The Life and Times of Julie Harris

Blog

September 9, 2024

Denver, Colorado Branding Photography | Matic Digital

When Josh Fuller, CEO of Matic Digital (a digital design and custom software agency), approached me regarding doing a brand photography shoot for he and his team at their new corporate office in Denver, Colorado, I was immediately intrigued. After reviewing his “vibe book” full of photos and ideas regarding the aesthetic he was looking for, I was sold. This was going to be a fun, creative company and team branding shoot.

What was Josh looking for exactly? Images that would reflect the reality that he and his team were as experienced, capable, whip smart, and fun-loving in still photos as they were in real life. And that Matic Digital was a deep-thinking, problem-solving, high IQ agency that could go toe to toe with even the heaviest hitters in their industry while remaining true to their leaner, more nimble and adaptable Rocky Mountain agency root.

Check out the end product below and let me know what you think of the finished product. And if you’re looking for branding or headshot photography for your organization, let’s talk!

Matic Digital, another day at the office

Black and white photo of Matic Digital at work

September 4, 2024

Boulder Senior Pictures

I love photographing senior pictures for graduating teens and have had the opportunity to shoot a bunch of them recently in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Boulder has a lot to offer in the way of landscapes and backdrops for senior pictures due to the city and county’s well-managed and beautiful open spaces, hiking trails, and other points of interest. Chautauqua Park at the base of the Flatiron mountains as well as CU Campus, the Boulder Reservoir, and Coot Lake are all beautiful areas that provide amazing, naturally scenic backdrops for senior pictures (the images below were captured at one or more of these locations). And if you’re wanting to mix in some urban environs, the Hill and Pearl Street are great places for photos and super close to Chautauqua, NCAR, and the Boulder Res.

Attention Fairview & Boulder High seniors! Do you still need a photographer to take your senior pictures? Let’s connect!

Chautauqua Park, Boulder, CO - senior pictures

June 13, 2024

Lexi and Jack’s Engagement Session at Matthews/Winters Park

My motto is always,” Keep it easy”. Sometimes just planning an engagement session can feel overwhelming. Couples can fret over what to wear, where to shoot, what time of day to shoot, should they get hair and makeup done?, etc. But it really doesn’t have to be that difficult. Wear what is comfortable and flattering, wear what is “you”. Professional hair and makeup is fine, but certainly not necessary, and as for locations, you don’t have to go far to find something beautiful. I think that sometimes people feel like they need to leave town to get stunning views, or wait to do a session until the weather is perfect, but honestly, we can make amazing images in your own home or in a nearby park at any time of day during any season. The single most important factor for incredible engagement photos is the connection that you have with your fiancee and the ability to relax and have fun. Sometimes the stress and pressure can actually make the whole process feel cumbersome–and that’s not fun or romantic.

Jack and Lexi didn’t have to go far to get these beautiful mountain scenes. They met me at Matthews/Winters Park just north of Red Rocks in Golden where the parking is easy, and the trails aren’t swarming with people. Lexi choose a simple white dress and sandals, while Jack chose to wear a cooler summer suit. Easy, breezy. Love and laughter. That’s truly all you need.

May 24, 2024

Documentary Photography, Photojournalism, and Lifestyle Photography: What’s the difference?

A bit about “Documentary Photography”, “Photojournalism” and “Lifestyle Photography”.

A lot of people, including many photographers, may not know the difference between “Documentary Photography”, “Photojournalism”, and “Lifestyle Photography”. There’s no shame in this as the lines are all a little fuzzy. There are more similarities between documentary photography and photojournalism than lifestyle photography, as the concept behind documentary photography and photojournalism is to tell an unscripted story through images. The difference between these two genres is that documentary photography focuses on telling a broader story or documenting a particular subject or issue over a longer period of time. Documentary photography projects are usually long-term and aim to explore and shed light on social, cultural or historical topics.

