Lara L Hill

The first decade+ of my career was dedicated as a professional photographer working in arts and media sectors, in a newsroom, as an assistant to award-winning photographers, for a major commercial gallery, and curating and producing over 20 art exhibitions in Canada and abroad. I am a collected, widely published and registered photographer in the Library of Congress.

Since acquiring a Masters degree in International Economic Development Studies in 2008, my focus shifted to include the provision of niche communications, policy and program related products for results-based management service delivery and reporting within international/national development and public service sectors.

My passions are rooted in cultural anthropology and I explore this avidly through my research, travel, cuisine and engagement with the arts, artisans and their intersection with other disciplines in all of my work.

I am self-represented and collaborate with clients on a limited basis. Working in collaboration with boutique firm, Toa Consulting since 2022 and available for hire as an individual or with a team. Please inquire!

Testimonials

“I was fortunate to work alongside Lara, who while wearing multiple hats, brought our social cohesion project to new heights with her incredible media savvy. This program which reached immigrant and refugee youth across Canada, was hinged on using social and multi-media as platform for learning and empowerment.. She led and steered 7 Regional Coordinators (located across Canada) and designed a full scale internship program with major and community based media outlets. In this role, she began a Flickr archive of the 25 + national events, sharing these with our donors and audiences across the country. Drawing on her visual arts background, she carefully selected images and curated a photography exhibit for a national Knowledge Transfer Forum at the end of the project. In my time with her, I was repeatedly humbled by her attention to detail, empathy based approach to people management and overarching professionalism throughout. She is a creative powerhouse and one of the most incredible people I have ever worked with!”

— Simmi Dixit, (former Project Manager, United Nations Association in Canada) now, Deputy Director, Action Plan for Women Peace and Security, Global Affairs Canada

"Lara has an expansive knowledge with regard to photography, design, layout and photo editing. Lara's photographs [for us] have been featured in such publications as Essential Vancouver, Where Magazine, Preview, American Indian Art, and the Vancouver Sun. She does the majority of the photography for my gallery website, which always receives high praise from our clients. She is a spectacular photographer and an extremely accomodating, warm person." 

-- Peter Lattimer, owner Lattimer Gallery, www.lattimergallery.com
 

"Most if not all of the assignments that Lara has worked on with me have been high-pressure and time sensitive due to the nature of the subject matter. Lara has always been able to adapt to any scenario and maintain a high technical caliber. She is able to measure the importance of events and react as necessary."

--Todd Korol, Photographer, www.toddkorol.com (former Reuters, Western Canada)
 

"I have known Lara to be a very imaginative and creative person with a fearless adventurous spirit. She is also a very reliable person with sound business judgement, which, with the former, makes for a most unusual combination... She is the photographer for the documentation of all of my artwork for the past four years. I use her photographs to catalogue my work, as well as for promotion of my [personal] exhibits and website. Her photographs are of a very high calibre..." 

-- Marlena Wyman, Artist & former Historian Laureate, City of Edmonton & Senior Audio-Visual Archivist, Alberta Government), www.marlenawyman.com
 

"Working effectively in foreign contexts requires sincerity, an open mind, and a lot of confidence. Lara has strengths in each of these. Her relaxed, easy communication style and open attitude helps her develop good relationships with people, whether they be photographic subjects or the colleagues she works with. This ability demonstrates Lara's skills for working in cross-cultural, even stressful environments while maintaining rapport, composure and grace."

-- Najeeb Mirza, president of Oxus Apertura films & former Senior Development Officer (Global Affairs Canada)

"...before starting my career in broadcasting I was a jazz singer and it was at this point I was introduced to Lara when I was looking to hire a photographer/designer to put together my first album packaging...I was not really sure of what I wanted. Lara was exceptional at coming up with the concept for the cover and inserts based on my vague ramblings. She understood the concerns with regards to image and how I would be perceived by my fans and peers based on the cover alone." 

-- Dawn Chubai, On-air host CityTV Vancouver, www.dawnchubai.com

"It was a pleasure to see the obvious interest of Ms. Hill in the many facets of Tajik society, something that she sought to record on film and managed to do, in my opinion, with uncommon brio." 

-- Guillaume Legros, (former First Secretary Development: Tajikistan, Canadian Embassy to the Republic of Kazakhstan (now, Deputy Director Canadian Global Affairs, Tanzania)

"Ms. Hill has taken herself onto more continents than most women her age and never once as a tourist. Her journeys have always been deeply documented in film and by what local artisans proffer as wares and gifts. These are important to her because so much of the pleasure in travel for Ms. Hill is not only in meeting people, but also in coming as close as she can to understanding how they make their homes and build their communities. Caught between her curiosity and her work ethic, Ms. Hill is in the enviable position of being ever refreshed by her progress through life, through ideas, and through the world."
-- Dale Soroka, writer & friend