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Hidden Gems: Meet Julia Rohrbach of Julia Fay Photography

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Rohrbach.

Julia Rohrbach

Hi Julia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

Creativity has always been a part of who I am. I can attribute that to growing up in a household with parents who always encouraged me to try new things and use my imagination; and also by watching my dad play music all of the time. Without really understanding it at the time – I saw my dad turn his passion into a side hustle. He worked a regular 9-5 job, but every weekend, he played gigs and shows with his band. Growing up, music and creating my home-made movies and music videos was what I spent a lot of my time doing outside of school. For many years, I wanted to pursue singing full-time. I was accepted to the South Carolina’s Governor’s School for the Arts for vocal performance and studied there my last two years of high school. I also loved documenting what I was doing with my friends during this time. I bought my first DSLR with money from my summer lifeguarding job, and that was when I started to take it up a notch when it came to taking photos and videos. They gradually started looking better and more..composed! Ha.
 
Enter college – I joined the Clemson Photography Club my freshman year. Before I knew it, I was transferring my major into Radio and TV broadcasting at Tri-County Tech beside Clemson and making a Facebook page and business cards for my “photography business.” The goal was to take it full-time after graduation and see if I could make a living taking photos of people. It began slowly; I took photos of my friend’s families – friends getting married and then having kids. You know the cycle. My first real niche was wedding photography. I did that for five years, photographing over 100 weddings. I moved my business from Columbia, SC, to Charlotte, NC, during this time. After successfully working hard to market to a larger city and network of people, I switched my niche from weddings to branding / commercial photography around 2019/2020.
 
Julia Fay Photography LLC is now ten years old. I turned 30 this past January and have only ever worked for myself – I’m proud of that. I still love everything about photography and what I do. I often think back to the 10-year-old Julia and even the 18-year-old Julia, who had no idea she would be making a career with the cheap camera. Now, I travel throughout the US to photograph brands and businesses, and they also pay me to hear my ideas on how I can elevate their visual marketing. It’s the most fun thing ever! Outside of building my company, I’m a wife and a mom to an almost two-year-old. Spending quality time with them is my #1 priority. After becoming a mom two years ago, I became even more grateful for the flexibility and power of being an entrepreneur. Now more than ever, I’m determined to keep building my business/stretching my creativity because it makes me the best mom, wife, daughter, and friend.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Similar to most small business owners, I feel my first “oh crap” moment was probably the end of March 2020 when the covid crisis began. A couple of months after that, my business came to a halt. And as someone who doesn’t thrive well sitting at home with nothing to do or create, it was a scary and sad time. However, I knew I could get by and make it through if I got creative. I started to think about which of my clients or new markets still needed to prioritize photography for their businesses, and I reached out to as many people as possible. I also got back to photographing families like I did in the years prior by doing those porch sessions where we never got closer than 6 feet – ha! While that time was bumpy and unclear how long the crisis would slow us down, my business grew that year. It taught me that whatever next big challenge comes my way, I can handle it – I may have to think differently.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a branding photography company. We’ve partnered with hundreds of businesses across various industries – from health services and technology to interior design and commercial real estate. Regardless of size, scale, or scope, each client’s question is always the same: How do I elevate my presence with high-quality photography that feels like me, or how do we do business? The JFP style and approach always answer that question – capture you in a natural yet elevated way. We hope that clients leave a shoot feeling confident and celebrated. The final products are a unique combination of my creative instinct shaped over a lifetime and the active pulse we keep on marketing and storytelling today. What also continues to set us apart is our client experience; a lot of our clients hate having their photos taken, which sounds ironic, right? Then why would they hire a photographer? Well, because they know it will take their brand and business further. They have this library of photos to enhance their marketing and show up online professionally and positively. We aim to make our clients feel comfortable and confident in this investment as soon as they hear our voice. On the photoshoot day, we hope to feel like friends and trusted collaborators in their business. This leads to relaxed, genuine photos of themselves. It also may help re-shape in their minds what a photoshoot experience is.

What changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see us offering more video services. Video continues to skyrocket in its performance online, and I’m seeing our clients become more and more comfortable trying it out. I see my team growing as well; right now, there are only two of us – I have an associate named Erika, who has been with me since 2019. We are in a great groove right now, but in the next 5-10, I may want to step back and focus on certain clients/styles that showcase my skill set. I will always want to have a camera in my hands, though!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
photo of Julia Rohrbach : Avonne Photography

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