Preschool aged children are such a fun group to photograph! Just ask Trina Julius, a professional preschool photographer of 10 years who has photographed thousands of 4 to 5-year-olds over the course of her career.

In today’s episode, Trina shares how she discovered her passion for preschool photography and what she loves most about working with this endearing age group where every day is as unique as her subjects. From strategies for working with different personalities to overcoming challenges with critical parents, this episode is full of inspiration and insight into the exciting and often overlooked niche of preschool photography!

So, get cozy, grab your notebooks, and tune in. I’m rooting for you, my friends.

What’s in this episode:

• [01:51] How Trina discovered her passion for preschool photography
• [04:21] Strategies Trina has developed for working with 4 to 5-year-olds
• [07:22] Packages Trina offers and advantages of having a large gallery
• [11:58] How to photograph very shy children and the need to work efficiently
• [17:12] How to overcome unique challenges and critical parents
• [22:13] Tools, resources, and tips for staying organized

Tune in to this episode to learn how you can be successful as a preschool photographer.

SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

---

Meet Trina Julius

Trina Julius has been a preschool photographer for the last 10 years. Over that time she has photographed over 15,000 children in her mini session outdoor play and portraits. In the last year, she has been building the education side of her business with a focus on teaching other photographers how to incorporate preschool/ childcare photography into their portrait/family photography business.

Connect with Trina

Visit Trina’s Website

Follow Trina on Instagram

Follow Trina on Facebook

Learn Preschool Photography

Did this episode provide you with a roadmap for becoming a preschool photographer? Check out this episode Bellies, Babies, Branding that shares how another photographer started their career!

Transcript

[00:00:01] Trina Julius: I guess I wish they would just follow what their passion is, follow what suits their personalities, don’t do what’s popular, do what you want to do and just really believe in that and just. Practice, practice, practice and just go for it. [00:00:18][16.8]

[00:00:21] Lisa DiGeso: Welcome to the Art and Soul Show, where we dive into heart opening chats on photography, business, life and that messy in-between. I’m your host, Lisa DiGeso, a mom, a photographer and entrepreneur, and I’ll be sharing honest conversations and advice for photographers with insight on mindset, entrepreneurship, and creativity. The goal of this podcast is for you to be able to gain insights and strategies that will get you real results. Because let’s face it, having a photography business can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. This is the place you can go when you need a boost of encouragement, a kick in the pants, and inspiration to pick up your camera. This is the Art and Soul Show. [00:01:03][42.3]

[00:01:04] Lisa DiGeso: Hello my beautiful friends. Welcome back to the show today. I’m super excited to dive into today’s conversation with Trina Julius. Now, Trina has been a preschool photographer for the last ten years, and over that time, she’s photographed over 15,000 children in her mini session, outdoor play and portraits. In the last year, she’s been building an education side of her business, with a focus on teaching other photographers how to incorporate preschool childcare photography into their portrait and family photography businesses. I am so excited to dive into this topic with her today, learning more about playful and fun sessions. So welcome, Trina. [00:01:42][37.9]

[00:01:43] Trina Julius: Oh hello! Welcome. Thank you! I’m so excited to be here and just shine a spotlight on preschool photography. [00:01:49][6.4]

[00:01:51] Lisa DiGeso: Yes, you know, it’s so funny because it is. You hear a lot about senior photography, but you really don’t hear that much about preschool photography and candy photography. So can you share a little bit more about that and sort of how you found your passion in there? [00:02:05][14.1]

[00:02:05] Trina Julius: Yeah, sure. So preschool photography is that age before school. So if they’re in childcare anywhere from like six months on to about 4 or 5 year olds, I’m just I’m not sure wherever you are what time yourself is in your country. But here in Australia. So I’m from Australia, from Brisbane in Queensland, and we have I particularly do 4 to 5 year olds, which is that just that year before they go off to peak school. So what I do is I go into the, the center, the kindy we call them, and I take photos of the children out in the yard playing. I set them up in like different little areas. I take them on like an obstacle course and I take 10 to 15 different photos of them doing that, as well as some portrait photos. So yeah, I just love it. [00:02:51][45.6]

[00:02:52] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. So is this something that you’re arranging with the school, or is this something that you’re arranging with parents? [00:02:57][5.2]

[00:02:58] Trina Julius: I’ve been bringing it with the kindergarten, so they they get me to come in on their behalf and take the photos and then I, you know, get the parents to register with me. And then I show them the photos via online galleries. [00:03:10][11.9]

