Chitchat: Julia Trotti
Full name:
Julia Trotti
Tell us about you:
Well, I am Julia. I want to be a documentary photographer, documenting the link between music & fashion at live gigs (preferably festivals!). Apart from that, I love photographing everything else – I think its great fun coming up with a concept, then finding a model with the perfect look, getting together a make up artist, hair stylist and designer and making magic!
Apart from my photography though, I like to collect things: the number 52, jars, sugar packets from all the cafe’s I go to, pictures of sunrises, train tickets. I keep a visual diary where I paint with watercolours, stick in interesting pictures I find around the place and add words I type with my typewriter.
Where are you located:
Sydney, Australia.
A great photographer is:
someone who takes photos that mean something to them.
What drove you to become a photographer:
Once upon a time I was an angsty teenager and I needed to get out of the house.
So I decided to go for a walk with a little point & shoot camera and took pictures or everything and anything I thought looked interesting.
I think I just fell in love with it from there, because I can’t remember a time when I went somewhere and I didn’t take a photo since!
Tell us about your unique style and the creative process behind it:
Well usually I come up with a concept of some sort, I could be inspired by music or a phrase of words or something someone said, then I find a model who would suite the certain thing I’m trying to do and a makeup artist. Then we all meet up somewhere, and start making magic with pictures!
When I take photos of people, I don’t like them to be posed, I prefer capturing the moments in between, because those are the moment when they let their guard down and the photograph comes out looking more natural – it really seems like a “moment” captured.
If you were not a photographer, what would be the alternative career path you choose:
This question kind of scares me sometimes, because there is honestly nothing else I would like to be doing. I suppose that is one of the keys to success though: not having a back up plan to feel the safety that you have something to fall on if photography doesn’t work out. This way I’ll do everything I can to make it happen!
How do you promote yourself:
The most promotion I got off any site was Deviantart, I basically just started submitting my photos and people liked them and my fan base grew and grew. Now I have followers on most of the social networking sites that I am on, so I am always posting links to my new work, letting them know when I am going on shoots, what I have planned, etc.
What do you think about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business:
I think the best and worst thing about the Internet and how it is affecting the visual communication business is the same thing: exposure. On the one hand the Internet has made it so much easier for people to get their work out there, there are so many free networking sites where you can post up your work and meet other people who have the same interests as you to collaborate, etc. But on the other hand, there are just as many other talented people putting their work out there that it becomes very competitive.
Could you share any insight for people just entering the profession:
While looking at photographs can get you very inspired, it doesn’t make you a photographer. If you want to get anywhere, you have to practice and have a passion for it. You need to take as many photos as you can, even if it is something you don’t like.
You can’t really afford to be picky when entering a profession (that includes anything!). Hopefully sooner rather than later you can start choosing who you want to take photos of and for who, etc.
How does the global economic recession affecting the industry, or the least affecting your business/ work:
To be honest, personally it hasn’t affected my work at all. I was actually able to find a really great job last year as a retoucher, which I am still doing now (and love), and I have been taking photos for clients all the time!
Who is the person that you look up to in the professional world. why so:
The person I look up to most is probably my favourite photographer, Tim Walker. The reason I look up to him is solely because of his artist practice, and how he takes such dreamy pictures, with wonderful props that you can tell took a lot of time and effort to set up and make look perfect.
I also love in his very very early work, he used to walk around the country side and just take random pictures of the things he sees and the people he knew (this is something I am trying to do now) and you can see a sense of humour in his work, a really unique and beautiful style that made him stand out from other photographers of his time.
What music are you listening lately:
A new band I am obsessing over lately is Modest Mouse, they’re pretty fantastic. And some of my all-time favourites include Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Ben Folds.
Name 3 your favorite books:
I don’t read.
What do you like the smell of?, i.e. coffee brewing, morning grass, etc. Why so?
Burning candles (burning anything, really), glue sticks & new magazines! And I have no idea why I like those the most in particular, I just enjoy them, haha.
If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
I have a whole bunch actually:
- www.jtrotti.blogspot.com (this is my favourite one, and the one I keep most up to date)
- www.jtrottiphotography.viewbook.com
- www.vampire-zombie.deviantart.com
and hopefully I’ll have my own domain-named website up soon! And that will be www.juliatrotti.com 
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