My biggest dream as a kid was to be in the spotlight. Throughout my life, I’ve done a lot of things, such as many variations of dance, theater, and sports. Although I am still a part of these fun extracurriculars and I enjoy them quite a lot, I felt as if something was missing.

My performance life started ever since I learned to stand. Whether I was dancing on the kitchen counter or a professional stage, the cameras were always on me. That’s something I enjoyed the most as a performer and athlete. As I got older and learned more about film and photography, I no longer wanted to be just in front of the camera, but behind it as well.

I always took pictures on my phone, but I wanted to expand that and look for a professional camera. This past summer, I got a camera from my aunt that she never used, and I was so excited to see what I could do with it. I immediately started taking pictures of random things I could find, such as trees, my room, or even of my little brother, Kai. The quality of the pictures come out with a vintage appearance due to it being an older model, but I really like it. I would love to save up for a better camera, but my 2013 Nikon camera is doing the job very well. 

Along with my summer photography craze, I applied to be in AP Photography as an elective this year with Mr. Foreman. It has been quite the challenge, but definitely a fun experience. Mr. Foreman opened my eyes to the possibilities of photography and what I could visually experiment with. I also got the opportunity to take Web Design Honors last year with Mr. Toepel, which gave me some background knowledge on Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

I’m mainly influenced by one of my photography role models, Baylee. Along with being my pastor’s daughter, she is a graphic designer and photographer and does many amazing visuals for our church: Potential Church. Whenever I saw her taking photos, it was always so inspiring to me, and I couldn’t quite explain why. Until I realized what was making the pictures so magical: the people. They looked so genuine and lively, and it made me incredibly happy to see the various emotions the pictures were able to depict. This had sparked a lightbulb in my head. I wanted to be just like Baylee and make others feel that way too!

I began taking pictures of my friends more frequently around September. It started as a simple portrait project in AP Photography and suddenly, it turned into a constant lifestyle. A fellow student, Joseph Koch, exclaims, “Juliana is a great photographer and always manages to capture rare emotions and facial expressions.” I love what I do as a photographer and how others get excited to take pictures throughout the day. Even though they aren’t professional, they make everyone happy in the end, including myself.

I recently launched my photography website, SNAPPED BY JULI, and everyone can access photos from school, my youth group, or even nature/landscape photos. I made it so everyone can enjoy having that memory to hold on to and remember how fun the year was. I believe it’ll bring a lot of excitement when people check the website and see themselves featured in the gallery.

I believe everyone deserves happiness; mine comes from a camera.

Click here to check out my website: https://snappedbyjuli.weebly.com/