Lola Gomez is a visual journalist born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2009, she moved to the United States to reinvent herself and pursue her true passion: a career in photojournalism. She graduated with high honors from the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies in Daytona Beach, FL, in 2013.
Since then, Gomez has worked for newspapers across Florida, including the Orlando Sentinel and The Daytona Beach News-Journal, and later in Texas for the Austin American-Statesman and The Dallas Morning News until March 2023.
Gomez has the ability to distill global social issues into a single frame and to build powerful visual narratives through cohesive, emotionally resonant image sequences. Her signature use of a “frame within the frame” strengthens key areas of the photograph, guiding the viewer’s eye through intentional lines and visual pathways that shape not only how the audience enters an image, but where their attention ultimately rests. With an acute sense of urgency, her images capture the drama—and often the trauma—of what it means to be a vulnerable human being in today’s world.
Recently, Gomez once again packed her life into a couple of suitcases to begin a new professional and personal chapter in Europe. She is currently the photojournalist for Catholic News Service, the newsroom of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Rome. She covered Pope Francis during his final years in the papacy and now covers Pope Leo XIV and the daily life of the Vatican.
COLLECTIONS
Orlando Museum of Art. Orlando, FL
AWARDS & EXHIBITIONS
2023
Emmy Award. Finalist for Operation Lone Star: Rancher's Agreement
2020
Monthly News Clip Contest (June). Second place in Photo Story/Essay by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
Barbara Jordan Media Award by Governor’s Committee On People With Disabilities for Just Like Me
2019
Florida Prize in Contemporary Art at the Orlando Museum of Art exhibiting Trail of Death, Stuck in Time and Living in the Shadows.
Sunshine State Award by SPJ Florida Pro. First Place in Photography Story for Trail of Death
Florida Society of News Editors. First place in Photo Story for Trail of Death
Florida Society of News Editors. First place in Sports Photography
Florida Society of News Editors. Third place in Feature Photography
Monthly News Clip Contest (February). First and third place in Sports Action by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
2018
Florida Press Club. Second place in Feature Photo Essay for Stuck in Time
Florida Press Club. Third place in Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting for Stuck in Time
Monthly News Clip Contest (July). Second place in Photo Story/Essay by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for Trail of Death
Best of GateHouse 2017. First place in Photographer of the Year
Best of GateHouse 2017. First place in Videographer of the Year
Florida Society of News Editors. First place in Features Video for Stuck in Time
Florida Society of News Editors. Second place in Photo Story for Stuck in Time
Sunshine State Award. Third place in Photography Story by Society of Professional Journalists for Stuck in Time
2017
Dispatches from the Front at the Southeast Museum of Photography exhibiting Dancer of the Universe
Florida Press Club. First place in Photography Feature Photo Essay for Living in the Shadows
Florida Press Club. Second place in Photography Sport Action
Sunshine State Award. Second place in Diversity Award by Society of Professional Journalists for Living in the Shadows
Monthly News Clip Contest (November). First place in Photo Story/Essay by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for Stuck in Time
Monthly News Clip Contest (May). First place in Photo Story/Essay by National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for Meet Zoe Adams
2016
Best of GateHouse 2015. Second place in Photographer of the Year
2014
Winner of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s Homeward Bound photo and video contest for My Heart Back Home
2013
Silver in Domestic Picture Story category in the 68th College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) for My Heart Back Home
Departure at the Southeast Museum of Photography exhibiting My Heart Back Home