model: alex w
stylist: leah t
makeup artist & hair: emmily b
a couple of weeks ago i had the lovely opportunity to share my photography knowledge to colour-hungry photography students at my local high school in the form of a workshop. i asked rachel, a pretty girl who i went to school with, to model for me for the day. we walked down to the park in the late morning with the students, and in between taking pictures i showed them how i work with light, gave them tips on instructing the models and people they are photographing and everything in between. here are some of the photos i took:
the main aim i had for the day is to show them all how simple it can be to take portraits of someone. you don't need fancy lighting or to hike to a tropical location. we shot these photos in a park in front of the high school, the park that they would walk past every day to and from going to school.
i loved every minute of being able to share everything i know and answering all the questions that were asked throughout the day. so much, that i wanted to offer one on one lessons to anyone interested in learning from me and living in sydney. you could be a high school student wanting to learn more, someone who photographs for fun or someone who just wants to pick my brain for a day!
please email me on juliatrotti@gmail.com if you're interested.
not too long ago, the amazing black milk clothing (who i may or may not be in love with) sent me a box of their clothing so i can shoot with. my lovely little team and i spent a day walking around the streets of annandale take photos on the road, in the front yards of quaint houses, random alleys and outside the annandale hotel.
model: madeline rae mason
makeup artist: megan vaughan
stylist: jessie mcnaught
clothing:
i thought i'd take the time to write a little blog post of all the photos i took that i never got a chance to post, as well as the in-between photos that i take in daily life and let you all know what i've been up to these past couple of months. life has been a sweeping adventure so far this year. sometimes i will sit and think about everything and sometimes i will be firing the shutter, one photo after another and nothing else exists. some of these were taken with my camera and others with my iphone.
driving through the bushfire trees of autumn. roadtrips to nowhere.
hanging out with the boys from scarlet chase.
working with my talented team again for black milk clothing.
i went on a massive roadtrip long ago with the band say it forever. we were running through rivers with our clothes on, and had a watergun fight as the day was ending. after a two hour drive back home, this is half of the band curled up on my driveway.
taking photos in a park with overgrown grass of my lovely friend katie and her lover austin.
dan and i on a drive for no reason.
we dropped off friends at the airport during the week. this year my best friend moved to live in adelaide.
soft acoustic music being played at a wedding i documented with ashley.
more empty stretches of road, it's sort of calming after spending a whole day surrounded by people - to have your hair thrown around by the wind, watching the sun turn black and listen to soft music loudly.
i shot some beautiful weddings far and near; in sydney, berry, wollongong, mittagong.
i had coffee with my sister and family in wollongong. dan was driving us home and i was sleepily taking pictures in the passenger seat.
more rehearsals and staying up til 5am. dreaming of our tour around america, always driving, playing music, taking photos, meeting all of you.
dan and i going to watch live music in the city.
an editorial and lookbook i shot with a cute puppy.
last but not least i wanted to share with you some beautiful behind the scenes film photos oh deer boutique snapped at our last shoot:
i hope you've all been wonderful. i told myself that i need to take my camera with me everywhere i go, and that's exactly what i've been trying to do. if you don't mind, i may make a few more blog posts like this - of just life and the little things that happen here and there.
also, one more thing. i've been so busy lately shooting and editing and going to meetings that i haven't had a chance to do free curve friday for a while - and i'm sorry! someone on formspring a while ago gave me a lovely suggestion though, to make a curve that looks like a fairytale, soft and pretty. so instead, for the next few weeks i will be releasing a series of fairytale curves, starting with alice in wonderland:
you can download the free curve "alice in wonderland" here. instructions on how to install your curves can be found here.
this curve works best on photos shot on an overcast day, or photos with lots of shadows. it adds a lovely purple tone like the caterpillar's smoke 'who r u...?'.
hopefully this little surprise + a few more will make up for my silence :)
also, one more thing. i've been so busy lately shooting and editing and going to meetings that i haven't had a chance to do free curve friday for a while - and i'm sorry! someone on formspring a while ago gave me a lovely suggestion though, to make a curve that looks like a fairytale, soft and pretty. so instead, for the next few weeks i will be releasing a series of fairytale curves, starting with alice in wonderland:
you can download the free curve "alice in wonderland" here. instructions on how to install your curves can be found here.
