January 30, 2017

Meet Lindsay Koukl Hill of Lindsay Akemi Photography in Playa Del Rey

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Koukl Hill.

Lindsay, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have lived in the heart of L.A. all my life. Here you are surrounded by all sorts of creativity: half your friends are actors, your pricey apartment is covered in street art by some of the best artists in the world, and everyone dresses like they are about to walk on to catwalk. If you’re not in it, you are at least appreciating it. There are numerous museums, poetry slams, art walks and almost every cafe in town has some sort of open-mic night. However, I never felt a part of that. I was always too short to model, too awkward to act and I couldn’t draw a straight line to save my life. I remember taking Drawing 1 in college and my professor shaking his head at my self-portrait. It seemed that there wasn’t one artistic bone in my body.

Then that all changed in 2007. One of my close friends is a make-up artist and she had the opportunity to do make-up for a fashion show downtown. My sister had just got a new camera, so our friend invited my sister along to take photos of the models for her portfolio. As she was there, the lead photographer for the event asked my sister if she would come to the next fashion show and do some event photography. Thank goodness she said yes. Not only did she show up, but she brought me with her. My sister and I have been doing photography since we were small. There are pictures I took of her at 11 or 12 posed out in the backyard with a large sunflower and our Australian Shepherd. I never thought our pictures as anything special, but once we were in the thick of that fashion show almost 10 years ago, I felt right at home.

Then we got the crazy idea to make this childhood hobby into a business. In the beginning, it was doing a lot of everything for very little. We traded a lot of our time and craft to build our portfolio, strengthen our resume and create a foundation for ourselves. We did everything from weddings and graduation ceremonies to following local government officials at their city’s parade and birthday parties… you name it and we probably have at least considered it. My sister and I worked hard to build a client family.

About 5 years in my sister’s husband had an amazing job opportunity in Portland, Oregon and they took it. My business partner was suddenly gone and I was left with a thriving business that did everything. It was time to change that. When our business went to my business, I stopped every part of the job I didn’t like. I crossed out graduation ceremonies, parades, or a story I just didn’t want to tell.

Now my photography is all about telling your story. I want to know how my clients take their coffee, their favorite childhood cereal, pet peeves. All these details count when we are in a creative working relationship together. Not only are my clients comfortable when they are in front of my camera, but it also helps me see them and bring their story to life in an image. I want every single one of my images to capture the moment and who those people are in that moment.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not always been easy. It’s still not easy! Especially in L.A. where there is a photographer on every corner. The first struggle I encountered was not just getting turned down, but getting turned down for someone’s friend or someone’s uncle that’s willing to take on the job of capturing their event for free. I can’t do free and I needed to see that I was worth more than that.

As an artist, it’s really easy to be hard on yourself and market yourself for less than your worth. The truth is when people spend more, they appreciate it more. It has been hard to hold my ground, but I now have a really great client family because I didn’t budge.

The biggest struggle is managing my time. While I am doing everything to continue to grow my business, I can’t leave behind my child and husband. Balancing mom/wife duties and my business is always a reoccurring struggle, but having a solid foundation, great clients, and a supportive family really help to manage that when things get tough.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lindsay Akemi Photography story. Tell us more about the business.
At Lindsay Akemi Photography I specialize in photographing your story. I want to tell your story from beginning to end. I have had clients where I was there just shortly after they met, when they got engaged, at their wedding, held their first baby and celebrated their first anniversary. I want to get to know my people and be at all their special events.

That’s what I am most proud of when it comes to my company is the longevity of my relationship with my clients. It would be easy to go in, do a job and walk away, but I want to invest in each one of those people I work with. As their families grow, as their life changes, as they celebrate, I want to walk with them and make sure that years from now they remember.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The photography industry is continually changing. Canon just released a camera where you can go in and change the focus of an image in post. WHAT? I don’t think my mind can actually wrap my head around what photography might look like in 5-10 years. I know it will change. It will probably be incredible and hopefully. I can just keep up.

What I don’t think will change is the content of photography and that is comforting. Photography has always been a way to stop a moment and hold it. I like that and that’s why I keep doing it.

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