My love for photography started with a love for photos. My parents were pretty good about documenting me and my sister’s lives from an early age. We have boxes and boxes of printed images up to the early 2000’s when things turned digital. I still love looking through those photos boxes as a way to relive moments I can’t remember in my own head (like what I did for my birthdays, or who dressed as Santa at Christmas). There’s something about the nostalgia, the discovery, the past, and the love in those photos that amazes me.
By age 12 I asked for my own digital camera, always eager to borrow my dad’s and snap a few shots. I carried my camera with me on every family trip and now have albums labeled “Europe - J’s Camera.”
By age 15 DSLR cameras were all the rage and I noticed some of my friend’s families using them to take “professional” photos at parties or holidays, etc. I still remember going to BJs one day to pick out my very own Nikon DSLR camera bought with saved up birthday money. I used that camera for every family vacation, birthday, Christmas, and so on. I tried a few times to teach myself how to shoot in manual mode but it took a while to click.
In 2021 my oldest sister volunTOLD me to be the photographer at her (very) micro wedding. I offered (and tried to convince her) to hire a professional photographer to take photos but she insisted it was me or our iPhones. With little confidence I agreed to do so - I always viewed weddings as very high pressure where there are moments you only get one chance to capture and I wasn’t regularly practicing my photography at the time. Little did I know, this would kickstart my journey of taking photography beyond a hobby. I proudly did my best at her wedding with my BJs Nikon D5100 camera. The photos came out nice and I’m glad we have them, but I wish I could go back and shoot her wedding again with the skills, knowledge, and gear I have now. I’m so thankful she believed in me enough to ask me to take her wedding photos though. Since then I’ve shot four additional weddings despite telling myself (and others) that I am not a wedding photographer!
In 2023 I upgraded my camera body and lens with better quality but used gear. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of taking on clients for a variety of reasons - a wedding anniversary party, baptism, engagement, small weddings, newborn photos, family photos, home rental listings, you name it! Just by word of mouth and referrals from my early clients (mostly my sister and her friends) I started to build some momentum in my photography “side hustle.” This year after a series of paid jobs I finally upgraded my gear completely. I invested in a full frame mirrorless Canon camera (the R6 Mark II) and lens. I am already completely obsessed (check out my portraits portfolio)! It is so much better all around than my previous cameras. I also invested in lighting and editing courses that have taken my photography skills to a more professional level. I finally set up the infrastructure to be able to send contracts, invoices, and galleries seamlessly. I am so excited to head into 2026 with the ability to serve more and more photography clients with whatever their needs may be!
-Julianne
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