Capturing the Essence of the Coast & Commerce

Storytelling Through a Sophisticated Lens

I bring a lifetime of multi-disciplinary experience to every conversation. Whether you need a striking beach portrait, a complex multi-day commercial shoot, or compelling editorial photojournalism, every client receives my focused, premium attention.

As the premier photojournalist of the Treasure Coast and Indian River Lagoon, I specialize in commercial, wedding, and lifestyle imagery tailored for the hospitality, travel, and recreation industries.

How We Can Collaborate

Commercial & Food Photography: Elevated visual branding that moves products and captures consumer attention.
Photojournalism & Events: Candid, high-impact storytelling that preserves the raw emotion of your milestone moments.
Fine Art Commissions photo illustrations, and creative writing projects custom-tailored to your vision.

What to Expect

Bespoke Service: I don't believe in "off-the-rack" solutions. Every shoot is custom-designed for your brand or family.
Absolute Transparency: Clear, direct communication regarding packages, usage rights, and timelines.
Unmatched Expertise: Partnering directly with a seasoned creative professional, never a junior assistant.

The Story of Lauramarie: A Lifetime of Art, Industry, and Impact

🕊️ The Industrial Visionary: Trading with the Heart of an Artist

In 1988, a headhunter recognized a rare blend of analytical brilliance and creative intuition in me, launching a 14-year journey into the global commodities and metal industry. I quickly mastered the arts of trading, brokering, procurement, and logistics. I learned somehow metal touches every walk of life on this planet. Yet, as a lifelong advocate for world peace, I refused to view raw materials as mere static inventory. Instead, I used my position to bridge cultural, linguistic, and religious barriers, establishing a global reputation for fair, transparent, and decent procurement.

Though I never wore a uniform or served in the military myself, I proudly supported our armed forces as a civilian contract manager in the metal industry. I approached high-stakes commodities trading through the lens of a visionary designer. The partnerships I brokered were built to endure, instilling long-term contracts that still impact the world today—from repairing the remnants of war and planning infrastructure restoration after natural disasters, to facilitating critical collaborations between defense contractors for global safety, protection and peace of this earth.

I proved that heavy industry can, and should, be driven by a deep humanitarian heart.

🎨 The Corporate Catalyst: Revolutionizing the Beauty & Service Industries

Long before entering the industrial trade world, I built my foundational business acumen in the fast-paced realms of hospitality and beauty. In the early 1980s, I managed high-energy restaurant environments, absorbing invaluable lessons in logistics, customer relations, and meticulous coordination.

By 1984, I transitioned into the beauty industry, studying under brilliant mentors and quickly rising from an assistant salon manager and assistant to the coiffure’s guild president, a great teacher, mentor, and politician, who taught me a lot, to the Director of Education for a major metropolitan beauty supply distributor. In this custom-tailored role, I synchronized all of my talents—graphic design, copy writing, trade show management, and corporate networking. In direct collaboration with top manufacturers, our team revolutionized beauty product distribution, providing advanced continuing education, philosophical training, and technical workshops that taught an entire industry how to elevate its standards.

We Worked in direct collaboration

with all the manufacturers .

We taught the whole industry how to be better.

📸 Old-School Roots: The Foundation of Modern Craft

My deep respect for the photographic medium started in my 20s. In 1983, I brought my collegiate arts and communications training into the frontline of the one-hour photo lab revolution. Stepping into a facility lacking structure, I worked directly with the ownership to complete advanced Noritsu training, master old-school custom darkroom darkroom processing, and pioneer modern photo lab operations. This hands-on, technical education gave me an absolute mastery over exposure, color theory, and lab chemistry that digital-only photographers simply do not possess.

🌊 The Florida Chapter: Sabbatical, Serendipity, and New Beginnings

In 2002, life called me away from the corporate ladder. I returned home to Florida to embark on a 12-year sabbatical dedicated to family, managing the extensive, compassionate care of my elderly grandmother until she peacefully passed at 97, and supporting my mother through her courageous battle with cancer.

Sunsets were my mother's absolute passion. Together, we dreamed of opening a beautiful home-based photography studio to serve the lovely communities of Central Florida. Though she passed suddenly on Christmas Eve-eve in 2014, breaking our shared timeline, her spirit remains the literal heartbeat of my creative business.

In 2015, I began building that physical dream. I officially opened the doors of my professional commercial and portrait studio to the public in 2017, fully remodeling the creative space in 2018. Alongside my studio work, I expanded my creative footprint globally—publishing books, composing music, and releasing audible musical books across Amazon, iTunes, and international digital platforms.

Today, I stand as a specialist who has never taken a career "off the rack." Every phase of my life has been custom-tailored, culminating in an extraordinary depth of experience. Whether I am capturing a commercial product line, standardizing a brand's visual identity, or shooting an intimate local portrait, I bring the precision of an executive, the heart of a humanitarian, and the soul of an artist to your project.

