New Downtown Studio Specializes in Quirkiness

Lauren Poussard faced a conundrum in her youth, when presented with the question "what do I want to be when I grow up?"

A whiz with numbers, she was naturally drawn toward a successful career in finance. Conversely, she displayed an undeniable knack for photography from her early years. Poussard said she had a difficult time choosing between the abilities that came with ease, versus the talent that nurtured her creativity. 

What to do when you possess equal strength in both the left and right hemispheres of the brain? For Poussard, the answer was: "Do it all!"

She laughed as she explained how her choices would have been easier if she had less skills. "I have no fear,” she said. “I would much rather do good things than any old thing."

Love and marriage brought her to London where she pursued work in the financial sector, and before long she rediscovered her passion for photography after the birth of her children led her to begin photographing again.  

“Even though I have this background in finance, I always surrounded myself with creative people,” she recalled. “I've had this innate passion all my life.”

On Friday the real estate investor, financial consultant, and owner of Lauren Poussard Photography, opened her first studio on Maple Street. For Poussard, the prospect of solidifying her place in the photography world was less daunting than it was fate.

"Starting a business was not a challenge for me,” the Danvers resident explained. “My real estate experience made me less afraid of starting because through that I touched every physical part of the company.” Poussard's career as a financial advisor working with small businesses also helped to demystify the process.

The 43-year-old recounted how after ten years of operating a successful home-based photography business on the side, for whatever reasons, she had not taken her business to the next level. That is until a couple of months ago when a chance meeting with a stranger at the Solbean Cafe in Middleton changed everything.

“I saw this guy hanging paintings, so I asked him about it," she said. "It turns out he wasn’t just hanging them, he actually painted the paintings! So we became instant chums,” she reflected. ”It was serendipity, we connected like peanut butter and jelly. Those are the kinds of meetings you want, it makes life interesting.”

The conversation digressed to include information about open studio space above Goodies, and Poussard decided to take a look. When she saw the brick wall within the space, she explained she “just fell in love,” heading down to the office immediately to secure the rental.

The UMass Amherst Grad and Salem High School alum has been featured in The West End of London’s production of “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” locally in the Peabody Essex Museum’s Connections Magazine, and she was named the Photographer of the Year 2005, WPS.

Poussard's specialties include custom photography for social media and print marketing (headshots, product shots, businesses); designer greeting cards;
designer photographic marketing products; maternity, newborns and familiy portraits; and photo parties, from kid's birthdays to adult bachelorette celebrations.With roots planted firmly in downtown Danvers, Poussard said she feels she now can offer her clients a better product. 

She began booking portrait studio sessions prior to her Grand Opening on Friday, April 6, and insists her studio sessions be fun, and adult participation is required. Her portraits have a self described ‘quirkiness’ because she said she’s looking to capture who the subject is, rather than the perfect snapshot.

“I’m not looking for the perfectly posed photo, to me it’s about telling your story, and that can be applied to personal portraits and business,” she said.

Over the years, Poussard's Christmas and Holiday cards have become legendary to her clients. “We plan the theme all year, and think of ways we can top the previous years’ theme,” she said.

Poussard's personal favorite?  “Rita Pasquale of United Martial Arts, flipping Santa over her back-you don’t mess with Sifu,” she laughed.