Lauren Sutton is a Canberra creative! Having grown up in Canberra, Lauren is back in her hometown after years away.
Lauren has been a creative person for as long as she can remember. Lauren is best known for her photography and design work and she is entirely self taught! With a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Interior Architecture, Lauren has an impeccable attention to detail and a keen aesthetic eye which has translated through to her photography, illustrations and graphic design projects.
Her journey into photography accelerated after moving to Tasmania in 2014. Discovering new places and planting herself in new surroundings created a desire to capture all of the beautiful details. It was here her photography started to focus on telling stories of the everyday and of the amazing nature she found herself immersed in.
From this, in 2018, Lauren and her husband quit their day jobs and followed adventure to the UK and Europe!
Followers of Lauren would know all about Matilda the van.
For 6 months Lauren and Jack travelled the UK and Europe in Matilda the van, curating an epic and beautiful Instagram @matildathevw - capturing their mind-boggling and truly insta-worthy adventures.
We cannot urge you enough to check out their adventures in Matilda - the photos are breathtaking.
Back in Canberra now, with a fully developed illustration, design and photographic aesthetic, Lauren works as a creative. Running an online print shop, selling prints at POP Canberra, working for various clients and producing her Canberra Creatives Project on her journal.
We met up with Lauren in her home to collaborate on a photoshoot (It was here we also learnt Lauren is a total indoor plant QUEEN!!!)
We asked Lauren to produce a 1 hour paid photoshoot for POP, using a range of products we stock. Lauren took a suite of perfectly styled photos in her home for a new POP project, POP at home!
We cannot wait to share these with you soon. For now, this profile showcases a sneak peak and an insight into how Lauren worked with us to capture a range of beautiful product shots and lifestyle layouts.
And as per usual we asked Lauren some questions to shine a light on all she does:
How long have you been taking photos for and how long have you been printing and selling your works?
I have always had an interest in taking photos but I didn’t buy my first DSLR until 2014. Photography was always just a hobby for me, I never thought I would call myself a photographer. After travelling overseas for 7 months in 2018 I further developed my photography process and style by taking photos every day until I finally felt confident enough to call myself a photographer. I decided to try and get some freelance photography work on returning from Canberra and it has grown from there.
After returning from our trip overseas I had so many photos and a few enquiries about selling prints so I decided to set up my own print shop. I get my photos printed locally in Canberra by Lucent Imaging and then they get posted all over Australia.
Why is local shopping important to you?
Growing up in Canberra I definitely didn’t appreciate the importance of shopping local (or the quality of local makers we have in Canberra!). It wasn’t until I lived in Tassie for 4 years that I saw how important it was to shop local. Tasmanians have an incredible pride in being able to produce everything locally to such a high standard. Coming back to Canberra I realised that we have some pretty incredible and talented people doing amazing things locally, so I definitely try to support that as much as I can.
What is your favourite aspect of your photography practice?
That’s a hard one! It guess it depends what mood I am in! I love taking the photos but I really love editing them and being able to bring the vision I had in my mind to life in a photo. I also love being able to deliver the photos to the client and see their reaction to the images.
One of my favourite things about photography is getting photos printed. It is definitely worth getting those photos off your phone and into a hardcopy album. I print off an annual photo album every year and I love being able to look back on these memories and share them with friends and family.
What is your “regular job” and how do you manage all the various work you do?
I work as the Marketing and Brand Manager for Wainwright Facades. Luckily my job is super flexible so I can fit lots of other work during the week. Other than photography I do a lot of other creative work. I illustrate tattoo designs and other custom illustrations, I also do graphic design and branding and generally anything creative! I have always loved having a varied work week (I hate doing the same thing every day!) so I find it pretty easy to manage everything.
What is your favourite spot in Canberra?
I love Stromlo because it is basically at my doorstep and I love walking our puppy there every day. It feels like a bit of an escape and it’s great to get some fresh air after sitting behind a computer all day.
What have you been binge watching?
Not much recently, I usually have my laptop with me on the couch at night so we generally put on something easy to watch that I don’t have to concentrate on. Last time I had a few nights to myself (with no husband!) I binge watched ‘Blown Away’, the glass blowing competition. I love watching talented people in other creative fields who are incredible at what they do, and I learnt a lot too!
Keep an eye out for more details on POP at home.... coming very soon!