I’m born and raised in Halifax, by two Cape Breton’er parents and am married to Ian Cameron, who you’ll see shooting at weddings with me! I am an a-type perfectionist but also love a good time and am a little bit of a mixture of sass and I’m a bit dry but not blunt. I’ve always felt that when you meet me I don’t fit the “personality box” of the light and airy photography style that I shoot so my social media probably appears a bit all over the place haha. I love adventure, travelling, family, sunshine, wine, chocolate and most importantly, my Bernese Mountain Dog, Evie. 

I started this business around 7 years ago thanks to my husband who has always been supportive and helped me go after my dreams. But I got my first DSLR when I was 16 and have loved photography since then. When I took the leap to shooting weddings, I was terrified because while I’m very outgoing and chatty, I hate putting myself out there. It’s been an amazing 7 years and I’ve met some of the best people along the way. Fun fact: I’m always doing multiple things at once. I’ve been a student, a teacher and a mortgage specialist while running this business! 

My name is Julie Cameron and I’m the gal behind Julie Cameron Photography! 

Interview with Julie

What fellow creatives do you admire and who inspires you?

Ooo I love this question! Okay so I have a lot who have throughout my journey. I did some mentoring with Justine Milton (@miltonphoto) and she’s always a source of inspiration. Tyler Rye (@tylerrye) because he’s a great true to colour photographer and does amazing elopements! Jose Villa’s (@josevilla) always amazed me. And then locally, Candace Berry (@candaceberryphotography) is amazing - I had her as my own wedding photographer and would hire her again, all these years later! And then it’s funny - but I would say you, Angelina (@averagejanephoto) because of the way you seem to be able to shoot in, and edit consistently, and even post, from sessions that I know the lighting would have made it really difficult and I’ve been admiring that ever since I started following you! I could make this list longer, we have an incredible community and I’ve been lucky to work alongside photographers like Alyssa Joy, Terri Lynn, and always enjoy their work! 

How do you deal with burnout and creative blocks?

Ha… don’t ask my husband how I deal with burnout! Honestly that is the hardest part and I tell people I should never be allowed to make life decisions in October at the end of my season. Honestly, I’m a pusher so I don’t often slow down but sometimes it does force me too. I like to take walks, see friends, sleep in, exercise, and maybe cry sometimes to deal with burnout haha. Creative blocks are often fixed by travelling ;) another one of my methods to deal with burnout and stress is booking trips! 

What is the one thing you would change about the industry?

Hmmm I don’t know if this is the “industry” but just the social media expectation of your wedding. It’s nice to look at pretty photos online for inspo but your wedding doesn’t need to be a Pinterest dream, it needs to be fun, in whatever way is most memorable to you. A trend will come across social media and sometimes some of them are fun but remember if you hired vendors for a reason, to trust them to do their job and not be disappointed if everything doesn’t look the way you think others do online. We definitely have a lot of content out there that isn’t reflective of what a real day often looks like! 

"It’s nice to look at pretty photos online for inspo but your wedding doesn’t need to be a Pinterest dream, it needs to be fun, in whatever way is most memorable to you." - Julie

If you could tell your younger self anything at the point when you were starting out yourself, what would it be?

I would have said do it earlier! My parents thought there was no money in photography so I went to university lol - not that I regret that but I wish I’d started even earlier! Although, my other choices led me to where I am now so it all worked out. I’d also recommend to invest in a good mentor!

If you could share one bit of wisdom to anyone starting out in this business, what would you tell them?

Probably not what most people would say. I would say, offer free shoots to build your portfolio, charge according to your experience and education - doing styled shoots are a great way to build your portfolio and meet vendors but they don’t mean you should be increasing prices - remember that everything takes time and you’ll create longer relationships with clients if you’re fair and put the time into it! Make sure you’re confident shooting in a variety of conditions before you start charging “regular” prices to avoid any stressful situations! 

What has been your most favourite travel destination? 

Oh man this is tough. New Zealand is all time for me, I’ve been 3 times and will always go back. It’s so special to me. But I do love love love venturing to Europe, Italy is an all time favourite too.

This photo made the list while it’s not my typical print style that I do after travelling - this day was amazing. We were awake for 24 hours and hiked this mountain twice to catch sunrise and the starts. We passed through a cloud to get up here and were the only two people, watching the sunrise in the mountains in New Zealand wel as magical. It was also just after we got married we lived in New Zealand for 6 months and it’s a time I’ll never forget!

Tuscany - when I think Tuscany, this was exactly what I pictured so being able to capture the exact photo I’d always envisioned was special! It was also our first trip post pandemic, and it was such a dark time in my life, this trip was the first time I’d felt alive in two years and because it was so soon after restrictions eased we had a lot of the places in Italy to ourselves. It was a trip that I will never forget - it’s the one that made me eternally grateful for travel and reminded me of how good life can be.

This photo is from one of the best days of my life I think! Monforte, Portugal. I’ve always loved horses, and olive trees are my favourite tree, and I love vineyards! This photo has a little of everything I love. And it’s a memory of the most perfect day I’ve ever experienced where not a single thing went wrong and everything that happened that day exceeded my wildest expectations. Travelling is certainly not always glamorous but days like this one leave a mark on your soul.

Top Three FAVOURITE Travel Captures

June 30, 2023