Meet Heather Hillhouse of Nashville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Hillhouse

Hi Heather, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been taking photos. My dad bought me my first film camera, a purple Minnie Mouse plastic box of magic, from Bass Pro Shop when I was 5 years old. I loved going to drop off the film at the little 24 hour hut in a parking lot in Oklahoma City (where I grew up), and the thrill of picking up the prints and and seeing my 24 shots. Some would be terrible, but when there were a few that I loved it just felt like I had created and caught something really special. In high school, I always had a camera in my hand, usually those disposable cardboard wonders. I studied photography in college, all film and dark rooms. I was in love. I bought my first digital camera when I was 21 and started doing photos for family and friends.

In 2011, I had a family ask if they could pay me to do their family photos. That posed the question of “Do I want to turn this into a business?” My answer was something like, “Why not give it a go” and in November of 2011, House on a Hill Photography was born. It did not take long for me to realize that I loved this. I loved the process of choosing the location, looking for the right light, editing, and delivering photos to the client and then waiting, with my breath held, to see if they liked the photos as much as I did. I even loved building my own website, and the marketing side of things. I was hooked. I continued to grow my business in Oklahoma City, doing mostly portraits.

In 2014, I moved to Nashville, where I knew 2 souls. Literally. My business would have to restart in my new city, grow a new client base one by one. I set out to make connections, and meet people. I worked on my website and showing people I live here now and am available for work. From 2014-2017, things were slow. Very slow. I would travel back to Oklahoma City to do sessions for all my old clients there, just to try to make some money during those years.

Towards the end of 2017, a dear friend of mine texted. She was the event planner for a local non-profit here in Nashville, and she asked if I had ever considered doing event photography. She had an event at the Loveless Barn that she needed a photographer for. I agreed to give it a try, (for my friend you know). I will never forget taking a couple of shots in that low light of the Loveless Barn of people looking at a silent auction table. I looked at the shots on the back of the camera, they were dark, the light was just enough to illuminate the sides of their faces and the items on the table. I didn’t have to ask them to look at me, I just was able to be a fly on the wall and capture all the hard work my friend and her team had put into making this event amazing. I was hooked.

I still do portraits, I still love them. They are such a special, sacred thing to capture for people in various stages of life. But, event photography is what I have been pushing in my business since that cold night at the Loveless Barn back in 2017 where my friend believed in me enough to give me an opportunity that was out of my comfort zone (also, where I learned that wedge heels on those concrete floors for 4 hours was a bad call). I started working stocking my portfolio with event and corporate images.

I love event and corporate gigs because I love being in these rooms and learning something new about a profession, organization, or just people. It has changed my photography business, but it has also changed me. Our worlds can get very small, and before we realize it, we only listen to the same kinds of people in our own life orbit. Listening to speakers, performers, teachers, instructors, and leaders from all pockets of humanity has really deepened my love for all people, and given me more empathy and openness. Photography gave me that opportunity to be in those rooms.

The experiences that this business of mine has brought me is all over the place, and I adore that about it. If you asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would have said a Disney animator. I wanted to create. I wanted to create things that I loved and that others would love. I do that now, just with photos. I am so in love with photography. Every gig or outing with my camera is just a jump into an unknown opportunity of people, lights, moments, emotions that have the potential to be stopped by my shutter. After almost 14 years in business, it still feels like magic.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a roller coaster. Starting this business in one state, and moving it to another in year 3 made it very challenging. Looking back at those spreadsheets and seeing the hills and valleys of my income over the last 14 years makes me realize that this has not been a linear path. Personal challenges, a move, and opportunities have made this journey a very slow build.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in events, and corporate events in and around Nashville.

I am most proud of my very varied portfolio. I choose to not say no to much of anything, I love the challenge and excitement of photographing at various kinds of events and opportunities, some of those opportunities from the last few years include:
Film festivals, podcast recordings, golf tournaments, many non-profit events, high school sports, cancer research think tank, a quinceanera, luxury glass wear sales summit, true crime conference, luxury vehicle showcase, community health fair, a regional pro wrestling match, insurance summit, financial planners conference, women’s pro basketball, a cattle farm, and an auto summit.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Oh man, how deep do you want me to answer this one? Covid was heart breaking, and identity challenging for me as a photographer. Since most of my work is from events, most of my work stopped completely. I realized how much of my personal identity comes from my pride and enjoyment of my work, and when that stopped it made it very difficult. I had to relearn how to create images just for me, just for my own enjoyment. To let the art itself feed that hunger in me to create and not just stop creating because I was not being hired to work a gig.

Pricing:

• Event / Corporate Event Pricing- $175 an hour / $1,200 day rate
• Portrait Sessions- $375 for one hour session in or around Nashville

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.houseonahillphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseonahillphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HouseonaHillphotography
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-hillhouse-07757b161/