[00:03:11] Lisa DiGeso: I love that, I love that. So how did you get started in this niche? Because this definitely is niche photography, and I love discovering different avenues of how we can all be photographers. [00:03:22][11.0]

[00:03:23] Trina Julius: Yeah, so I started way back when my kids were young. My kids are teenage boys, like 14 and 18 now. So yeah. So it started when the kid that my boys were going to, they said, hey, we know you’re a photographer. I was just starting out. I was trying all different sorts of genres, you know, trying to find what fitted with me and my personality and my lifestyle. And they said, how about you give us a go? Like, do you want to come in and do all the photographs for the kids? So I was like. Yeah, whatever. Not realizing quite at that stage just what was involved. And yeah, you know what I needed to have, like at the sit up of the background to have, you know, all the administration that goes with it. But, yeah, I got in there, I did it, I had eight kids, so I did them in about two days, you know, 10 to 15 different photos of each child. And I loved it. I just remember feeling that, oh my gosh, I found what’s funny and what suits my personality. And, yeah, it just was so much fun. [00:04:20][57.6]

[00:04:21] Lisa DiGeso: So I love that I’m a baby photographer through and through. So babies are my jams. I but I know that feeling when you’re just like, doing what you’re meant to be doing and like that, that artist tie, you almost get like, just being creative and like just being in your passion. It is so fulfilling. So with 4 to 5 year olds, they are hilarious. They are just wild cards so can you share a little bit about focusing specifically on this age, and maybe some things that you’ve noticed with working with them. [00:04:52][31.3]

[00:04:52] Trina Julius: Yeah. So besides, you know, there’s all different sorts of personalities. So you got to be able to quickly adapt to each child and their personality and work them out, I guess quickly. And, you know, every time I’m at a different kind of a different center, I come across so many different personalities that, you know, they they might be really crazy and fun and really outgoing and keen, or they might be really shy and a little bit reserved and, you know, you just need to work with. Them and just fine. What sort of clicks with them? You know, whether you talk about their family or they part. So you encourage them to do climbing or swinging and just saying, can you show me what you do on the slide? And, you know, can you get up there and, you know, I’m going to take some pictures of you coming down. So once you get halfway down, remember to look at the monkey on the camera and just really getting them involved in the whole process. And they’re they’re often quite surprised that they get to do all the play things in the yard with me. So, you know, when they’re running off back inside to the candy, they’re like, yeah, that was fun. That was so much fun. So yeah, I like that. [00:05:56][63.9]

[00:05:57] Lisa DiGeso: I love it because, you know, when you think of traditional food like school photography and school portraits, like we all get them. Like, I remember my son, like I actually never even purchased any of the school photography going through it with him. Like we always just had the sample ones and it was so funny. And that’s all we really needed because it was hilarious, right? So I love that you’ve kind of reimagined what school photography can be, and it’s more of like showing off their personality just instead of showing off their goofy 4 or 5 year old smile. Do you ever get them wanting to do like, bestie sessions, or like getting with their best friend and taking pictures with them too? [00:06:34][37.4]

[00:06:35] Trina Julius: Oh yeah, that that is starting to be a thing. I have to be careful with privacy though, because I’m showing online galleries. I have to get permission from each parent of, you know, the best friends. And I just love those photos, though, because they just light up whenever they’re sitting next to their best friend. They play off each other, and that’s when I get the real genuine stuff, the real genuine smiles, because they’re with their bestie and it, you know, having a laugh and a giggle. And I get them to do like little competitions between each other. So yeah, that’s I love doing those. It’s not often that I do them, but yeah, definitely if a request comes through I’m like, yep, great, that’s no problem. Just get the other parent to send me an email. I’m happy to do it for you. So because I show the photos in their galleries of both of them together, it’s just a policy thing that I need to make sure that I’m in here. [00:07:22][46.7]

[00:07:22] Lisa DiGeso: And so I love that. So when you’re doing it, how are you doing these as packages is something that they purchased ahead of time. And they’ve picked, what they want. Or is it like you do the session and then they purchase the prints after? [00:07:34][12.5]

[00:07:35] Trina Julius: Yeah. So I get them to register with me and it’s a $35 deposit. So they pay that upfront and then that just allows me permission to photograph them for one. And then they get to choose what they like from the gallery. There’s all different packages and I start at $35. So they use that deposit as credit towards this package that they want to spend on. So yeah. So I have all different packages from one photo only right up to all the photos in the gallery. So, you know, I don’t feeling this spend. I let them spend as much as they want to with me. [00:08:07][32.1]

