#breakfast
Pumpkin Pancakes, adapted to be gluten free with butter & real maple syrup. Click here for the recipe on Sweet Treats.
We’ve been salivating over @lauravein‘s photos all year. She’s already a Lifer, and we were thrilled when she agreed to participate in our Week in the [Project] Life series. As a special bonus, Laura is blogging the recipes for the delish goodies you see in these images. We’ll add in the links here and hope you give the recipes a try (and feel free to shoot and tag @projectlife365 and @lauravein if you do)!
PL365: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi! I’m Laura. I grew up in North Dakota, but currently I live in the middle of nowhere in southwest Texas with my husband. I have worked previously as a pastry chef instructor at The Culinary Institute of Charleston in Charleston, SC, and as a graphic designer/photographer. I have a blog called Sweet Treats, where I feature primarily desserts, many of which are gluten free. I get to play the roles of recipe developer/tester, food stylist, prop stylist, photographer & writer—all for each post!. I also operate a very small home-based baking business called Small Batch where my favorite thing to craft is decorated sugar cookies. Ultimately, I do hope to return to teaching and doing more freelance graphic design/photography work.
#lunch
Red Lentil Chili, adapted from @runningwithtweezers. Click here for the recipe on Sweet Treats.
PL365: Is this your first time participating in a photo-a-day challenge?
No, this is not the first photo-a-day challenge I’ve attempted, but it is the first one I will (mostly) successfully finish. I think that having the daily prompts (and a world-wide community following those same prompts) helped keep me focused. I’ve missed a day here or there, but I try not to beat myself up over it. 
Using the app Collect (which I know you have featured previously on the PL365 blog) has helped keep me accountable for each day. I hate seeing blank spots on the calendar, so I’m usually inspired to at least find something to photograph each day!
PL365: What’s your creative process?
My creative process is sometimes sporadic these days, because I am dealing with some chronic health issues. When I’m not feeling up to par, I struggle with the ability to be creative. But when I am doing better, I usually find there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish all I’m inspired to do. Regardless of how I’m feeling, my brain is always going a mile a minute—I’m constantly thinking about/dreaming/brainstorming the next project, whether it is something I plan to blog or just make for fun.
Writing out my ideas and developing a photo shoot “game plan” is important to me. While I want my images to have a cohesive style, I also want to be careful not to repeat too many elements too often (or make recipes that are too similar). Looking back at what I’ve previously made and photographed and then being mindful not to use the *exact* same props/linens/backgrounds is an crucial aspect of my creative decision-making process. I love using vintage items whenever possible, but I have to be careful that the props don’t outshine the food.
Most of my food images require a multi-day commitment, especially if I plan to blog the item. It is very rare for me to develop a recipe, make the item, shoot, post process and publish a blog post all in one day. Often I do the planning and writing portions on separate days as the baking/photographing portions.
As far as my creative process for each day of PL365, sometimes I can just instantly imagine what I want to photograph that day (and I try as much as possible to have each day’s photo actually be from that day). If I’m not feeling particularly inspired or if I’m struggling with a particular day’s prompt, I look at the hashtag on Instagram to glean inspiration from what others have posted. Not every day’s image is perfect, but so long as I keep working on my craft, I’m satisfied.
#dinner
Lemon Garlic Thyme Roast Chicken with potatoes, carrots, parsnips & onion. Recipe coming soon!
PL365: What music do you like to jam to for inspiration?
I don’t listen to a lot of music these days—I’m more in to podcasts. But if I need some good working music, I usually listen to something in the country genre.
PL365: What did our Week in the [Project] Life challenge reveal about your creativity or style?
Planning is an important part of my creative process, and preparing to shoot my “Week in the [Project] Life” was no different. While brainstorming what to shoot, I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to interpret all the prompts with something food related, since food is such an integral part of my life. However, whenever I Instagram food items, people usually request the recipes. I figured that the best remedy was to additionally post the recipes for each day on Sweet Treats. Doing both Project Life and a blog post meant shooting each prompt both with my iPhone and my DSLR, which did stretch my creativity and forced me to think simultaneously both “square” (for iPhone images) and “rectangular” (for blog images).
I am also realizing that for my iPhone post-processing, I tend to gravitate towards the same specific VSCO CAM filters. I noticed, too, that my favorite food photography iPhone images tend to be shot overhead. I am trying to break myself of that cycle, but ultimately the overhead shots are usually the ones I like the best.
