Meet Heather Lemmon | Photographer

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

Hi Heather, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Creating art is absolutely my purpose in life. Every single day I pick up a camera in some form and make an image. Whether it’s just for myself or a paying client I can’t go a day without practicing my craft! For that main reason I knew I had to pursue a career in this. I’m obsessed, photography runs through my mind for most of the day so I think I would be a terrible employee in a different career, haha! While it’s a lot of work, I love being able to create a schedule for myself and having the freedom to lead and guide all of my sessions.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am definitely proud of how far I’ve come in perfecting my craft but I’m still so excited to think of what this journey still entails! I’m constantly in a state of learning even after shooting professionally for over 20 years and each time I’m able to put into practice something new I’ve learned it’s a total thrill! Of course it’s never an easy road and some days it still isn’t. Overcoming naysayers, financial setbacks, and imposter syndrome were and have been some of the biggest challenges. I’ve learned to trust my gut and find my “why” to help me keep moving forward. I stopped trying to compare myself to others but to look inward and only try to always do better than the last shoot. I focus very hard on telling a story in a unique and creative way. If we got 20 other people photographing the same subject you would get 20 unique images since nobody sees things in exactly the same and art is so subjective. I used to be intimidated by that but now it’s a positive thought to realize that when I pick up a camera I get to truly be myself and capture things in my own way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oooh Long Beach alone is such a hidden gem of a city in LA! Every few blocks everything changes from the food and drink options to the people watching! For night life we are going to the Queen Mary and Shoreline Village with a walk up Pine Ave to 3rd St. A morning scooter ride over on 4th St down to Bluff Park to have mimosas and bloody marys at the Art Museum before walking the bike path to the pier is a must! In the afternoon we’re walking down 2nd St. and we’re going to stop at Roe Seafood before kayaking through Naples with a beer stop at Ballast Point. We are beyond fortunate to own a boat so we’re going to sail over to Catalina Island for a couple days of course! It’s the best of both worlds to see the beautiful architecture and have a buffalo milk in Avalon and then camping and hiking over in Two Harbors. After that trip I’m taking them to Griffith Park to see the Observatory and hike and then wrap through Los Feliz for awesome food options! Of course no tour is complete without taking a coastal drive from Malibu to Santa Monica. I truly have loved exploring everything LA has to offer and we’d be here all day if I listed everything I loved about this place!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would just like to shoutout the photography community as a whole. The support and encouragement I have received from my peers has helped shape and grow me not only as a photographer but as a person. I am mostly self taught taking bits and pieces of advice from everyone I have met along the way and I am so grateful for it!

Website: www.hellophotola.com

Instagram: @hellophotola @heatherlemmon

Image Credits
Heather Lemmon – Hello, Photo!