[00:08:08] Lisa DiGeso: So yeah, I love that we, we recently went on a family trip to. It’s a historic town in British Columbia called Barker Ville, and we had just paid our deposit. And this was my husband, my son and I. And they what they do is they dress you up in, like, historical garb, whether it be like Western or saloon or just whatever they’ve got there. And what I found fascinating was they only took one photo of our family, and we were at my husband and was prepared to be there for hours. I was prepared to spend like I was ready to have fun. My family was on board with playing dress up with me, which is my favorite thing to do. And and we were going to do it, and she just snapped two photos. And when she gave us one and that was it. And I was like, I can’t even believe the missed opportunity this company is having with every single family because I was like, we’re on our family vacation. We never do family photos. I’m a photographer. Like, we haven’t had a family photo shoot since like 2015. Like it’s this is this is our time. And so I was prepared to spend. So I really love that you haven’t captured that because I think that’s so important. Just realizing that people really do want to spend money on something that is important and meaningful, and especially when it’s looking at their children and that that moment in time for them, that is that’s just I love that that’s so great of you. [00:09:35][86.9]

[00:09:35] Trina Julius: That was where my idea was born, because I remember when my kids were young and I got one photo. And so like, I would have bought everything if they would have just offered it to me because he looks so dorable and he’s I mean, mind you, it was just a backdrop photo, but I wanted more and that’s what I been. I want to give parents more, and that’s what parents have come back to me with. Feedback is like, you know, I was so surprised. The photographer last year, she just took one photo. He or she. Yeah. And, you know, I was so surprised to see how many great photos you have in your gallery. And I just wanted them all. I couldn’t choose. I just want the ball. And that’s like, yes, I’ve done my job, you know? [00:10:09][34.3]

[00:10:10] Lisa DiGeso: Exactly. And I think just making it easy for people to say I want them all. And just like this is the price for all. And then it’s so surprising at when you do offer that, like. In our heads. We think, oh no, like they’re never going to pay that. And actually, it is so much easier if you say, okay, Lisa, this is the price for one. And this is the price for all. And I’m like, I’m just going to get all because I have decision fatigue. I can’t make a decision. I want all of them. I want the funny faces of my child. Like. Right. [00:10:37][27.1]

[00:10:38] Trina Julius: Absolutely. So yeah. So I love giving them that choice. And then, you know, I want them all. And then I offer them upgrades on all as well. So they could get, you know, prints of every photo in the gallery and add on frames and albums just fine. Just don’t cap it at because you just never know what a parent wants to spend. You can never assume. [00:10:58][20.0]

[00:10:59] Lisa DiGeso: So yeah, I love that. So how much time would you say you’re spending with each child? [00:11:04][4.9]

[00:11:05] Trina Julius: Depends on their age group stuff. They’re a 4 or 5 year old. I’d spend between 5 and 8 minutes. So yeah, I’m pretty quick, like I have in my head a little scenario for like a little obstacle course. I take them on and just set them up and I go, okay, let’s go here and here and here and here. And then, you know, I finish within 5 to 8 minutes. Depends on the personality of the child. So if they’re a bit younger, we spend a little bit longer and we allow for that in our morning. So generally though we’re working with 4 to 5 year olds and they are so easy to work with. They just follow directions so well. [00:11:37][31.9]

[00:11:37] Lisa DiGeso: So so lovely. I love, I love them. [00:11:39][2.1]

[00:11:40] Lisa DiGeso: I did holiday mini sessions for years and that age group was probably my favorite. They’re just like. They’re so, so sweet. [00:11:47][7.2]

[00:11:48] Trina Julius: Absolutely. They just they tell you little stories. And you know, I love hearing about their family and, you know, the pets that they have at home. It’s just lovely. [00:11:56][8.0]

[00:11:58] Lisa DiGeso: Now, do you ever run into a situation where you’ve got a really shy one who may have a little bit of camera fear, or maybe a past experience, maybe with a photographer that didn’t go so well? And how do you turn that around? [00:12:08][10.4]

