I'm really excited about today's photographer feature. I have been following Julia Trotti's work for a long time so I was thrilled when she agreed to answer these questions for me. If you are a photographer also, make sure you look at the Free Curve Friday section on Julia's blog, she has some AMAZING free Photoshop resources.
Name
Julia Trotti
Website | Blog | Tumblr | Facebook
Age
21
Location
Sydney, Australia.
Who or what sparked your interest in photography?
At a young age I started to learn how to use Photoshop and I was fascinated with creating photo manipulations with stock images from the Internet. One day I wanted to take more control over the images I created, so I started taking photos for myself. That's when my love of photography started growing.
Who are some of your favorite photographers?
Tim Walker.
Is photography your career?
Yes, photography is my livelihood and my reason for living.
How long did it take you to turn photography from a hobby into a career?
I started taking photos when I was sixteen years old for fun, and it wasn't about until two years ago where I started to be serious about it. So all up, it probably took about three years for it to transform into something more real.
Do you currently do portrait work (children, babies, weddings, etc) as part of your career or does your income primarily come from personal projects, print sales, and publications?
Fashion photography is my forte. I also shoot weddings and portraits on the side.
Do you have any tips for photographers who are trying to move from hobbyists to full time and earning a livable income?
Don't underestimate the amount of hard work it takes to be a photographer. If you're up for it though, and are passionate about taking photos you can do anything you set your mind to! You just need to go out there and live the things you've been dreaming about.
Are you currently working on any photography projects?
I'm aways working on something! There are always clothes to be shot or people to work with, so pretty much every week I am planing a new shoot idea.
If you won a $400 million lottery how would you use it?
I would travel around the world and document every little thing I see.
What is your favorite thing to photograph and why?
I love photographing the in-between moment during fashion shoots. I love that unaware, nostalgic feeling you get when you capture someone who isn't completely thinking about where every inch of their body is as they normally would in a photograph. For me, that's when fashion photography becomes more real and turns into something I can really be passionate about.
Where do you find and how do you instruct your models?
I used to just take self portraits and photos of my sister and friends to practice. Then I moved on to finding freelance models who were learning just as I was, so we can build on our portfolios together. Now I go through modeling agencies.
Do you listen to music while you shoot?
I don't listen to music while I shoot. Since I mostly shoot on location, I want the whole team to be absorbed in our surroundings
What kind of camera do you use?
My eyes are my camera.
What do you do when you are feeling uninspired?
I stop everything I'm doing and do something completely unrelated to what I'm feeling uninspired by! I'll either go out for a walk, have a coffee with Dan, watch a movie or go to sleep and hope the inspiration comes to me the next day after a little break.
Future photography goals?
For my photography to take me around the world. I want to be shooting every day of my life in amazing locations with talented people, being inspired by simply waking up in a different part of the globe every morning.
Describe a day in your life that includes photography:
Pretty much every single day of my life involves photography! So I'll go both ways: If I have a shoot that day, I will spend the morning/nigh before getting my camera batteries charged, making sure memory cards are empty, getting inspired by listening to music and talking about all the ideas I have for the shoot. Then I head over to the shoot, spend my day taking pictures and in the afternoon I will download all the photos and start going through them. If I don't have a shoot that day, I will spend the day replying to emails, checking my social media, retouching images, creating CDs for the shoots I've finished off and planning even more shoots!
What does your work flow consist of?
- I find an idea that I want to create
- Find a creative and talented team to work with
- Scout out a location for the shoot (which involves lots of driving around and going for walks)
- Plan a time and date to shoot
- Shoot!
- When I come home I download all the photos to my computer, then go through and pick my favourites
- I edit my favourites then make CDs for the whole team involved and post it out to them
- Blog all my new photos!
Three interesting facts about yourself?
- I collect sugar packets and keep them in a jar for no particular reason.
- I drink too much coffee
- My most fearful thought would be for me to be stuck in the middle of the ocean.
What, if anything, do you do to promote your photography? Approximately how much time do you spend per day/week on promoting your photography online?
I don't think I so much 'promote' by photography, but I just love putting it online for everyone to see! At first it started off with Deviantart, when I was younger I would post my images on that website almost every second day asking for feedback and what I can improve on. Now sharing my photography has moved on to Flickr, my Blogspot, Tumblr and Facebook.
