Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julius Schlosburg. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julius, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Wow – I think about this all the time! When I quit my day job, I was very excited to have the flexibility that running my own little business could afford. And there is certainly a high degree of freedom – I can work when I want, I can choose my clients to some extent, I can work in a variety of locations and with the equipment that I most enjoy using. But the flipside is that I don’t have a full-time accountant, or receptionist, or editor, or salesperson, or IT person – that’s all me. So on top of the job I thought I was signing myself up for, I’ve had to learn and perform all of these other jobs that come along with running a business. I rarely work a “regular” work week – I edit well into the night frequently and some weekends I have had 6 photo sessions in 36 hours. It can be entirely overwhelming at times. But the reward is doing what I love, with people I love to do it with, and I wouldn’t trade that for my old 9-5 for anything!

Julius, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a community photographer – I work with small businesses, nonprofits, individuals, museums and smaller municipalities on generating photography that represent them in whatever capacity they need. This ranges from large campaigns for tourism boards, down to a quick business portrait session, to beautiful weddings in international destinations.

I’ve always had a passion for photography, using film and an old SLR as a kid before diving back into the practice when I moved to Tucson in 2011. I’m also a musician, so naturally I began to bring my camera with me to shows and on tours. at some point, other bands began to request that I bring my camera to their shows, then they asked for band photos. Eventually, enough people asked me why I didn’t quit my job to do photography full time that I finally felt compelled to make the leap.

I am so proud and grateful for every job I’ve done. In the end, photography is always about storytelling. I get to hear and help tell stories, day in and day out. My job is amazing and I still can’t believe I get to do it!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

This one is very easy. Be kind and be generous and be easy to work with. And do a good job. I have never advertised – I just try to be as good a community member as I can be. Help your community and your community will support you.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think some people tend not to get obsessed, truly obsessed, with creative practices in the course of their lives, and it’s hard to explain myself to those people. I’m driven by obsession – with printing processes from the 1840’s, with lighting techniques, with locations, with compositional systems, with the myriad and inexhaustible avenues of exploration that photography and art practice in general afford to all who care to dive into them. I think some people look at what I do and think that I have some kind of natural “talent,” whatever that really means – but the truth is that I am a very, very slow learner. But I get obsessed, I practice things over and over and over again, day in and day out, and eventually I have a new skill. I think that’s a bit of a disconnect – the idea that as a creative I am imbued with some special aptitude, when the reality is that I simply let my curiosity run rampant, and allow myself the freedom to get obsessed with wherever it leads me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jpopphoton.com
• Instagram: @catsphotoshoot