Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Boese.
Julia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My love for photography started as a hobby in high school. On a family trip to California one summer my cousin (also a photographer) saw my work and said, “you know, you could really do this professionally.” Her encouraging word sparked something inside of me. In the years that followed, I began exploring that more – photographing family sessions, high school seniors, and eventually weddings.
My dream was to photograph weddings full-time but for most of that time, I was working other part-time jobs to make it all work. In 2014, I was feeling burnt out because things weren’t panning out the way I wanted, and was offered a full-time job as an executive assistant which I took. The only five years as an administrative assistant was the creative break I needed. In 2018, a job doing documentary photography came up in Washington DC and I started pursuing that. Long story short, after a year of back and forth that opportunity fell through but I saw the opportunity to pursue my dream of photography again and jumped at it. I knew I didn’t want to shoot weddings this time and began to explore other types of photography – something that would combine my love of storytelling and creativity with a detailed and structured personality. This eventually led me to brand photography and where I am today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I mentioned earlier, my initial dream of being a full-time wedding photographer didn’t pan out and required me to put photography to the side for almost 5 years before I stepped into it again.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do brand photography for creative entrepreneurs. Because I shoot a lot of my work on 35mm film I draw in more fine art creatives who often serve clients with an old-world, romantic, classic, and European style – from florists to calligraphers and painters, etc.
Where many photographers might show up to a photo shoot with a camera in hand and begin creating, I take time in advance to learn about my client’s goals and vision in order to build a personalized photoshoot that achieves them. I’ve built a strategic approach to photoshoots which I’m really proud of and my clients love.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Find a business model that works for you – you don’t have to follow the “traditional approach”. For me, this meant accepting that while I love brand photography I also enjoy administrative work and so my business model includes working 5-10 hours a week as an admin for non-profits and contracting out to other creative companies for short-term projects throughout the year. Doing brand photography part-time is a success for me and I don’t need to grow it to a full-time gig.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.julia-mary.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_juliamary/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/juliamary/
Image Credits
Amanda Callaway Photography (for any images with me in them)
Julia Mary (for my own work)
