Rising Stars: Meet Lindsay McOien

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay McOien.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up, I was always an artsy kid! I loved painting, drawing, designing clothes, and refurbishing furniture; I wanted my own HGTV show – you name it, I did it! That’s what led me to advertising and marketing in college. After working at an ad agency for a few years, I eventually went off on my own into the freelance photography world. And now, that’s where I’ve been for almost five years now!

My next big venture is actually tying all of that together! On September 27th, 2024, I am hosting a pop-up art gallery, Lost in Bloom! As someone who has a creative job for a living, you find that the original joy that brought you to making art in the first place isn’t the same anymore. I still absolutely love what I do, but just like any other job, there come certain responsibilities and pressures. The freedom and whimsical wonderment I had as a child is what made me fall in love with art in the first place. The purpose of this gallery is to bring that back!

Bring back the freedom to play, the whimsical thoughts, and the general wonderment of the world. All of the pieces are actually inspired by floral drawings I did as a kid! The best part is that 100% of the profits from the print sales are being donated to Free Arts! Free Arts is a local non-profit that provides transformative arts programs to kids who have been abused, neglected, and/or homeless. So, the goal is to give back and continue the creative cycle for the next generation.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
So far, the hardest part about creating a personal art gallery is getting yourself to think differently. I am usually a commercial/brand photographer. However, for this project, I am creating more ‘fine art’ style photography. So, even though I follow a creative process for my regular photoshoots, I’m challenging myself to shine a different light on the images. I’m focused on the emotions I can create and less on things like a product, brand colors, the target demographic, etc.

The first photoshoot I did for the art gallery was probably the easiest because it was just my stylist friend Skyliegh Rutt and me in the studio messing around with a bunch of flowers. I felt like we had the most freedom to play. The other two photoshoots had more moving parts. We had models, makeup artists, wardrobe options, and locations to work with. So, it was a little harder to get myself in the right headspace, but I made sure to slow down and really take the time to think instead of just going through the motions.

The most interesting part, though, was that after it was all said and done. I felt more inspired by the images with all the moving parts than I did by the shoot with just the flowers. Overall, it’s been a very fun process and a good change of pace!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
Normally, I am known for my commercial photography work, and that’s still my main focus. However, working in this gallery has pushed me to try new styles, focus on new elements, and test the waters in other areas of photography. Overall, the final pieces still very much have my style, but it’s been fun to look through the lens in a different way than I normally do.

Something else I’ve struggled with during this process is actually my personal photo style. I’m often known for great colors and crisp photos, but for this gallery, I was trying so hard to do something different. I was almost trying to mimic styles from other photographers because I thought it was so cool that they did something different. But the more I tried, the more I came back to my style.

Eventually, I realized it’s because that’s how I see the world, and that’s how they see the world. It’s always important to try new things and evolve your work, but there’s a reason I kept coming back to a similar vibe – that’s me!

Who else deserves credit for your story?
So many wonderful people deserve credit for this art gallery! There is no way I could have done it alone and they have also left their artistic stamp on the project as well.

One of the first people I’d like to thank is the wonderful folks at Arizona Flower Market. They have supported me through the entire process, and I honestly don’t know if I would have followed through with this project if they hadn’t been so supportive.

Also, a big shout-out to Alyssa Barreda, who has been by my side the entire time, capturing all of the BTS and helping me share this story!

Last but most definitely not least, the fantastic crew of people I’ve gotten to work with throughout the photoshoots:
– Skyliegh Rutt (prop/floral stylist)
– Jalia Pettis (hair and makeup artist)
– Leslie Martin (HMU assistant)
– Aphrodite Cooley (model)
– Jordyn Weaver and Hermance Luff (wardrobe stylist)
– Morgan Marks (digitech)
– Sam Sabinash (drone pilot)
– Pati Kart (makeup artist)
– Janay Siqueiros (MU assistant)
– Mel Nguyen (model)
– De Lore’ (model)
– Maggie Marshall (model)
– Sierra Olson (photo assistant)
– Blok Studios (photo studio)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lindsaymcoien.com/lostinbloom
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsay.mcoien/
• Other: http://lostinbloom.eventbrite.com/