We were lucky to catch up with Laura Morsman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I love this question- I feel like each opportunity I have to work with anyone, feels extremely meaningful. Life is so fleeting and the concept of getting to share even short amounts of time with so many different individuals feels very serendipitous. To make and share space with someone else, hearing what life has shown them, hearing their perspectives, what they are feeling, how they are taking it all in, what they want from it, what they are excited for, scared of, all of it.. It’s never not fascinating and it’s extremely important to me to just listen, learn, and sit gently and compassionately in someone’s life as a friend and documentarian.

A project I will forever be changed by is when I had the opportunity to work alongside families losing young children to terminal illness. I was asked to photograph last wishes, adventures, connections, activities, that families were experiencing with their child, before the child went home from the hospital to continue with hospice surrounded by their loved ones.

These experiences were eternally and indescribably heartbreaking and surreal. I don’t have many words to adequately describe the weight of how this forever impacted me. You can imagine the depths of emotion surrounded by this type of work. You’re sitting with someone during one of the most traumatic and emotional times of their lives, the last moments with their child, the child’s last moments, and you’re holding up a camera, clicking a button, and then handing them back still images of it all. It feels so drastically inadequate in the circumstances.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Laura Morsman, I am a photographer, story teller, and creative director.

I initially got into photography when my youngest brother and sister were adopted when I was 18 and they were around 6 months old. I figured my parents, who had already raised 4 kids throughout the 1990’s were probably pretty tired by then, and with them adopting two babies when they were around 50 years old, I appointed myself as my siblings personal documentarian. I wanted them to have the photos and videos to look back on as they got older. I wanted them to know they were loved, seen, and known, since the moment they joined our family. They (Macy and Solomon) are almost 16 years old now and that’s how long I’ve been running around my favorite cities, photographing people, hearing their stories, and telling those stories through images we create together.

I am a self taught photographer and found my first camera while digging around in the junk drawer in the kitchen as a teenager. I think it was a Cannon Powershot, 6mp. My dad had a laptop he was borrowing from work, it was 2006. I found a simple photo editing program on it to make sure my Myspace selfies were on point, as high contrast as possible, to ensure my emo eyeliner was as intense as my favorite screamo music.

My passion for people and their individual life experiences was present much before my love for photography ever existed. I had always wanted to be a therapist and ended up going to college to pursue that along with fine art. I ended up leaving my senior year when one of my closest friends died suddenly, and I had just taken a photo of him, about 4 hours before he died. That moment changed my life. I realized that that photo was taken in such a candid, real life moment, without having any idea how it would be the last moment I had with someone I cherished. That photo sits in my office to this day, and is a constant reminder to me of why I do what I do. Each person I photograph is here for only a fleeting moment, with so many things to share, so many people that love them. If I can take even one photo that captures the energy, the life in that person’s soul, to live on, that feels important.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I feel like genuine communication, trust, consistency, and honesty with my clients have been the core aspects of building my reputation over time.

I never anticipated owning a business or being a photographer. My background is in child psychology, painting, food service, retail management, nannying, and being a grocery store cashier. Most of those roles require clear and attentive communication skills in order to help the client, hear the client, and ultimately help them attain or achieve what they are looking for or pursuing. I think an additional aspect that helped coming from these varied backgrounds was a continual mindset of learning from my clients, looking for and welcoming feedback, and realizing that the experience truly was for them, not for me.

I love my clients. Calling them clients feels very strange, I would rather call them my friends. Once I work with someone, we have a lifelong connection, and I am incredibly grateful for that.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are so many rewarding parts of being an artist and creative.

For me, working with so many different people feels like such an incredible gift to get to experience in life. I get to hear and document hundreds of different people’s stories for a living. That feels pretty magical.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lauramorsmanphotography.com
• Instagram: @lauramorsmanphotography

Image Credits
All images were taken by me, Laura Morsman, Laura Morsman Photography