Who I Am, Beyond the Lens

I’m Laura Linn — a photographer, published writer, and actress. I grew up in Porto Alegre, which means Happy Harbor, in the very south of Brazil, and for the past 10 years I’ve made the U.S. my home — from the East Coast to the West Coast. I was raised in a big family where gatherings were always full of life, music, and warmth.

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From early on, I was the one with a camera in hand, trying to hold on to the laughter, the embraces, and the in-between moments that made those gatherings unforgettable.

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That hasn’t changed.

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Photography, for me, has always been about more than images. It’s about time standing still: an honest laugh, a glance you almost miss, the kind of smile that can’t be staged. Those moments tell stories all on their own — honest, unrepeatable, alive. That’s why I’m drawn to candid photography and portrait.

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I love people, and I love stories. My curiosity about people and life has taken me in many directions — to film school, to writing, to acting — and photography became another way of exploring art and storytelling. When I photograph families, I also think about the future — how, twenty years from now, their kids might look back at those photos and feel the warmth of that day all over again. That’s the magic for me: knowing that a single photograph can carry love forward in time, keeping it alive for the people who matter most.

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At the heart of it all, my work is about connection. Every time I pick up my camera, I’m searching for that spark — the unrepeatable moment that tells a bigger story of love, family, and what it means to be human.