Kharen Hill

Kharen Elizabeth Hill (born 1962 in New Zealand) is an award-winning North American portrait photographer, artist and director. She is best known for her portraits of famous celebrities and musicians including Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Ron Howard, Neil Patrick Harris, Alec Baldwin, David Duchovny, Sarah McLachlan, Jennifer Beals, Kiss, Nathan East and many others.
Nicknamed "The Annie Leibovitz of Canada", she developed her career as an entertainment advertising photographer in Vancouver as it became a major production center in the mid-1990s, after previously specializing in travel reportage and advertising photography.
Hill is much influenced by Annie Leibovitz and Steven Klein, being inspired by their individual portrait and lighting techniques.
Early life and education
Kharen Elizabeth Hill was born in 1962 at Auckland Hospital New Zealand to Dr. Roger Stockwell Hill, cancer researcher, and Diana Elizabeth Lunn. She attended primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand, Rochester, New York and London, England as the family moved around the world for the career of her father.
Returning to New Zealand for high school, Kharen gained a bursary facilitating her acceptance to the Bachelor of Commerce program at Auckland University where she completed one year of the Bachelor of Commerce degree. After completing one additional term at the University of British Columbia Commerce Degree program in Canada, she left those studies to follow her passion for photography and media.
Accepted in the specialized media resources program at Capilano University. Kharen became one of 12 graduates featured by the department for her contribution in mentoring students from the program and her success in her field. She has worked as a professional photographer since that time, with a focus on the entertainment, music, and advertising in both Los Angeles and in Vancouver.
Career
Early years
The 21 year old Kharen was discovered as a photographer by the creative director Paul Smith. For her first assignment, she was selected as one of two photographers for a yearlong project for Air Canada, flying around the world taking photos of every city where the airline flew. She worked with Creative House for many projects for Expo 86 and her photographs were published in the commemorative book and 'Vancouver - A year in motions" . The Expo experience opened doors for her to many advertising clients and other companies in Vancouver and worldwide, and her career in advertising, travel and location photography took off.
She spent the 80’s and early 90s with advertising and corporate assignments, building up a solid client list including photography for Coca-Cola, A & W restaurants, Boston Pizza, Blackcomb Mountain resorts, Toyota, Lexus, Cathay Pacific Asian Tours, and Canadian Airlines. Kharen added special skills with on the job experience including Ariel photography, both out of open helicopters and in fixed wing planes, and special sport photography from being in the pits at the Vancouver Indy car races to photographing track and field of Canadian Olympic athletes. She travelled across Canada and abroad for national and international clients, including several trips to Asia for Cathay Pacific Airlines and multiple trips to Hong Kong and Singapore.
Entertainment and music advertising
Kharen worked in unit stills and over time, her focus became entertainment advertising and directing on two fronts in both Canada and Los Angeles: music, and film and television industry.
In the mid-1990's,Terry McBride, Nettwerk Records led to an introduction to musician Sarah McLachlan and a continued professional relationship for 30 years. She photographed (Avril Lavigne) for her (“Let Go”) Album publicity.
Kharen started in films working doing gallery and unit stills photography for the late Bill Vince’s company Keystone Entertainment, twelve films total. Keystone flourished with their “Air Bud” movies, a franchise later spun off to Disney who continued to use her photography.
She became the first female photographer admitted to the local Vancouver chapter of the film industry union, IATSE 669.
Kharen’s big break was in 1998—shooting the gallery for the film called Disturbing Behaviour, (Katie Holmes’ first feature-length film) with (Metro Goldwin Meyer) creative advertising. This led to national billboard campaigns and the launch of Katie Holmes as a film actress.
In 2000, she secured the stills job on the biggest feature in Vancouver called “Romeo Must Die” produced by Warner Brothers and starring Jet li and Aaliyah, and shot the movie poster for that movie.
In 2007, she decided to focus full-time on entertainment advertising and directing, and established a part-time base in both Los Angeles and Vancouver, working worldwide on gallery shoots, advertising campaigns and her art work.
°MGM and Kharen partnered on a regular basis on their films in Los Angeles and other US locations, working on notable films including ‘Carrie 2’, "the Mod Squad" and "Mollie". Kharen’s work for MGM secured her place in the select group of photographers regularly called on to do gallery and poster film work in North America. She began to work steadily in the film and television industry and established a solid reputation while continuing to work with her major brand advertising and corporate clients.
She primarily works across North America in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
. Yamaha Music Group selected her to photograph Nathan East, for his debut album for their new record label. She collaborated on the Grammy award nominated Jars of Clay. Both were nominated for Grammys. She also directed Sarah McLachlan’s “Good Enough” music video.
Fine art photography
Kharen’s fine art photography is in collections in Canada, USA, and Europe.(.
In 2009, Kharen traveled with the Grammy-nominated Jars of Clay to Nairobi, Kenya to document their non-profit “Blood Water Mission”. The photographs she took, “Out the Window, 5 Days in Kenya”, became the subject of her first successful solo show of fine art photography, curated and in collaboration with art collector Lucia Lundin in Los Angeles, in 2014. Kharen has also joined with fellow New Zealanders to collaborate and show at “Kiwis in LA” a yearly art show at Santa Monica art studios in 2013, 2015 and 2016
Personal life
Kharen currently divides her time between Beverly Hills/Los Angeles and Vancouver.
She has volunteered her photography, video and directorial skills to numerous non-profits: the 2014 surfer's Healing San Diego for Autism benefit; the Meyer Nash advertising campaign; ongoing fundraising through her video and photography for the Sarah McLachlan School of Music since 2010, including 2016's Barefoot in the Back Yard; and to benefit the 2010 Blood Water Mission, Jars of Clay - donated photography for sale from her art show “Out the Window “ 5 days in Kenya which documented the trip.
Awards
Applied Arts: International Photography Competition. Award for Portrait Series “Men of Hollywood`”. July 2010 Appied Arts Magazine awards page
Photo District News: Award for Faces competition. PDN Celebrity Editorial July 2010.

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