Meet Lauren Magin

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

Thanks for sharing your story with us Lauren. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Growing up in Rochester, New York, my parents both worked at Kodak, they would bring home big boxes full of disposable cameras and my sister and I would model for each other. My dad had an education in fine art and taught me drawing and painting, which I later took classes in. When we were older, my sister went to school for photography and began her career at weddings and newborns. Though I wanted to follow in her footsteps and go to art school as well, my parents encouraged me to pursue engineering since I was strong in math and science. Well, I knew that I had a long and challenging path ahead so I decided to take one year for myself, at 18 years old, and live in Paris where I learned art history, french and one day decided to buy my first “real” camera.

I had a ton of fun wandering around Paris taking photos and I am so happy to have had those moments! In college, I joined the photography club and worked part-time taking photos of athletic events. I went to almost every single game on campus for three years. When I studied abroad in New Zealand, I got to adventure once again with my camera by my side – I took it everywhere with me. Up until a few years ago, it was just a fun hobby that I occasionally made some money off of and I actually put my camera down for a while when I started working and didn’t have the time or inspiration for art. Then one day I decided to drop everything and go travel again – this time I backpacked solo around Southeast Asia for almost a year, and I knew that I wanted to document the whole thing and maybe even make this hobby into something real. I ended up spending some time on a little yoga island off the coast of Thailand (I am a certified yoga instructor) where I found a gig taking photos and videos for a yoga retreat.

I was so inspired by my new surroundings and the time that I finally had to try new things, so I started taking portraits of people, which I never thought that I would like. I did a nude art series, worked with a lot of yogis and loved all of it. When it was time to come back to the states I decided to settle in Denver, where my sister had been living and where it was so much sunnier than upstate NY! I lived with her for a while and shadowed her jobs, taking behind the scenes videos and absorbing her lessons. I went to some photography meetups in town and began working with local models, I was really loving the artistic side of fashion photography and just creating in general. Aside from portraits, I still enjoy travel photography and have recently gotten very involved in the coffee industry, traveling to coffee farms around the world and documenting the lives of local farmers.

I am very passionate about sustainability and hope to continue working more on social impact. Needless to say, photography is still a huge part of my life, though I feel like I have grown so much in the last two years. Currently, I enjoy working with local models, fashion bloggers, sports teams and small businesses (yoga teachers, shops, other photogs) to help them create their vision using photography, videography and marketing strategy. I freelance for 303 Magazine which is a really fun way to get involved in the community, and I recently started the MBA program at CU Boulder. It has been a very windy path to get to where I am but I am excited to see what comes next!

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?
Wow, so many struggles! Seriously. It’s funny because I dealt with some hard stuff a few years back and I really never really thought that things would get so much harder. For me, it’s been mostly heath stuff – in my college years, I dealt with depression and stomach ulcers which led me to go vegan and get into yoga. Those things helped me immensely, my mental state and physical health improved tons, but having done so much travel in developing countries, I’ve really managed to mess up my stomach since then (I had food poisoning about five times in six months). This past year has been the hardest.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s disease and shortly after that came down with viral meningitis and was hospitalized for four days. About seven months after that I got it again and was in the hospital again! After suffering from two severe brain injuries in less than a year, I am still figuring out how to navigate my health, get through grad school and try to get as much rest as possible. I’ve learned so much from all of this, how to take care of myself physically and mentally, and how to have boundaries while pushing myself to be better. It has been a crazy year but I am moving forward every day.

Please tell us more about your work. What do you do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
I would say I am most known for my portrait photography and “moving portrait” videography but a lot of my work also lies in the lifestyle and documentary space. I honestly just love doing a lot of different things! The direction I see myself moving in is more of creative consulting, rather than just doing one photo shoot with someone, I am working more on developing marketing strategies and helping them create the content that goes along with their vision. I love the idea of growing with people, especially when they are doing positive things for the community!

What I am most proud of is the number of connections I’ve made doing this. I think it’s really easy to get into your zone or your circle and stay there but I’ve really tried to work with diverse groups of people (I’m very passionate about diversity!) and try new things.

What sets me apart from others, I think, is that my background is pretty different from most peoples. My background in mechanical engineering gives me a technical edge while I’ve always loved being creative and expressing myself through art. I really love meeting new people and sharing their stories, because everyone is so unique and interesting! I am always down to try new things and am very open-minded.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Actually yes, I am definitely planning on some big changes! As I mentioned earlier, I recently started pursuing an MBA degree, which I am hoping to use to focus more on working with other businesses who are looking to grow. I would really love to start a creative consulting agency one day but who knows what unexpected things will come my way on this new journey. In the near future, I have some exciting projects coming up that are definitely out of my comfort zone but I am looking forward to gaining some new skills.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laurenelliephoto.com/
• Phone: 5857485134
• Instagram: @laur_intheworld
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurenelliephoto/

Image Credit:
Alexis Tepp Photography, Isaiah Gonsalves, Theresa Strobl, Delaney Archer, Danshay Martinez, Hailey Rose

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