Lauramarie Pepsin

Creative Director | Commercial Photographer | Photojournalist
📍 Grant-Valkaria, FL 32949 | 📱 407-361-2342 | ✉️ lauramariepepsin@yahoo.com.

Executive Profile

A dynamic, multi-talented business owner and executive with a cumulative lifetime career bridging the fine arts and heavy industry. Proven track record of spearheading multi-million dollar corporate growth, managing complex global logistics, and publishing creative media works. Adept at custom-tailoring operational workflows, negotiating high-stakes contracts, and delivering world-class visual assets. Guided by a deep humanitarian focus to make a lasting, positive impact on the planet.

Core Expertise

Visual Arts: Commercial & Food Photography, Photojournalism, Fine Art Commission, Art Direction
Industrial Operations: Commodities Trading, Global Traffic & Logistics, Procurement, Contract Management
Leadership & Strategy: P&L Management, Multi-Cultural Training, Brand Strategy, Corporate Mergers

Professional Experience

Lauramarie Pepsin Art Galleries & Photography Studio | Owner & Principal Creative | 2010 – Present

Establish and scale a premier lifestyle and commercial photography studio in Central Florida.
Direct multi-platform branding, visual content creation, and website infrastructure.
Produce independent creative works, including 14 musical albums, audiobooks, and 3 published paperbacks (1998–2018).

Family Care Sabbatical | Executive Care Manager | 2002 – 2014

Dedicated a 12-year chapter to managing the comprehensive health, estate, and daily operations for elderly family members.

Global Metal & Commodities Industry | Operations Manager & Senior Trader | 1988 – 2001

Spearheaded the rapid scale of a startup enterprise into a multi-million dollar market leader.
Managed global traffic, maritime port shipping, customs containerizing, and regional trucking networks.
Brokered high-value ferrous and non-ferrous raw materials based on real-time stock market analysis.
Negotiated corporate mergers, lifetime ongoing restoration contracts, and secured million-dollar accounts to the mill level.

Beauty Supply Distribution Industry | Director of Education & Creative Designer | 1985 – 1988

Revolutionized distribution channels by integrating educational workshops for cosmetology professionals.
Designed marketing collateral, directed trade show logistics, and negotiated vendor contracts.

Education & Affiliations

Kean University: Visual Communications Major (Minor in Engineering)
- Focus: Graphic Arts, Color Theory, Advertising, Higher Math/Writing Tutor.
Affiliations: Florida Professional Photographers Association, St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.

Humanitarian

My lifetime experience is cumulative and adds up to the extraordinary competence

that I bring to the table.

Ultimately, I want my life experience to add up to a humanitarian effort

that makes a positive impact on the planet.

Always a specialist.

All of my jobs have been custom designed for me.

I never took jobs ” off the rack”.

All were custom tailored.

"At a turning point in my career, looking for a new challenge, a high-ranking industry leader gave me a definitive piece of advice: it was time to get directly into the game. This shifted my trajectory into a series of highly sensitive initiatives, voluntary civic assignments & bystander support working toward resolutions of various issues. Acted as a confidential civilian asset, navigating complex environments to ensure seamless, behind-the-scenes support for frontline personnel.

While the exact parameters of these joint assignments must remain permanently sensitive and privileged, this chapter solidified my reputation as an exceptionally resilient, highly vetted professional capable of operating under intense, high-stakes conditions."

"Though it was a short-lived chapter lasting less than a year, that intense adventure permanently altered my worldview." Successfully I've translated the unique human dynamics and situational awareness gained during this high-pressure tenure to fuel an elite specialty in documentary photojournalism and serve as a core creative inspiration for published literary and musical works.

My Lust For Photojournalism

"Operating in those high-stakes, behind-the-scenes environments permanently altered how I view the world. When you spend time navigating the hidden, complex layers of special operations, you develop an acute, hyper-aware instinct for human behavior, tension, and truth.

This intense chapter is precisely what fueled my lifelong passion for photojournalism. I realized that the world doesn't happen in staged, perfect poses—it happens in raw, split-second moments of genuine human emotion and story. I took that same hyper-vigilance, that same ability to read a room instantly, and transferred it behind the camera lens. Today, my photojournalism isn't just about taking a picture; it is about capturing the unvarnished, authentic truth of a moment, standardizing an elite level of observational storytelling that few photographers can replicate."

Furthermore, it became a profound fountain of inspiration for my creative writing, books, and musical albums, infusing my published works with an authentic, unvarnished depth that only real-world grit can teach."

Résumé of Lauramarie Pepsin

mobile 407 361 2342

office 321 327 2243 Home. by appointment only

email lauramariepepsin@yahoo.com

website https://lauramariepepsin.wixsite.com/photographerlaura/contact

address 7476 Amethyst Ave. Grant-Valkaria, Florida 32949 ,

Achievements: - Spearheaded growth of multi-million $ company from the ground floor. --Acquisitioned long term million$ + contract business.