#dessert
Pear Galette with Ginger Creme Anglais & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Crust adapted to be gluten-free. Recipe coming soon!
PL365: What is your preferred equipment, editing apps, filters, etc.?
For 99% of my images on Instagram (including for Project Life 365), I use my iPhone 4 (though I’m planning on upgrading to the iPhone 5s in the near future) and usually process my images through VSCO CAM. I tend to utilize their “F” series of filters most often. For the rest of my blog work, I shoot with a Nikon D300 in natural light with usually either a 50mm or 40mm macro lens. Most of my post-processing is done using Lightroom.
PL365: What is your top tip for photographers and mobile photography?
Oh man, I don’t think I can keep it to just one….
Make sure to back up your phone! You never know what might happen in the future (or where your phone may unexpectedly end up).
I view my iPhone pictures sort of as a visual diary of my daily life. Though I enjoy writing, I never seem to stick with a written journal for very long. But I never go anywhere without my phone! (I joke that my iPhone is a camera that doubles as a phone!) With a mobile phone camera, it’s easy to take pictures in places where it may otherwise be difficult (or ostentatious).
But, at the same time, there has to be a balance too… Yeah, take what shots you can (multiple images and from various angles), but don’t be so concerned with documenting that you forget to be present in the moment.
Don’t just leave your mobile photography on your phone or computer, print hard copies too! Photos do no one any good if they just sit in your camera roll or in a folder on your computer. Last year, I started printing books of my Instagram images, using the company Artifact Uprising. One of their mottos—“Off your device, into your life”—really resonated with me. Additionally, I am now trying to go back to those books I’ve printed and record captions for each image. My grandma passed away unexpectedly in September 2012. When I went back to North Dakota for her funeral, we went through boxes and boxes of awesome vintage pictures, some of which had captions written on the back, but many did not. My grandpa can tell me the background of some of those uncaptioned images (or even who it is in the pictures), but he does not know that information for all the images. I often find myself wishing I knew the stories behind photographs, so I’m determined to try to leave a legacy with mine: Taking pictures, printing them, writing captions.
#whatever
“#Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” -Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) Life is too short for bad cookies (or bad coffee)… And if you want to eat a couple for breakfast, I’ll never tell! Recipe coming soon!
PL365: What elements/muses inspire your creativity?
Pinterest, blogs and well-crafted magazines are probably my biggest inspirations. Oh, and traveling.
PL365: One product you can’t live without?
My iPhone. And Vanilla Bean Paste in my baked goods.
PL365: What’s overrated?
Pleasing everybody. It just isn’t possible (and you’ll make yourself crazy trying to do so)! I also think that periodically it is a good idea to take a sabbatical from certain aspects of social media and technology.
#clouds
Sometimes you just have to make your own… Gluten-free recipe coming soon!
PL365: What do we need more of?
Collaboration and encouragement. I would love to see more artists working together on projects, sharing their wealth of information and coaching others.
PL365: Where do you go to find random acts of art?
Because I live in a more rural area, I look mostly online, whether through the blogs that I read or things posted on Instagram/Pinterest/Facebook/Twitter. But I do challenge myself to find beauty in the seemingly ordinary, everyday details of life.
PL365: What is one item on your bucket list?
To write (and hopefully photograph) a cookbook. Get back to my teaching roots. Travel more. (Sorry, once again I couldn’t narrow it down to just one!)
#incognito
Veggies go #incognito in these Spiced Parsnip & Apple muffins. Recipe coming soon!
PL365: What blogs are near and dear to your heart?
I try to follow a couple hundred blogs, but here are a few favorites that come to mind first….
Tartelette and Running With Tweezers are two food blogs created by extremely talented friends of mine. Both Hélène and Tami are rockstars and have taught me SO much.
Other food related blogs I like: Bakers Royale, Orangette, Not Without Salt, Pastry Affair, What Katie Ate.
Everything else: Things We Forget, Young House Love, Post Secret, Jasmine Star Photography, A Practical Wedding, Artifact Uprising.
PL365: Any other comments, suggestions, or good vibes you want to give to Project Life 365?
I feel so honored to be a part of such an awesome community! I love looking through each day’s hashtag and seeing how other people interpret each day’s themes. Keep up the great work!
You can find more of Laura’s gorgeous images on Instagram. Follow her @lauravein.