Photojournalism, on the other hand, is a quick grab. It aims to capture events as they happen without any edits or photographer’s touches and it doesn’t “dig-deep” (unlike documentary photography). If I were to do a documentary photoshoot for example, I might explore “teenagers”. I might follow one or two teenagers around for a year to document the many facets of this period of life to put together a complete story about what it really looks like–I might hone in on drug use, or sex, or the pressures adolescents face as they transition to adulthood. It would be rich and would have a “story” behind it. If I were to do a photojournalistic shoot of teenagers, I would just show up and document a teenager for a day to create an honest depiction of what the day in the life of a teenager might look like. There’s no agenda to photojournalism other than to capture the raw truth quickly. In the wedding world, a photographer hired by the bride and groom to capture the day in an uninterrupted, unposed way, would be a photojournalist. Most wedding photographers who call themselves photojournalists aren’t “strictly” photojournalists however, as they often do some posed portraits of the bride and groom, the wedding party and of course, family portraits. A documentary wedding photographer on the other hand, might capture behind the scenes of a wedding to tell a broader story about the astronomical costs of weddings.

A lifestyle photographer has creative freedom. A lifestyle photographer may be trying to capture a “feeling” or create images that look relaxed, but visually pleasing at the same time. A lifestyle photographer will probably find or create the perfect light, they might suggest certain clothes to wear, or shoot somewhere out of the home. A lifestyle shoot can be more artistic and there’s a lot more direction from the photographer. A photojournalist or documentary photographer would never tell the subjects to move into the light, or tell their subjects to hug, jump, smile, etc. Honestly, I would say that lifestyle photography is the contemporary take on the 80’s and 90’s “Olan Mills” family photography. While everyone might not be in a studio smiling at the camera, it is posed, while not looking “posed. It is coordinated, directed, and scripted.

I would say that my personal style of photography is a mix of photojournalism and lifestyle photography. Unless someone specifies that they want a shoot that is strictly photojournalism (which is my dream client), I’m usually going to direct a bit and make the images look pretty. I’m going to find the right light and angles. I will direct my clients to do something in order to evoke a certain response–laughter, connection, movement, etc. All this said, photojournalism is my heart. Capturing moments that aren’t staged and creating images that are honest and stand the test of time is my favorite approach. I believe that these unscripted images are the ones that not only stand the test of time, but age like fine wine. These are the images your kids will see one day and will be reminded of what life was like when they were younger. There is more to the image than what everybody looked like in the fall of 2024.

August 2, 2020

Denver Headshots

With all the extra time I had on my hands this last spring (thanks COVID), I went through the last few years of my work to mine for some of my favorite images and update my website. I realized that I am drawn back to my portrait work, again and again. As much as I love families and capturing people’s interactions with each other, it’s the portrait that I love to master. Finding the perfect combination of light, location, expression, exposure—it is all part of the process to make a photograph of a person that is so much more than a headshot. A portrait should be an expression of the essence of a person. It should reflect my subject’s strengths, their vulnerabilities, their interests, their physical characteristics.

It’s a challenge to get somebody to feel free in front of a camera, and it’s the challenge I love. Before a client’s headshots or lifestyle portrait shoot, I like to first talk to my client to get a feel for his or her personality. Are they gregarious, shy, bubbly or serious? Are they most comfortable in downtown Denver or the RINO district or would they rather be out on some open space away from others in Boulder? How can I put my subject at ease and how can I extract that “essence” of my subject? I’ve come to believe that in order to be a successful headshots portrait photographer, one must be intuitive, patient and empathetic. One must be able to read the body language of her subject and release the shutter at the decisive moment: A hand gesture, a genuine laugh, a moment in between the pose that feels authentic and less contrived. There’s no other shoot like the portrait session that makes me feel like I’ve truly connected with someone—and this is the reward of portrait photography.

August 13, 2019

So Lovable and Loved

One of the hardest parts about being a parent has to be watching our kids get their hearts broken. It can start early for some. I watched Ramona get her heart broken when she was two. Sometimes it’s even us as their parent who do the breaking. I’m now regretting the decision to encourage a belief in Santa Claus as I know there will be some broken hearts the day my kids learn that it’s all a fantasy. In this case, it’s possible I could have avoided a broken heart. Broken hearts can’t always be avoided, however. Sadly, they are part of being a human and living in a world where people are capable of great emotion—both of love and of fear. Everybody wants to feel worthy. Everyone wants to belong.

