Lauren Roche

Lauren Roche is a  photographer and still-life stylist from upstate New York whose work focuses on documenting human behavior and visual antics centered on leisure , tourism and commerce culture. Roche's work is captured through street, documentary and still-life moments to translate the stories of modern day American society.

Clients include Barneys New York, The New Yorker, Calvin Klein, Theory and more. She is currently based in NYC.

Interview by Dana Stirling

First, can you tell us a little about your background and how you first started with photography?

Photography has always been an important part of my life and I can’t really think of a time that it wasn’t an integral part of me. I grew up in upstate New York shooting my friends, family and fellow lifeguards with disposable and Polaroid cameras. Polaroid cameras and film were so ubiquitous back in the 2000s, you could find countless cameras for cheap at thrift stores and CVS always had Polaroid 600 film in stock.

 It wasn’t until age 20 that I started shooting 35mm and medium format, much of that being inspired by wanting to tell more of a narrative with my work. I was very much inspired by Lauren Greenfield, Martin Parr and Brian Finke in my earlier days.

I took my first cross-country road trip in 2010 and that inspired my first long-term project “Tour Guide” about leisure and tourism culture across the states. I worked on that on that project for about five years and then produced my first self-published book with Conveyor.

I know you describe yourself as a self-taught photographer. Can you tell us about how you learned photography and what helped you perfect your skill as you went on?  

I learned mostly from trial and error when it comes to technical skills. Just going out with my camera and messing around until eventually I got images I liked. I think having a unique perspective and being able to be patient with your camera is what really makes for great work. We all are going to take bad photos at times, so being able to edit down your work with depth, intention and clarity is important.

Later on with lighting I learned a lot from a few friends; I feel very grateful for that. I think your peers or assisting can be a great way to learn different skills. I also love editing and am really inspired by photo books and zines. The process of stringing images together to complete a narrative is very fulfilling to me.  Also, continuing to be inspired by other photographers and designers is always motivating; even if my work is quite different from theirs, there is always something that sparks inspiration. Lately I’ve been really inspired by Carlos Jaramillo, Andres Rios, Willy Chavarria, Paloma Wool, Maelis Bekkouche and Lucy Krebbach.

In your project “The Smallest Post Office in the U.S” you document a post office that is a small shed and their post worker Don who runs this location. Can you tell us how you found this place, what made you document it? How was your experience with Don? 

Much of my work is focused on tourism and leisure culture and I’ve been interested in documenting these types of spots in Florida ever since my parents moved down there. I love this website called “Roadside America” that lists all these quirky roadside attractions across the U.S. I was really fascinated when I discovered the smallest Post Office in the U.S. on there located in Ochopee, Florida. I’m a huge lover of sending postcards and Post Office by Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite books.

 I called the post office one day and the postman Don said I could come and document him for the day.

It was a great experience to see how one lone man works so passionately organizing and shipping mail all by himself in this tiny shed out in the Everglades. The original post office burned down in the 1950s and this shed had been used ever since. It was interesting to see that the only people who stopped by all day were tourists; no people trying to drop off mail. Don didn’t seem to mind, he felt very much like a tour guide. I was very grateful to be able to share their story.

You’ve photographed during the pandemic, and even have a project that deals with social distancing. Can you tell us if and how the pandemic has changed your photography practice? Especially as someone who photographs mainly portraits? 

During the lockdown it effected my shooting a lot because we were all so isolated. I shot a lot of still-lifes at home during that time which was a first for me. It was a good push to try new things. Now that things are back to “normal”; I would say my shooting process on the street and documentary-wise is back to “normal”. I haven’t encountered any shooting issues due to social distancing for about two years now.

 Overall, I would say the pandemic has inspired me to always try new things and to experiment with lighting, gear, styling and perspective. It’s easy to stay within the same shooting style for years, but it’s important to have growth and to push yourself. I tried a lot of new things during the lockdown; a lot of photos I never even showed because I didn’t love them all (it was more about experimenting). However, I think I got one of my favorite still-life images from that time (a still-life of boots flying in the air).

What I like about your work in general is the hybrid between portrait and still life. I always found it to be so complementary to one another. Does your photographic approach change between the two or do you tackle both subject matters in the same manner? What do you enjoy about photographing each subject matter?

  I was always more interested in documentary photography first; having a story behind my imagery and letting that happen naturally. I didn’t get into still-life photography until I began working as a still-life stylist (it’s my day job). Working as a stylist made me look at innate objects differently and I was then inspired to try and combine my eye for documentary and street photography with my still-life work. Still-life is fun because it’s playful and experimental. I would say half of my still-life work is premeditated and the other half comes from just experimenting on the fly.

I feel my still-life work is very much influenced by my documentary style. I want to bring objects to life and have more of a narrative. I don’t want to just shoot still-lifes on a white seamless (what often happens in e-commerce). Bringing a new perspective to still-life and objects is very important to me; it should be transformative.

Do you have an all time favorite photo that you took? If yes can you tell us why and the story behind it? 

I love a lot of my photos so it’s hard to choose just one. Each one definitely has a unique story behind it.

A recent favorite photo I shot was of a man on Venice Beach in Florida on a cloudy afternoon. I saw this local man that I would see often sitting on the beach and once he walked by me I asked to take his portrait. When I got close to him I noticed his grey, fluffy hair and blue baseball cap matched the clouds and sky seamlessly; it was a perfect moment. I sent the photo to him and about a week later his estranged son contacted me, telling me his father sent him the photo and asking permission to use it for a biography he was writing about reuniting with his dad. It was special to think this brief moment between a stranger and I turned into a special reconnection between a father and son. It’s funny because I didn’t even want to shoot that day. Sometimes I have to force myself to shoot, like the way you force yourself to go to the gym; but I’m always happy when I do because something always come out of it.

What advice would you have for other photographers who are reading this interview?

Never stop being curious about the world around you and take inspiration from various forms of life; not only within photography. Lately I’ve been gleaning a lot of inspiration from painters (Cat Byrnes and Milton Avery) the sky and beaches of Florida. Keep in motion and never be afraid to take risks; in order to have growth you must put yourself in uncomfortable situations.