We connected with Julia over Instagram. Her journey, honesty and authenticity spoke to us right away and we wanted to get to know her better and also share her inspiring story with you. We truly admire how true to herself Julia is as well as her passion for following her heart, which leads her to new adventures and experiences. Without further ado, meet the lovely Julia.
Why photography and specifically wedding/couple photography? How did this adventure begin?
The adventure began when I bought my first DSLR when I was around 14 years (so now 7 years ago) and started to photograph myself. Later on I started to take pictures of my friends and then people from school and a few years later, I suddenly was a second shooter at a wedding and totally fell in love with it. At this point I wanted to capture the love between two people and started to focus on weddings/couples and as I always wanted to work as a freelancer, I started to work on my business while I graduated from school.
I don ́t even know why photography always fascinated me (and still does), but I just love to capture souls, play with light and art and meet new people. I guess it ́s always about meeting people and creating art with them together, that ́s what ́s so facinating about photography, because you can ́t plan anything, it ́s always a new adventure.
What role does reiki healing play in your life now and how did you discover it? Could you tell us a bit more about the benefits you've seen from reiki healing?
Reiki healing is something I got to know already as I child, and since I find it so beautiful that one can give energy through one's hands to someone else and of course to oneself, I did the training together with my friend during our big journey, in Bali in 2018.
It is a simple form of energy work, but very good if you want to balance your chakras and your aura field. It's incredible how you feel grounded, balanced and almost "empty" (in a very positive form), after a treatment. Reiki has helped me a lot in uncovering and letting go of negative beliefs and unconscious behavior. It literally helped me to heal and grow in all kind of forms.
It's a Monday morning, what will your day look like?
First thing in the morning is to answer my daily questions (5 minute journal), put on my diffuser, roll out my mat and start with a slow morning yoga sequence. Done with my morning routine I quickly check my phone then make breakfast. After that, I am writing all my to do ́s for this week down (I am using apple ́s app reminders for that) and simple start to work, as I cant wait to get some things done :)
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
To have an international portfolio and that I am 100% self-employed with the age of 21 hihi :)
You spent a while travelling the world. What are some of the highlights from your adventures? Anything you learnt about the world and yourself?
Oh it was one of the biggest adventures of my life! To go travelling is the best thing ever! (And yep, everyone can do it!) One of the highlights was definitely to dive with turtles in Australia, to live and heal 3 months in Bali and our trip to Philippines, where we literally lived in a hut on a beautiful lonely beach with almost no water, internet and electricity.
One of the many things I learned while traveling is, that it ́s not about the place you visit (of course a littel bit) but ALWAYS about the people you ́ll meet there! And the coolest thing, the universe is always sending you the right one.
In general it's crazy to look back and see everything, every person, every mistake, every place makes so much sense, even if we didn't have a plan where we'll end up in the beginning. It ́s always better to trust life and to go with the flow :)
What resources do you use to stay inspired both personally and at work?
Silence and meeting new people. I know that ́s two contrasts but I need my daily dose of me-time, where I do yoga, meditation or starring at wall to process life and on the other hand, nothing more inspires me to meet new interesting people, with fire in their soul and passion in their heart.
What's your “recharge/reflection” ritual?
Definitely yoga, mediation, moon rituals and listening to my cycle.
(P.S. We definitely suggest that you check out Julia’s Insta highlights - she has shared so much inspiring/uplifting and helpful content)
What makes you tick, what's your purpose? Any advice on finding it?
It ́s working with people (especially women) to inspire and empower them. Inspiring them to live a healthy and happy lifestyle and to make them understand that life is simply what we make of it.
How to find your purpose? Go out and search for it. Try new things, meditation, search for yourself. Do the best you can and don ́t stress yourself so much about it.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 18 year old self?
Oh that was not long ago actually :) I guess I would tell myself to connect more with my feminine energy and to learn more about it , as I would have found many answers earlier. But everything always comes at the right time, so I’m fine with that :)
Workspace essentials - my diffuser as I work a lot with essential oils, music and my Imac
Top 3 books (the ones you would like to gift someone) - 1) The mastery of love - Don Miguel Ruiz 2) Witch - Lisa Lister 3) E-Squared - Pam Grout
Happy place - Ubud (Bali) or Byron Bay in Australia , can ́t decide :o
Guilty pleasure - RAW CHOCOLATE!!!
Fun fact about you - I can ́t focus on just one project , I always have to do ten at a time, guess I have too much passions hihi - dont know if that ́s funny?
If you could go for a coffee and a long chat with someone (living or dead), who would it be and why? - I guess it would be Nadia Meli, is I really love her work as an artist and her perspective on life <3
Find Julia
Thank you so much for reading and a big thank you to Julia for sharing her story with us!
With Much Love,
xx
The Inspired Stories team