Meet Lauren “Lolly” Thompson | Lifestyle Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren “Lolly” Thompson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren “Lolly”, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
I worked in different roles in the same manufacturing company for twenty years. During this time, I was able to be customer-facing and quickly realized that taking a client-centric approach for our business decisions and actions was something I would continue with after this career was over. Moving next into my photography business, keeping my client-centric mindset has helped me build better and long-lasting relationships and supporters. Brand loyalty for me starts when a business owner decides that exceeding client expectations is a higher priority than profiting from that client.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up, I was always the “sporty” girl. Not super brainy and certainly felt I was not a “creative” person. My stick figures and odd oil pastel paintings did not lead me on a path to a creative job. For 90% of my life I felt I had basically no traditional creative talent. Sure, problem solving and productivity and being a Mom require a ton of creativity! But being a creative person? Not I. Fast forward to picking up a camera in 2017 and knowing literally nothing about it, it was a fascinating learn from a technical perspective first. After many fails and trials and fails and meltdowns and fails…I was starting to simply understand my camera body and the principles of shooting in manual mode. It was exciting! Continuing on, developing my eye behind the camera and post production was a continued sense of excitement and failure and excitement and improvement. At a certain point of self-diagnosed success, I had a huge sense of identifying as a creative person. I felt like a new girl! Part of removing the block was simply telling myself that I CAN learn something totally new at age 37 and I DO have creative talent. Those words sound so simple, right?!

What I tell my daughter and now myself is that EVERYONE has talents yet to be discovered. We each are creative beings and it should be a priority to BE creative. It does not have to be your profession, but it can be passion projects or tinkering around. Many women give up creative outlets while we put our family first. We quickly become taxi drivers and short-order cooks before we know it. When we choose to keep things in our life that allow us to simply create and grow our talents, it helps to fill some voids of self-worth and purpose during these chapters with young children.

LollyPop Lenses is a brand that I am super proud of. My purpose with this business is to connect with others to help improve their personal or professional confidence by providing beautifully curated images. Part of my business is the business lifestyle images. No more stuffy headshots. Connecting with women between the ages of 40-60 has been a passion of mine. What a fabulous time in our lives! Helping them curate some amazing lifestyle and portrait personal or professional images of themselves is the objective. 99% of us are not natural born supermodels. We need some guidance prior to and during a photoshoot. I love this! I love connecting with someone while boosting their confidence. That energy and collaboration shines through the lens with images they are super proud of and will help them with their next steps. Similarly to above, EVERYONE is beautiful and my job is to highlight your specific beauty.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would spend a day at the High Museum and explore Politan Row for eats and treats! I would explore Ponce City Market and play some games up on the rooftop!
I would visit some civil rights spots including the Madam CJ Walker museum and finish off the day at St Cecelia!
I would spend a Saturday at the Alpharetta Farmers Market and cook dinner at home with my food treasures!
I would hit up a Braves or Gwinnett Stripers game for my annual Italian sausage splurge!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A big part of my story is using my photography skills to support the MVP’s of our community. To steal Tim Tebow’s meaning of MVP…Most Vulnerable People. In addition to growing my for-profit business, you’ll find my assistant (9 yr old daughter) and I intentionally find opportunities to serve the special needs community, elderly community, and underprivileged children who are often simply underserved with attention and respect. The services we can provide are small in time but grand in value to these folks. When I was growing up, my Mom had a unique way of showing attention and respect specifically to those around us with special needs. She always recognized them and they lit up when they saw her coming. I’ll never forget the face of young Julie who worked as a bagger at our local grocery store when my mother brought her a small birthday gift. Something Julie and I separately will never forget. Fast forward 25+ years later, now my daughter knows our local bagger, who we make a point to joyfully acknowledge by name each time we visit. Folding service in my business just seems so natural and is now part of the brand of LollyPop Lenses.

Website: https://lollypoplenses.shootproof.com/

Instagram: @LollyPopLenses

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-thompson-00503a5/

Facebook: @LollyPopLenses

Image Credits
All photographs by Lauren Thompson with LollyPop Lenses