Meet Hilaire Baumgartner | Food Photographer and food blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hilaire Baumgartner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hilaire, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
My views and attitude towards risk taking has dramatically changed since starting Baumassfoods. Before, risk taking (when it comes to career and money), was not something I was comfortable with. I always played it safe and had very little desire to step out of my comfort zone in that way.

 Now, I have a very YOLO mentality when it comes to risk taking with my career. You never know who you’ll meet, connections you’ll make, and what opportunities may arise if you just take that leap. Before, I didn’t fully see the importance in doing so. I know now that in order to advance yourself and career, you have to be willing to do things that scare you a little bit. Even if the risk you take doesn’t end the way envision, you can (and should) still learn and grow from it!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I work as a food photographer, plant-based food blogger, and do social media work for another blogger. I started solely in the blog sphere, but have transitioned more to the photography realm, which I love! So many people have helped me along the way. It definitely has not been super easy. I was fully expecting to take a few months off from blogging and photography after I had my second kid, but a couple months before he was born, a lot of opportunities came my way that I couldn’t pass up. Managing everything, especially during a pandemic is hardly ever easy, but I take it day by day and try to remind myself that it’s really not that serious. Along the way, the 2 most important things I’ve learned is that everything is negotiable, and confidence matters more than you think. I want the world to know that I love what I do I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished. My story is not very unique to small businesses- if you have the passion and drive, you can make it happen!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friend weren’t staying at our house, I’d definitely have her book a room at Hotel Dryce (it’s not open yet, as of Feb 2021, but it will be soon!). Day 1: 
Breakfast at our house
 Coffee at Craftwork Coffee Walk the trinity trail Lunch at Spiral Diner Pick up a plant at Grow Plant shop Dinner at our house Ice cream at Melt on Magnolia Day 2: Coffee at Roots Coffeehouse (southside location) Breakfast at 5am Drip Shop for things we don’t need at Target Grab a veggie burger for lunch at M&O Station Grill Swing by Meyer and Sage for a healthier/ lighter grab and go dinner Watch a lot of reality tv Dinner at home via Meyer and Sage Day 3 Coffee at Black Coffee Brunch at Cafe Modern Plant shopping at Archies Gardenland Walk around the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge Home cooked dinner Wine/drinks at Thirty Eight and Vine and Blackland Distillery Day 4 Breakfast at 5am drip Head to the FW Botanical Gardens Lunch at Crockett Row Go to the Kimbell Art Museum Dinner at home Day 5 Coffee at Arcadia Coffee Grocery shop at Central Market Take our kids to the FW Museum of Science and History, then Steel City Pops Drop the kids off, walk around and shop at Tanger Outlets Dinner at Fireside Pies

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are quite a few people who deserve a shoutout, but the person who comes to mind most is Lauren from @gabbingginger. She’s always a text away for questions regarding partnerships, finances, and more. Plus, she’s always great about sharing my information and work to those she knows. She’s been absolutely incredibly and genuine since the first day I met her.

Also, the Black Food Bloggers Group on Facebook has been a great resource and full of support. If you’re black and in the food blogging space, definitely join the Facebook group!!

Website: https://baumassphotography.com/ and http://baumassfoods.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/baumassfoods

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaire-baumgartner-a83477203/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Baumassfoods/

Image Credits
Image of me on the blue couch by Bethany at LaVidaVera Photo