We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Smith-Reed recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

The photography industry is full of creatives, but mainly heterosexual and male dominated. As a queer person I’ve navigated these spaces my whole life, but as a queer artist and photographer, there feels like there’s more on the line when it’s my art being compared to these people. Through my life I’ve found myself editing my own language and being for the comfort of others and I think that’s such a common experience for anyone out of the normal beauty standard or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I love offering a safe space more than anything. I think the most beautiful art is created in those spaces. I love to photograph real people with real bodies and stories. I wish I could’ve seen more of the diversity of the world as a child. I want to be part of the change in social media and beauty culture that magnifies emotions and authenticity. AND SQUASHES FAT PHOBIA! You’ll see a diverse range of models in my art. You’ll see my art reflect queerness, fatness, self love, emotion and fine art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Lauren, my friends call me Lo, and I am the owner of Citrus Collective Company. I’m a queer creative photographer who loves traveling and capturing the weird and wonderful! If I were to sum up myself I would say I’m a grown up tumblr kid. I love a vintage aesthetic and am definitely a thrift addict. I have always loved taking photos, styling looks, and would often binge Americas Next Top Model as a teen, and still do on rainy weekends as an adult. The intense creativity of those seasons inspired me to go to cosmetology school in 2017 and have been in the industry in salon from then until July of this year when I made the jump to full time creative traveling photographer.
My business started with doing fun hair, makeup, and thrifted fashion looks and since has turned into a fully functioning business that allows me to travel to places like Arizona, Utah and Louisiana. I’ve been to creative content retreats with people I admire and learned with them and found such an amazing talented community of niche creative photographers that have definitely helped me find my style. My ideal session is definitely getting to style my client head to toe, and give them the space to step into the spotlight and glow as they should. I believe fiercely in self love and body neutrality. Our physical looks are just a way to express the bright colors of our soul. I love using props that give a sense of nostalgia. I love to create a scene and often get inspiration from films my spouse and I watch. My spouse and I have such a cosmic marriage and I am so thankful that they are part of my creative team and are supportive of my art. When I’m photographing weddings, B will often second shoot and charm any crowd my introverted self needs them too. Truly SUCH a blessing to my life and business. As queer people we offer a sense of community that not many other married photographers can. We had the disco wedding of our dreams last year after losing my grandma who raised me and my dad within two months of each other. Life is short. Learning this up close, letting the grief mold me as it should, also pushed me to make the art I’ve always wanted to make. My nan loved photos and had trunks of them for us to go through after she passed. The walls of my childhood home were lined with corny posed photos, that I still cherish to this day in a trunk of my own. Photos can capture so much about someone if you just know what moments to capture.
I say I capture the weird and wonderful because those are the magic moments that make you feel, and wonder, and pause. I, as any other artist does, hope to make people feel and heal within the spaces of my art and business.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal as a photographer has always been to make my client feel their best, see themselves as more than their body, and to love themselves authentically. I’ve been in the beauty industry for 7+ years and have watched the standard cause damage among every identity of person. I want my art to be a place for the people who you don’t often find in mainstream media especially in the conservative Midwest where I’m from.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Let’s talk about instagram itself. The platform has completely molded my business and given me a platform for my art that I never would’ve had on Facebook or just by word of mouth. It is a power house no doubt. But to say that social media in general has been all great for me is watered down. Imposter syndrome can really creep in and these media sites are the worst at showing us exactly what we want to see. I’ve learned to use it as a tool for my business and set personal limits for myself. It can be such a double edged sword sometimes though. I find writing a schedule and putting social media in that for work time and mindless fun scroll time has been super helpful in the battle against comparing myself to other artists with larger followings, or more bookings or traveling to the places I want to go.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/citruscollectiveco?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CitrusCollectiveCO?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Citrus Collective Co