts and actually says something about the space. Especially with architecture video, there’s so much opportunity to move the standard forward, and that’s what we’re focused on.

What’s next?
Right now, we’re in a building phase. Arturo moved to LA about three years ago, and since then we’ve worked with some great clients, along with a few boutique hotels that really care about design. But it still feels like we’re just getting started. Especially with architecture video. That’s an area we’re excited to grow into more, both in the US and internationally. There’s a lot of potential when it’s done with a cinematic and editorial approach, and not a templated, fast-paced style.

I want to keep working with brands who value design and see content as more than a checkbox. Whether it’s a new hotel or an architectural story, we want to create work that feels layered and thoughtful–not rushed. We’re in this for the long run, and the goal is to keep raising the level of everything we do.

We’ve also been working on Finca Journal, which is more of a creative outlet for us. It started as a way to explore the kinds of spaces and people we’re drawn to—off-the-beaten-path architecture, slower living, places with a strong sense of character. It’s not client work, it’s something we fund and produce ourselves, which lets us be more experimental and follow our instincts. Over time I’d love for it to grow into something bigger.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.arturoandlauren.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/arturo.and.lauren
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-engel-677b73211/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ArturoLauren

Image Credits
The portrait of us is by Lucy Geraldine https://www.instagram.com/lucy_geraldine_/