About Me
Hi! I'm Jo. I'm the best photographer in Colorado. Maybe even the WORLD. At least that's what "they" say. But for reals, some people think that. I love my fun, unique, and adventurous couples, but I adore the quiet, thoughtful, and chill folks too - promise. I love my mountain weddings as much as my city events. I want your wedding photos to be as authentically YOU as possible. This is accomplished by focusing on candids but knowing when direction is needed. Not many of us are models and I know that even models need SOME guidance for where to stand/put your hands/what to do with your face (ha!) and so I never leave you hanging. I like to get you in that perfect spot, looking your best, and then help to guide you into laughing together and creating genuine moments. At the end of it all, I am the happiest to hear "I didn't even know Jo was there for that!" and "That is so US!!”.
I care.
OK, so this is less of an “about me” than it is my mission statement, but I think if you are looking at hiring me, this is more important than knowing my favorite cereal. Here’s the deal; I care a lot. It’s like when interviewers ask what your weaknesses are and you say, (in the voice of Nick Offerman aka Ron Swanson): “Oh you know, I just care too much. And I’m a perfectionist.” But GUYS it’s TRUE! Haha. I care about my clients so much that it’ll be like 2 AM and I’m wondering how that conversation went with the bride’s dad about their father-daughter dance song, if that one friend pulled their crap together to be in the wedding party, or if I crushed every photo-dream the couple had when they were planning the wedding. With shooting weddings for ELEVEN years now (whoa), I hope that I can share my experience with you to help make your day as smooth and fun as possible. You might not have heard this yet, but your wedding day should be FUN. I know, crazy concept. I hate seeing my couples just get ushered from event to event and becoming sweaty messes because of not planning enough time for things and still trying to accommodate all the “shoulds” that have been piled on to the word “wedding”.
This is your day, and yes, it is also about the people you choose to celebrate with, but we live in such a cool time where there is no longer a right way to get married. Do what makes your soul happy. Delete the things that make you sad. Honor your family and the people who are going to be there for you, but be real with them about how you envision that looking.
I primarily prefer to use natural light whenever possible because that is more the aesthetic I am attracted to, but I have all the tools, lights, and tricks to work in any lighting condition. My goal on your wedding day is to keep the “production” minimal to keep the focus on you. I work with you to create a detailed photo timeline, but then on the wedding day, I’ll gently help to keep you on track with as little stress or rushing around as possible. My approach to editing is similar to my approach to photographing your day. I want your images to feel as timeless and pure as possible, but still want them to have that something extra that makes them feel special. I do retouch your skin, remove any distracting elements, and bump up sunset colors in retouching, but try hard to not overdo it.
MORE ABOUT ME
So you can have a snapshot of who I am, here it is: I prefer high-fives to hugs. I’m mimicking your smile the whole time I edit your shoot. Mornings are the literal worst and I am VERY suspicious of anyone who thinks otherwise. The only other career I fantasize about is to be a Rockstar. Since that's not happening, I just go to lots of live shows. I really do believe that it is possible to be a better person tomorrow than you are today. I'm Pro-love. Pro-equality. Pro-Jesus. Diehard dog person. My dog's name is Triumph after Conan O'Brien's puppet from the 90s. I'm a pretty cliche Colorado Native in that I love camping, craft beer, and Red Rocks. Aaaaaaand I would love to get a beer/coffee/milkshake/whiskey with you to discuss such things and find out what we connect on. Regardless, if you're like me, you'll stalk me on social media first to make sure I'm your right kind of cool...or weird...or whatever floats your boat. My Facebook is not private, so go stalk me right now. And then say hi?
Nice things my clients said:
Johnny + Michelle
I spoke to probably 10 photographers before choosing Jo Julia Photography for our wedding this past June! She was maybe my 3rd photographer that I talked too and I knew that I wanted her to be our photographer 5 minutes into our phone conversation. She is so easy to get along with and really invests her time in you to make sure you get the type of photos you are looking for! She is so talented and captures so much more than a picture. We are OBSESSED with our entire wedding album. Our families and friends are equally obsessed and cannot stop raving about how great of a job she did! I would recommend using Jo for any occasion! Thank you so much!! <3
Aurelia + Zach
My fiance and I can't stop gushing about how amazing Jo is. We've never had professional photos taken before, and didn't quite know what to expect. Jo went above and beyond -- she gave us awesome recommendations for locations for our engagement photos, and arrived early to scope out the landscape. We were lucky enough to have a second shooter as well, and they braved some pretty chilly weather and sun in the middle of winter in Colorado to make sure that we had breathtaking shots (with our pup Mowgli included!). She makes you laugh the entire time so that none of the smiles are forced, you just have fun! We consider ourselves so very lucky to have worked with Jo and will definitely continue to do so in the future! I think Jo said it best when she said dog people are my people ;) Thank you!