this curve works best on photos shot on an overcast day, or photos with lots of shadows. it adds a lovely purple tone like the caterpillar's smoke 'who r u...?'.
hopefully this little surprise + a few more will make up for my silence :)
a couple of weeks ago i collaborated with a super talented team of creatives, these are some of my favourite photos from our day of trekking over mountains of tiny moon craters.
model: madeline rae mason
makeup artist: megan vaughn
stylist: jessie mcnaught
stylist assistant: harmony hearsey
this is my final shoot for the wonderful oh deer vintage during the cold, rainy days in the middle of summer. the first time we went to shoot the day was so dreary and not a single spot of blue could be seen. i was so sad that we weren't going to be able to shoot at all, but every one was happy to reschedule for a sunny summer's day.
the sunny summer's day finally came along a couple of weeks later and hannah traveled all the way from canberra and lidija from the city to wollongong and back just in time before work to be able to shoot together! it was all perfect from there; we sat in the tree's shade in a park bench to do makeup and talk about shoots and a video clip hannah starred in. then we headed to the beach and the sun rays laid to rest on my shoulders as hannah turned into a dancing pixie in the ocean. this girl is only fifteen years young and is already so talented and has accomplished so much, i really can't wait to see what she gets up to in the future!
and of course, these photos could have never happened unless i had this amazing team with me:
model: hannah rose
makeup: lidija jevremovic
designer: www.ohdeervintage.com
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I also have some exciting news because I've started sharing more fashion shoot behind the scenes videos + Lightroom & Photoshop Tutorials on my YouTube Channel! Be sure to subscribe as I upload 2 new videos every week x
one of my latest lookbook shoots for the amazing brand lulu in chains. this is her new collection, 'you are not dead yet'.
model: ella b
makeup and hair: kaori
designer:
to sum it up short and sweet: this folk festival was amazing.
day one.
i walked into the festival by myself. i explored the massive grounds and started taking pictures of strangers. there was anyone you could imagine; teenage girls with flowers in their hair, hippy adults wearing rainbow clothing, musicians walking around with piles of instruments, dreadlocked hair and screaming children. there was also music wherever i went, it never stopped playing.
while i was shooting, a blue-eyed man tapped me on the shoulder and introduced himself as the woohoo revue's band manager, dan. he let me know that their band was playing on the main stage later that night and asked me nicely if i could take photos of them. i eventually also bumped into my high school music teacher and her nephew and the three of us walked around looking at all the little markets and tents propped up selling scented candles and free-spirited clothes.
after hours of sitting and walking around, watching people dance and sing, we headed off to the main stage to watch the woohoo revue perform. the tent was packed with dancing youth, as their gypsy music filled up the night, they were amazing. after the show we hung out til the early hours of the morning, sharing stories of road trips, music and everything in between. even though the stage music ended, musicians and punters alike formed little circles and jammed on their ukeleles, acoustic guitars and harmonicas in the late night.
day two.
everyone camped in the torrential rain while i was cosy in bed. i got back to the festival and the entire ground was muddy and filled with puddles. today was the day my favourite shooting-boots were destroyed! it didn't stop anyone though, the soft acoustic music kept playing loud, strangers danced barefoot in the mud. everything i saw was a picture waiting to happen.
accordions for sale.
the tantric turtle cafe, oh so lovelily decorated.
always.
i asked this man to spin around for me in the rain so i could take photos with his wonderful jacket.
a lovely three piece group that filled the room up with soft music.
the woohoo revue.
morning mud.
living room under the sun.
the bearded gypsy band - another of my favourites who played at the festival.
my new friends, hungover.
smiling youth and muddy feet.
leaving town.
sleepy-eyed spiderman.
a marching band marching through the entire festival.
the woohoo revue playing on the second day.
a little shoot on my magic road in the middle of nowhere for the amazing casper & pearl with a lovely girl i went to school with. the shorts worn with the black top are from oh deer vintage. shorts worn with the white & light-pink top are from casper & pearl.
