meet Laura.

I really like Laura Zastrow. She plays in a band, uses cloth napkins, makes delicious hummus, teaches her babies sign language and Spanish (wow!), goes to school full time, paints her living room one wall at a time, has seemingly endless energy, and runs her very own photography business.

Her photography speaks for itself. Brilliant, creative, stunning. Her website is here. If you need pictures taken, she's the one you should go to. 


I am often in awe of Laura Zastrow. 

And in the midst of raising a beautiful family and chasing her dreams, she always finds time to inspire others. She tends to make gloomy days seem brighter, and her endless encouragement helped to make my Etsy store become a reality. 

You really should meet Laura. Oh, lucky you! You can meet her right now! This short interview will give you a peek into her delightful world. You may now consider yourself officially introduced to Laura Zastrow, the other half of our amazing Business Launch Celebration.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a 23-year-old wedding and people photographer. I've lived in Madison, Wisconsin for six years with my husband, and both of our babies were born here. My family is very important to me, and there's nothing I'd rather do than spend time with them.

How do you know Becki?

My husband and I have been good friends with Becki's husband, Tim, since we moved to Madison. I worked for Tim for a brief stint when he opened his first business. I met Becki a few times and was at their wedding, but I didn't really get to know her well until she sent me a sweet e-mail encouraging me in what I do. We've been bouncing ideas and admiring each other's projects ever since!

Besides creating things, what do you do?

Currently I stay at home with my two kids, Oliver (almost 3) and Eliot (17 months) while my husband goes to school, works, and makes music. I'm also in school full time for graphic design, and I play acoustic guitar pretty casually with a band. That summary makes me sound much cooler than I really am, though.

What made you decide to become an artist?

It's always been in my mind. My mom saves cute magazine ads she finds to make homemade birthday cards, and my dad has been working in computers for probably 40 years. I guess I was destined to do something with digital art!

I got my first digital camera when I was 14 using $600 I had received as eight grade graduation and confirmation gifts. That 2.1 megapixel point-and-shoot cost more than my first DSLR did! I took the camera with me on our family's spring break trip to Washington, D.C. and documented the whole trip. I was smitten after that.

So, you have a photography business. What do you do exactly?

Couples, weddings, families. I want to have candid photos of them being themselves and capture the emotion of that time in their lives.

What inspires you?

Textures and colors of old urban buildings, patterns, shapes, emotion.

What are your top five favorite creative blogs?

In no particular order

(http://benchrismanblog.com/) Ben Chrisman

(http://colormekatie.blogspot.com) Color Me Katie

(http://www.bobbiandmike.com/blog) Bobbi + Mike

(http://happilybecki.blogspot.com) happilyBecki

and currently probably (http://thedieline.com/) The Die line as well due to its relevance in my computer graphics glass.

What is a little known interesting fact about yourself? 

I'm so hippy and frugal that I wash and reuse Ziploc bags. I think my husband thinks I'm weird.

Favorite color?

I like them all. Really! No favorites.

Favorite books/movies/music?

Not too specific on movies and music, but the book Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne changed my life. And how about TV shows? We don't have a TV, but Hulu and Netflix have it all. We watch Biggest Loser, Mad Men, and (I hate to admit it) Party Down, as well as early seasons of The Simpsons and The Office.

What is one thing you feel like you couldn't live without? 

Maybe my down comforters?

In ten years where would you like to be? 

Oh goodness, what a scary question. In ten years I will have a big family, and I hope to be helping people who need it. I would like to be an award-winning photographer; traveling every so often for my job; making enough money to easily support my family; teaching others to do photography well. 

If I'm interested in your photography services, what is the best way to contact you?

I hold strange hours with mothering and school and such, so e-mail is great! Its laurazastrow@gmail.com