Shelby + Daniel Part 1
Where do we even begin? Jo is not only an amazing photographer (I'd branch out and say THE BEST) but she's an amazing human as well. She has a kind heart & is someone that my husband and I hope will be in our lives forever. We don't have our wedding photos back yet, but we don't need them back to know how amazing they're going to be and to give her the review we always planned on giving. We met up with Jo at a beer hall to chat about our vision and to see if we wanted to hire her and it took just that amount of time to know she was ABSOLUTELY the person to do the job and we had no doubts about it. The vigor and passion she has for her photography as well as her clients is undeniable.
Shelby + Daniel Part 2
She made us feel so incredibly comfortable in the short time we spent with her and we left the beer hall that evening SO excited to begin working with her. Our engagement photos were so much fun and our wedding was perfect as well. She was quick and efficient and stayed for a really long time. Our families were wowed by all the photos they've seen thus far AND they were impressed by how long she stayed at our wedding. So Jo, THANK YOU for everything. We can't wait to see the final gallery and look back on the most magical DAY. We <3 you!
Kaitlyn + Caitlyn
Jo shot our destination wedding in the mountains! She was so wonderful to work with and made everyone feel so at ease. It felt like she was a part of the family! Her joyous humor kept us laughing in 20 degree weather and passion for photography is clear with every shot she took. We are so thankful that we found her and will be using her for any and all family photos in the future!!
Meaghan + Troy
I wish I could give Jo 1000 stars. She was the single best, easiest part about our wedding. We spent a lot of time looking into different photographers before deciding on her. We weighed the cost with the value, and with her style of work. Picking her as our photographer was the best decision we made. From our engagement pictures, to meeting before the wedding, to the day of, she was unbelievable. She brings this wonderful energy and excitement to the room and can take control of a excited wedding party while still having fun with everyone. Her second shooter, Nate, was also fantastic and worked so well with the groomsmen. Also, her timing is outstanding. She never took long to get photos back and would send some periodically to keep out anticipation at bay. The pictures we received were even beyond anything we could have ever expected. We can’t even begin to express how grateful we are that we had the opportunity to work with Jo.
Craig + Lauren
"Jo, all I gotta say is WTF? These are amazing. I was worried cause we were both feeling kind of off that day and I was sick but I'm speechless. Praises! You da shiznit! We absolutely love them. Thank you so much." - Craig
"Jo!!!!!! These are SO AMAZING!!!! There are too many good ones to choose from! We thought that they would be "alright" due to Craig's sassy attitude...you KILLED IT!!!!!!!! Thank you thank you!!!!!" - Lauren
Tara + Matt Part 1
What is there to say about Jo, other than she’s a rockstar! Jo is a stellar person through and through with an amazing eye and unquestionable talent. We connected with Jo through referral, and lucky us she shot both our engagement and wedding day photos.
Being new transplants to Colorado we lucked out both connecting with Jo here and having her travel home to Florida with us for our wedding weekend. Jo brought us to an amazing location/backdrop for our engagement photos. We met prior at a brewery to connect and share stories, which soothed our picture taking awkwardness and made the day memorable as well! During the shoot she made us feel comfortable, unlocked our inner “models” and our pictures are drool worthy (made a lot of people jealous back home). Not to mention she showed us a new place to hike that had beautiful views and fall foliage!
Tara + Matt Part 2
When it came time for the wedding we felt so incredibly comfortable and trusted that Jo had our back that day. Now saying this post wedding... never a more true statement! Jo kept us to our timeline without us having to think for a moment. She was calming, gave us confidence, communicated well and again - our pictures came out drool worthy! It’s incredible to watch her work and have fun (jamming out to the 90s hip hop tunes in the bridal suite). Every person we’ve shared our wedding photos with has expressed how breathtaking they are and we beyond appreciate to have these moments forever!
All in all, having Jo Julia Photography capture these two major events for us was a fantastic choice! I’d highly recommend Jo to anyone looking to have amazing photos captured and meet an extremely talented person. You’ll be so happy you did!