Lauren Bamford is developing an impressive reputation for her beautiful photographs.

“You never quite know, especially earlier in your career, if you have defined a noticeable personal aesthetic – not until you can look back on a body of work and recognise that link, which I finally feel has happened for me.”

Welcome to Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and cats who dress like their owners (not joking). Our aim: to help the internet become a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place by making art accessible.

To find out more about the Voulez-Vous project, click here. Click here to see all the previous Voulez-Vous posts.

Lauren Bamford has an original eye for colour and composition that you don’t often see in photography. Spending most of her time between Melbourne and Sydney, Bamford is developing a seriously impressive reputation for her beautiful collection of works.

Bamford knew she wanted to become a photographer since she was 15, but was unsure how to make it happen, especially because she didn’t want to be a wedding or portrait studio photographer.

“There was a very big chunk of time between finishing my photography studies in Sydney, and then actually making a living off of it, that I spent working in (what I considered at the time) to be dead end jobs. I took the leap of faith into full freelance life almost two years ago now and have just been trying to keep up with the pace of my schedule so far, it’s been wild!” Bamford says.

And man, has that decision paid off. She regularly works alongside the best food and interior stylists in Australia and has had her work featured in everything from fine art gallery exhibitions, to books, brands, and media, including Yen Magazine, Dumbo Feather, The Guardian, GQ, Inside Out and The Wall Street Journal.

Bamford has a unique personal style and aesthetic, and the colour palates she employs result in incredibly dreamy photographs. She aims to capture things as ‘naturally’ as possible.

“My personal work is all very documentary based and I look for interesting colour palettes and compositions that catch my eye. You never quite know, especially earlier in your career, if you have defined a noticeable personal aesthetic – not until you can look back on a body of work and recognise that link, which I finally feel has happened for me,” Bamford explains.

Now that she is a little more established, Bamford does have a little more room to move when it comes to selecting what she wants to work on.

“All the other ‘bread and butter’ stuff I have been doing the last few years doesn’t seem as necessary now – which is a wonderful place to be, as there is no need to burn yourself out creatively and physically shooting stuff because you need it to pay the rent,” she explains.

One of the projects she works on is a series called Locals, where she pairs local flora picked from the side of the road, with local beers. She shoots the photos on location, in places all around the world. The result is simple, but so beautiful.

“I have been around Australia so far, and also added American, Japanese, Italian and French ones to the series. I made limited edition prints available for purchase, and have been overwhelmed with the response. I will eventually exhibit the whole series, but for now am just enjoying where it takes me,” she says.

One aspect of her job that she particularly loves is working on books.

“Although I have had loads of fun collaborating with other creatives on campaigns, I would say I get more out of working on books – as the project lasts longer. It gives you an opportunity to really create a body of work from cover to cover which lasts longer in peoples lives as well, more so then a scheduled media campaign,”

Most recently she has been working on a book (just released) called Indoor Green, by Bree Claffey, and published by Thames and Hudson. It is all about living with indoor plants and how to take care of them.

“It’s really good (if I do say so myself). It was a great project to shoot with Bree from Mr Kitly, as we travelled to Japan and the USA as well as Australia, documenting so many amazing plant filled homes and studios,” Bamford says.

You can find out more about Bamford on her website, and check out her work on her Instagram.

Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to lizzie.marton@mamamia.com.au.