April 17, 2017

Meet Katharine Hauschka of KateHaus Photography in Santa Monica

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katharine Hauschka.

Katharine, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was a naturalist in Vail, Colorado taking photos in my free time, and educating people about wildlife and nature for work. I then went to culinary school where I decided I’d work towards a Masters in Gastronomy then go to med school and become a Gastroenterologist, but photography found me during that time. I felt I had to pursue it before I dove into medical school. So, worked with some photographers and decided to do a certificate in photography in DC.

After school, I started a business in DC that grew exponentially over a 4-year period before moving to Los Angeles where I restarted my photography business exactly 3 years ago. I plan to stay here and continue to grow as a photographer, artist and entrepreneur.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The largest challenge was moving my business after 5 years in DC to LA, only knowing 5 people in the Los Angeles area and establishing myself as an experienced professional in a huge city with an over-saturated market of photographers and creatives. I didn’t say no to anything. I sought out lots of opportunities, I often flew back to DC and the east coast where I had a larger and reliable client base to supplement my income. While here in LA I hit the online marketing game strong, networked and got to know everyone I could. I did a lot of test shoots (collaborations with makeup artists and models) – to show people I am a reliable professional, who is an expert in my craft and that I know what I’m doing as well as to establish a new look, brand and feel for myself and my business out here in LA. It took me about 2 years to really get it up and running here, but it’s really taking off and there is no looking back now!

KateHaus Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I started out shooting weddings and events, which allowed me to grow my skill set and develop as a professional. I still do weddings, mostly destination weddings all around the country and world. However, I am currently known more for my Portrait, and Lifestyle work, which I specialize in along with Editorial, and Commercial photography. While for personal work, I do nature and landscape photography as well as oil and acrylic painting.

I’d say I’m most proud of the work I’ve done and the growth I’ve achieved as an artistic individual as well as a business over the past 8 years. I’ve learned I have a valuable skill set not only as a photographer, but also as a business person. It wasn’t until I started hiring assistants that I realized all the work I do on a daily basis, as well as how many hats I actually wear. I’ve come a long way in all aspects of building a business, especially having to do it twice now, that I realize I know more than I thought I did.

I am also tremendously proud of an event movement I started called The True Beauty Project, which debuted this past November. I plan to make the event an annual free event for female entrepreneurs – with like-minded mission statements about empowerment and beauty from the inside out – to gather together and showcase their amazing talents. I want the event to be somewhat of a tribute to all the amazing people I’ve met and worked with so far in LA and to thank them for being such a wonderful support for me in my growth here in Los Angeles.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This is a tough question because success is a fluid term in my book. We can always be more successful, no matter how much money or change we have made in the world. So, for me, I would have to say growth towards my best life is my main marker of success. I’m super competitive and sometimes that has prevented me from trying harder at the things I want most because I may not be the best at it which has stopped me from growing in any way shape or form and creates stagnation. Part of success for me has been learning to take out the competitive factor, stop myself in my tracks, check in with where I am, and what I want, and then work towards that goal even if it means I will fail a few times before I make any headway. So when I think about success, I think about creating my own opportunities to live my best life, not anyone else’s. And often this simply means checking in with myself and asking each day or week or year “What is my best life? And what does that look like?” so I can adjust accordingly and move in that direction. I think we all have the ability to be and do whatever and however successful we really want to be as long as we are willing to sometimes take the path less traveled and take risks to get there.

Contact Info: