A SoCal native who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, Lara was a student of film theory and media at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School in Philly, as well as at the Sorbonne's Center for Film and Critical Studies in Paris, and holds degrees in Media Studies and French Literature.

Lara shoots on assignment for design firms in the NW and around the country, and has been published in Metropolis, Architect, Architectural Record, Gray, LUXE, Wallpaper*, the New York Times, Residential Architect, Seattle Magazine and Northwest Home. Her images have been included in books and exhibits nationally and internationally. She collaborates often with publisher, Documentary Media, most recently on INSPIRED: Churches of Seattle, and the forthcoming book on the historic Seattle Locks, in conjuction with HistoryLink.

Lara was made an Honorary member of the American Institute of Architects in 2005. Her personal work focuses on the place where the built environment and land meet; whereby she concentrates on how different landscapes have been cultivated to accommodate and sustain the human need.