Meet Leyla Hekmatdoost

Leyla (she/her) is a culturally Muslim queer teacher and photographer who moved to the Northshore in the 80’s. A self-described nerd who loves traveling and Star Wars, Leyla is incredibly unique in many respects. For one, she’s the half Iranian/half French Canadian daughter of liberal parents on the Northshore. She has her Master’s of Education degree but chooses to homeschool her children because she believes the “entire system of American education needs to be thrown out and rebuilt.” (As a teacher, I completely agree). Leyla has a special place in her heart for our queer community which her children belong to as well. In particular, she’s grateful that they have role models in our parish and a community that will stand up for their rights. Her commitment to our LGBTQ family extends to her professional life as well. She is Queer Northshore’s official photographer! (Yay!) It’s evident through her work that she wants all of her clients to feel celebrated and she has a special gift for capturing what her subjects are feeling. Some of you may already know Leyla as a talented photographer but you may not know she’s had to deal with tremendous grief these past few years. In 2019 she lost her 13 year old daughter, Zahra, to a brain tumor. Leyla describes her as “an absolutely amazing person.” Zahra told Leyla once “If I grow up to be gay, I am going to wear rainbows all the time!” Her death is still a very fresh wound for Leyla. Some days she doesn’t know how she makes it through, but she’s an incredibly strong, resilient woman and we’re really lucky to have her in our community. Thank you Leyla for all that you’ve done for Queer Northshore and St. Tammany Parish! You are very much a role model for our kids to look up to. 

Leyla’s studio is located in Covington, but she shoots on location on the Northshore and New Orleans. You’ve probably seen some of her photos in our group but check out some of other work on her website and Instagram. 

Please consider Leyla the next time you need a photographer. Let's support our Queer business owners, especially the ones supporting us!