Today we’d like to introduce you to Hillary Campbell.
Hi Hillary, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
The short version is that my father was my biggest influence, as a person and as an artist. He was a photographer, musician, and thinker, and I’ve managed at least in part to emulate all of those things.
I moved to Los Angeles to attempt the music industry — was turned off of that pretty quickly — and I ended up a photographer, starting in headshots and portraits. Now I primarily shoot real estate as a career.
I have been homeless twice; had a liver transplant last year, but I never moved back home. I’m pretty proud of that. I always found a way to get through the next day.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Learning to listen to my instincts and use critical thinking skills provided a lot of obstacles for me.
More to that, acting on my instincts in a graceful way and not be reactionary when I feel cornered or stressed. The biggest obstacle I ever faced was leaving my old, young full-of-delusions-self behind. I am very trusting. Realized who I am, who I want to be, and that, even though there’s room to grow, I’m already enough. (I didn’t realize this was going to be therapeutic. Haha.)
I don’t think anything is ever smooth when you’re young and you feel impenetrable or infallible, and that you have a lot of time left. I made a lot of mistakes, mostly in whom I chose to let in as friends and influencers. But being on the other side of some of those struggles makes it feel like it was worth the growing pains.
I did jobs I shouldn’t have just to pay the rent; jobs that drained me and influenced me in terrible ways. I think sometimes we do things impulsively either because we feel we have to out of necessity, or because it seems like it won’t be that harmful at the time. I have a tendency to say “yes!” to things when I really should take a moment and evaluate whether or not that’s the best idea, or whether I even have the time or energy.
Can I also say that I don’t see a lot of things as obstacles? I see things as challenges sometimes, and then I plow through them and I realize I have spent the last 20 years preparing for those things. We live in a chaotic world and we can’t prepare for everything. My biggest obstacles and challenges have likely been somewhat self-imposed either due to me not being prepared enough, or not using the knowledge I had at the time to navigate the challenge.
The best thing you can do is be prepared. If you can’t be prepared, be grounded. Have people around you that you can trust to call on who won’t lead you astray. For me, that’s always been, my mom.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Caveat: this is such a funny one. I am an artist, but I’m also a small business owner. I chose artist/creative because at the end of the day that’s how I’d prefer to be remembered. Not as somebody who always got her calendar right, or was really good at organizing her Dropbox folder for her clients.
Right now, I am a real estate photographer. I say “right now”, because throughout my career I have been so many things. I started in portraits, but I really moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. So I have also been a songwriter, I’ve recorded with a handful of different producers, and I also build websites, have handled peoples’ social media accounts, and other assistant-type things; I’ve bartended; nannied; taught fitness classes; delivered food.
I think my versatility and willingness to adapt is one of my biggest strengths and it’s probably the thing I’m most proud of about myself. I’m sort of a go-getter, self-taught person-of-many-trades. If the housing market crashed tomorrow — well, if it crashed I’d be slammed with work for the next year or so, but then I would find another way to use my skills or I’d simply develop or hone a new one.
I like that about myself because my inherent restlessness makes it hard for me to imagine being just one thing for 40 years. I may leave real estate photography one day and galavant around the world for National Geographic one day, who knows?
Any big plans?
In the last two years, I expanded my business to include 3D tours (which were massively helpful during COVID), and drone photography. I am experimenting with videography, but I can’t imagine I’d make that a big part of my business unless there is a sudden or massive demand for it.
I’m open to seeing where the market takes us. I’m interested in what will happen in the metaverse and how that will affect my business, too. Mostly, I just want to keep working with the same wonderful people I have been, meet some new folks, and maybe see where the wind takes me.
Creatively, I really want to travel more. I don’t want to see the world through my lens necessarily, but I do want to be able to fill my home with beautiful photographs of places I’ve been. I also really enjoy meeting new people and trying new things. My liver transplant last year made things a little difficult with regard to food, but I’d still like to give things a try. You only live once.
Maybe I’ll start up a YouTube channel. Or a podcast. Are those things still cool?
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@hillarycampbell.com
- Website: https://www.hillarycampbell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reecampbell
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hillarycampbellphotography
Image Credits
Ellie Kuehn