model: andrijana c
designer: casper & pearl
thank you for 3,000 likes on my facebook page <3
model: suzi leenaards
hair & makeup: lidija j
designer: lynn to
designer assistant: tanya pham
i'm so excited to finally be able to release this editorial i've been hiding away for months and months. i am even more super excited that it got printed in culture magazine! it's always so lovely to see your photos printed, they have such a different feel to them. now my next aim is to shoot an editorial for russh or oyster! you can also get one of these photos as a lovely wallpaper that culture made to decorate your computer,
.
a few rainy week ago the wonderful oh deer vintage contacted me to shoot with their clothes. being in love with anything vintage, floral and in the form of a dress i said yes in a heartbeat. they sent me a box of clothes and so started this little photo story in a white abandoned house by the beach.
model: amelia z
makeup artist:
designer:
or find them on
late last year i shot age of intimacy's lovely collection for twenty-eleven, indie rose. the day begun in tears with a misunderstand between me and a uni teacher. i emailed them the day before asking to do my presentation of my progress in class first so i can leave early to get to a job i had booked for later that morning. long story short, she must have missed my email and told me to choose between "my studies and my career". obviously i chose what i love, my career, and headed off with a cloudy head.
i got to the location just before noon, where hair and makeup was being finished up. we were shooting in an upstairs vintage bar in the city, with nude paintings hung in golden ornate frames on every inch of the brindle walls. after a couple of hours of shooting the first few pieces of the location, we changed coraline's hair and headed off to the next location; the middle of nowhere.
holding a broken old suitcase, coraline walked down the side of the road as i filmed her. the afternoon sun warmed our goosebump skin as we shot the next few pieces of the indie rose collection in the prickly grass. poor coraline had to endure cars driving back and forth beeping at us as we were working. when i scouted the location a few weeks earlier, it was completely deserted. today, it was the busiest it must have ever been.
as the sun dimmed, we all got in the car and roadtripped back to the city. i filmed the blurry lights and black trees and when i watch the video i want to melt back into the day and do it all over again. we got back to dear old sydney and parked next to hyde park, our last location for the day. we all sipped on hot chocolate on a bench at the park trying to warm up, it was pitch black and cold by now, our skin and my pictures lit up by tungsten artificial sun.
we shot the last few photos and i rode back home in tired-bliss thinking about the long day. before i went to bed i got an email from my teacher stating that she finally found and read the email i sent and apologised for everything. ha.
but anyway, that's my little story of this big day. i hope you enjoy the collection photos. you should check out age of intimacy's website
, they are so so amazing! oh, and please click the little blue facebook link in the corner if you like this post to share the photos with the world!
in the new year, i was sent by the au review to shoot pyramid rock festival in phillip island, melbourne. the day after we got to melbourne & our ten hour drive, we woke up early and set off for another two hours to phillip island. the day was hot and the roads were long, but we listened to music loudly in the car, put together snacks and drinks for the festival and drank way too much coffee until we finally got there.
we drove through the grounds, passing hundreds of tents and roaming teenagers already drunk at one in the afternoon and got around to the back where we were lucky enough to have vip camping by the sea. i picked up my photo pass and dan and i went off in the heat to watch some music.
at night, the air was polar and we would crawl back to the car and sit in complete happy-tiredness. the bands would sit in groups outside and play soft music, talk into the early mornings and it felt like i was in the movie almost famous. i felt at home. constant music in the background somewhere and anywhere, sun in the middle of nowhere and taking photos.
french horn rebellion, they were like monkeys running up on stage - completely awesome!
spiderbait
masculine spiderbait crowd haha
the vasco error
the herd
view from our camping ground
dan and i. i loooved the grass at the island, which seems like a silly thing to say, but it was some nice grass.
guy on a wheelchair being held up to the sky in the middle of the mosh pit
sparkadia
photographer taking photos of the crowd
gotye
gotee, goti-yeah, gote-yer
cloud control
the living end headlined the first day, they were probably my favourite act of the whole two days. they are absolutely amazing live.
second day of the festival:
calling all cars
grace woodroofe, who thought everyone who was at the festival lived on the island.