- Met sales goals, moved inventory as needed.

- Hit target objectives, maximized profits based on analysis of daily stock market values.

- Set industry standards for prices based on daily stock market reports

- Implemented lifetime ongoing contracts for repairing the remnants of war & plans for restoration in the wake of natural disaster.

- Negotiated mergers. --Managed contracts. --Acquired and Turned over multiple mega contracts to the Mill level.

- Implemented program for multi-cultural education workshops.

- Took beauty product distribution to a new level. Provided continuing education to cosmetology professionals.

- Managed workshops, seminars, taught usage, technique, philosophy and management in direct collaboration with manufactures.

- Taught the whole industry how to be better.

- Today: Business owner, Photography Studio, self-employed businesswoman. Photojournalist, Commercial Photographer.

- Writer, published author, music composer 1998 -2018, 14 albums, audible books, 2 singles, 3 paperbacks- kindles.

Summary:

Lauramarie Pepsin Art Galleries is my legal business name and encompasses all the ownership of the Arts of Lauramarie Pepsin,

-Elderly family caretaker April 3, 2002 to December 2014 ,in Florida, took 12 yr. sabbatical for responsibilities keeping company with and managing care of elderly family members.

-Member of The Saint Cloud Chamber of Commerce 2017 2018. -Member of The Florida Professional Photographers Association 2017 2018.

Manager, Executive Director, Assistant to Operations Manager, Assistant to President, Assistant to CEO, Assistant to Vice President, Assistant Sales Manager, Sales Pro. Efficiency expert, motivated staff, employed positive attitudes, developed and instilled protocols, met challenges, solved problems, planned strategies, negotiated with vendors, coached employees, built team cooperation, continued and utilized proven methods, managed budget, managed contracts, managed inventory , proficient computer skills , MS office,

art & photography software, website design.

-Metal Industry ·Broker, trader, buyer, seller, metal industry, raw materials, nonferrous, ferrous 1988 - 2001 diverse experience working in and managing all departments. Distributors & service centers.

Assistant to operations manager, traffic manager: metal industry, 1992-2001, port/shipping/ containerizing/trucking, shipping & receiving, credit manager, order department, warehouse, executive account manager.

Guggenheim, PWT Pechiney World Trade and Guggenheim Metals were closely affiliated during the 1980s and 1990s. Pechiney World Trade (a subsidiary of the French multinational Pechiney) was a major international metal-trading firm. At the time, Guggenheim Metals (formerly Guggenheim Corporation) operated as an affiliated distributor and trading partner of semifabricated copper, brass, and aluminum. The Pechiney company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada. In 2007, Alcan itself was taken over by mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan.

Unimet Metal Supply, Inc. (United States): Founded in 1989 in Parsippany, New Jersey, this company operated as a major wholesale distributor of copper, brass, stainless steel, and aluminum. It was acquired by A.J. Oster, LLC (a subsidiary of Global Brass and Copper) for approx. $42 million in 2017.

Cambridge Lee,

1955: Boston, Mass. was established as a small distributor serving the U.S. plumbing market.
1993: The company was acquired by the Mexican conglomerate IUSA (Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V.) and expanded it's metal market.
Cambridge-Lee acquired the Reading Tube Corp

Peterson & Marsh operated a prominent high-volume metals service center in Bound Brook, New Jersey, from 1969

supplying raw metals and alloys to commercial and industrial customers.

precision machining, contract manufacturing, and value-added metal services for aerospace, medical, and defense applications.
1996: Kurt Grimm acquired the metal service center as KWG.

Mc Nichols Did training ( didn't stay) a company specializing in perforated expanded w ire mesh scaffolding grating metals.

Did trial apprenticeship in scrap metal purchasing & recycling, but left for a fulltime position elsewhere.

-Beauty- ·Director of Education, beauty supply industry artist, graphic & creative designer, designed advertising, managed, organized, sold and instructed workshops, negotiated education and supplies with vendors, booked venues and catering, recruiting, scheduling, assisted sales manager and VP with trade show management 1985 to 1988

·Photo Lab management photographer, managed lab & retail 1982 1983

·Restaurant management 1980-1983 and 2001-2002

-Hotel-Motel desk management & room service, laundry manager.

·Education: Kean University 1980-1983 communications, management, fine arts, graphic arts, advertising, engineering, computer science, worked as math and creative writing tutor, teaching assistant higher math, assistant restaurant manager, also involved in mentoring, counseling students who were in need of rehab or psychological help, helped them find counselors, or students who had learning difficulties or who played sports and needed to get higher grades.

-Major in The Fine Arts & Visual Communications -Advertising & Marketing - Communication Arts - Advertising -Commercial Art & Graphic Design -Business Management -Color Theory specialty -

-Minor in Engineering.

Lauramarie Pepsin Art Galleries
Photography
Studio

Grant-Valkaria