Yesterday was our school’s “meet and greet your teacher day” followed by a BBQ. I watched as Ramona started to prep. She picked out a pretty pink dress with lace on top and white tulle on the bottom and paired it with her new high top sneakers. She then brushed her hair about 100 times and picked out a turquoise sparkly headband. She was dressing to impress. I was thinking about how fast she is growing up as she pulled a couple of strands of hair out of her headband to frame her face. She turned to me as asked, “Will my teacher like me?” Ugh. It was like someone slapped me in the face to remind me that sending kids to school is like throwing them to the wolves. “Of course, Ramona!” I answered, “You are so lovable.”

After Ramona met her teacher, she pulled at my arm and asked if she could go play. She was pleased with the meet and greet and was ready to see some classmates. “Mom, can I go play on the playground with my friends?” I was thrilled to hear this as Ramona has never referred to her classmates as friends before and has struggled to make friends in general. I took Sylvie into her kindergarten classroom to meet her teacher and watched Ramona go.

I came out to the playground 30 minutes later to see Ramona sadly playing by herself. I could feel her pain 100 yards away. When I asked her what was wrong, tears welled in her eyes and she choked out the words, “I’m never going to make a friend. Nobody likes me.” Dagger. In. My. Heart. I told her that sometimes you can’t wait for kids to ask you to play, you just have to jump in and “fake it until you make it.” I assured her that adults have to do the same. So again I watched as my little Ramona Moon gathered all of her courage and picked a group of girls to play with. They were playing on the monkey bars and Ramona joined them—looking back at me for affirmation. And then my advice failed Ramona. The girls left. I swear I could hear them giggling. Rejection. Heartbreak. Humiliation. Shame. Ramona’s body kind of slumped down and all I could see was her sparkly headband as her head was hanging so low. Sylvie and I each took a hand and moved to an area where families were eating picnic style on the grass. I squeezed Ramona and whispered again, “you are so lovable”.

Tomorrow is Ramona’s first day of second grade and I’m just praying that the world will be kind to her. I’m praying that she will make a friend and that she’ll feel like she belongs. I pray she will know she is lovable and loved. And sadly, sometimes that’s about all we can do as parents. We only have so much control. We can’t clear their path from disappointment and heartbreak forever. But we can give them nods of affirmation. We can be their cheerleaders in this life. We can remind them that they are so lovable and loved.

February 4, 2019

Lexci and Peter at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

I still get a serious case of the jitters before every wedding. 20 years into this game and I still feel like a fraud. What if I don’t nail an important moment? What if I annoy the wedding party? What if, what if, what if. I want to produce my best work for EVERY WEDDING. I pour all of my heart and energy into each and every couple. I know how important my job and I know the gravity of each and every moment. So I guess it’s only natural that I had a case of the nerves when I arrived to Lexci and Peters wedding last July. I remember being a little shaky right before I walked into the bride’s room, debating whether to take my water bottle with me. I should drink more water. Stay alert. Stay energetic. Breathe.

Lexci saw me walk through the doors, stopped what she was doing, squealed and gave me a big hug. I mean, there is no better way to start off a wedding day for a photographer than that. My nerves were dissolved instantly and she enthusiastically introduced me to all of her bridesmaids and family. This is Lexci. And Peter too. When I interrupted their dinner to take these two out for a quick sunset session, they were excited. We chatted and joked and talked lenses while enjoying the blue hour (Peter is also a photographer). I had no nerves. I didn’t over think things. I was present with friends. I felt so embraced.

Obviously this wedding wasn’t about me. I haven’t written a sentence about how exquisite everything was. How inky the sky against the lush grass of Devil’s Thumb Ranch. How handsome Peter was…how gorgeous, Lexci. And the flowers-they were to die for. It truly was one of the prettiest weddings I’ve been to. But what stood out to me about this wedding wasn’t in the details, but in the hearts of the bride and the groom. Lexci and Peter are two extraordinary people who make everyone around them feel loved an appreciated. They know how to laugh and make fun of what to others might be a bummer (can I say extremely windy first look?) They are good people, good friends, the best couple, and they also throw one hell of a party. Thank you for the honor, Lexci and Peter. Happy almost 7 months of marriage 😉