illy, they had the most energetic and crazy crowd
peeking over the fence from the vip bar
the getaway plan
graveyard train. i totally recommend listening to these guys!
drapht
taking a break in the middle of the heatwave day
boy and bear
the panics
bluejuice
last but not least, scissor sisters who played through midnight and welcomed us into the new year.
we set off for melbourne late one morning
icebergs
too many kms to go
fuel
open land for forever and ever
just after we passed the border between nsw and victoria
night driving into the city
our hotel room after the festival
upside-down world
exploring the graffitied laneways, taken with my iphone
ice cream & coffee at night by the beach in a random suburb
someone's cd collection by the window
gig venue hunting
the very awesome brunswick st
visiting the docklands on our last day
over the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, dan and i went on an adventure to melbourne. we set off for the ten hour drive late one morning. we travelled all through the day, passing broken down cars, dusty towns and forever and ever fields of desert grass, mountains and trees. the sun had started to set by the time we reached the border between two states and finally by the time we reached the city, tired, delirious and excited it was dark and late. we went out for coffee in a close by graffitied laneway, came back to our temporary home in the middle of the city and passed out.
our week in melbourne was amazing after that. i spent two days with my camera glued to my hands and fingers shooting the pyramid rock festival at phillip island, the blistering heat was overwhelming during the day and when the sun set, the island was made of ice - but nothing would stop me from seeing the world through my viewfinder, shooting strangers dancing around in panda suites and musicians running around on stage. the two days were mine to capture, and capture everything is all i did. but i'll write more about this story soon..
when we got back from the loudness and constant music all around, we chose to stay in a suburb just outside the always-moving always-rushed city of melbourne. every day we looked at a map and picked a random suburb that had an interesting name or a lovely view and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the little alleyways and long streets, the quaint shops and food-baby restaurants.
the second half of twenty-eleven was a crazy rush for me and my camera. i spent almost every day shooting, every night editing, every morning sending off cds to clients. while some days in melbourne i rested from my camera and was happy it wasn't hanging around my neck, the days that i did shoot everything i saw were the best.
one thing i'm going to attempt in 2012 is to do a 365 with my
. sometimes i will take specific photos for that day, but its mostly to motivate me to post a new picture every day for you all. and also, i haven't forgotten about free curve friday, its about to start all over again next week!
x
models: lillian, kellie & kayla
for
designs
not too long ago i spent a day at my office shooting suzi rose's newest (and very cute) collection, she's a dreamer. there were countless outfits, purple and gold strewn about our picnic blanket on the sand. we spent a lot of the time taking photos walking through the little rock pools and getting the dresses wet, strangers watching by the shoreline. at the end of the day the girls were even game enough to get into the water, its supposed to be summer here in australia but it hasn't been half as hot as it usually is!
i drove back home from wollongong with red sunburnt shoulders & the rest of my skin on fire, but was so excited about the photos i started editing straight away. i'm currently putting together a short film from everything i filmed on the day while i was shooting. hopefully i can finish it before christmas so i can show you all the dreamy day in moving pictures.
when i saw rosie hardy put together her shootout day, i thought it was an amazing idea and was inspired to do the same thing - sydney version! 10 of us met up at sydney college of the arts one saturday morning and shot through the day. i had a great time, and it was lovely to meet so many new faces that are as much in love with taking pictures as i am, it doesn't make me feel guilty talking all photo mumbo-jumbo! since this shootout was successful, i am definitely going to plan another one! maybe the next one we can shoot at the beach and learn how to work with harsh lighting conditions.. it's all plans in my head for the time being!
the model is the beautiful ayesha jaye, who totally kept her cool posing in front of ten different camera lenses!
very kindly let us borrow her clothes for the day &
was on makeup.
here are a few links to everyone else's photos from the day, i will hopefully be adding everyone to the list as they post their photos!
enjoy!
and some behind the scenes photos from the day:
model: andrea buckman
i have been waiting for aaages to release these photos and i'm so excited they're finally on my blog! you can see the cover and the editorial and order a copy as well
!
here's a little behind the scenes video from our day:
music composed and recorded by dan podbierezki.