[00:12:09] Trina Julius: And I just start off gently with them. I actually have my phone with me, and I show them photos of my puppies and just anything I can just find to connect with them. I just ask them about them, and I really concentrate on just finding out about them. And then I say, where would you like to go in the kindergarten now? What’s your favorite thing to do? You tell me, just sort of tread gently with them. If that’s not working, ask them to go choose a friend and bring out a friend to sit with them or go around the obstacle course with them. Like usually that if that’s not, you know, working, an educator comes out with them. So usually if I try all those three things, I usually get them. If not, I get I just carry on with the rest of the students and then I just go back to them. At some point when they’ve seen what’s happening through the morning, seeing their other friends coming in, all excited after the photos, and if they’re playing quietly in a corner or off in the yard somewhere, I then just sneak up and just take a few photos for Mom and Dad. Yeah, I get whatever I can. [00:13:09][59.9]

[00:13:10] Lisa DiGeso: Do you ever run into a situation where they have, like a special item that they are particularly attached to that they want included in their photos? [00:13:17][7.4]

[00:13:18] Lisa DiGeso: Yes. Yeah. And I encourage that. I mean, anything that helps in my feel comfortable with the session had absolutely happy. And when mom and dad looking back on those photos, they’ll remember that item is something that their child really loved at that point. So I think that’s important to include. [00:13:34][16.4]

[00:13:36] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah, I love that. I think that my son is also 14. And coming out the other side, I remember like when he was little fighting with him so much, he had this special blanket he called Kagi, and it was this knit blanket my grandma had made, and I wish that we had photographed it more, and it was in more photos. Instead of trying to take it away from him and embraced versus like, because he would take it and he would just he had these knots on it and he would rub it against his little nose, and it was just the most precious little thing that I’m looking back now. But at the time I was like, oh my gosh, that darn blanket. Just like, get it out of the shot, right? But like, that’s the hindsight of like. [00:14:14][38.3]

[00:14:15] Trina Julius: That’s the story when they’re that young. That’s what you want to remember. Those stories are the important parts, right? [00:14:20][5.2]

[00:14:20] Lisa DiGeso: Oh yeah. Just the smell of the blanket. Like. Maybe not the smell I know. Right. He really loved that thing. [00:14:29][8.9]

[00:14:31] Trina Julius: Yeah, I see some pretty worn out little toys come in and, you know, teddy bears. I look at life. I’d be. Well, not that well. [00:14:37][5.6]

[00:14:38] Lisa DiGeso: Definitely. [00:14:38][0.0]

[00:14:39] Lisa DiGeso: Now, I’m assuming you’d probably would have to work really efficiently. Are you working solo in this? Like, do you have an assistant or or how are you keeping it as efficient as possible? [00:14:49][10.0]

[00:14:50] Trina Julius: Yeah. So first of all, I started without anyone and that was crazy. I was just doing it all by. I was so exhausted at the end of the morning. Yeah. So then I worked up to having an assistant who would bring the children out for me. So how I work it is I have the children do indoor play while I take them outdoors. It just keeps their attention focused on me so I can get it done quick after the teachers, so they carry on with their day. So that’s really important part of it. And having that assistant go in and bring the children out so she can brings out. 2 or 3 at a time. And then I kind of worked up to in the last couple of years, I have another photographer with me instead. So we’re taking a child, H, and we’re taking them on the playground. So now as I’ve got older, I have less energetic. So I need that extra. I know another photographer there, which is also really great to bounce ideas off during the morning. You know, I found a great light spot over here. Or, you know, this is a great equipment. You know, they love this over here. So we bounce off each other, which is really fun. And we have lots of fun while we’re working so together. [00:15:51][61.1]

[00:15:52] Lisa DiGeso: So I love that. So yeah. Are you primarily doing just kindergarten photography? Is that like your your bread and butter? [00:15:59][7.4]

[00:16:00] Trina Julius: Yeah. Yeah. So I do it during the week and during weekdays and during school terms. We call them over here I don’t know, what do you call them. Where are you up at? Yeah. So I don’t work school holidays. I don’t work public holidays. I don’t work weekends. I sometimes take family sessions now, weekends. When I was first starting out, a lot of my kidney parents would contact me to do family sessions. So. But as I just got into the business and got busier and busier, I just did not need to do family sessions at all because I was too busy keeping up with doing at least one center every week. So wow. It’s pretty much my bread and butter. My full time gig. [00:16:40][40.2]

[00:16:40] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah. So are you traveling to other areas of Australia to to do this, or is it just primarily in your area? [00:16:46][6.0]

[00:16:47] Trina Julius: It’s mostly, well, all in my area. I have one center that I travel about three hours away for, and they have hired me to come out. They pay for my accommodation and my travel to go out there for three nights and photograph the children at their kindergarten, and I love going out there. They’re just such a beautiful little community. It’s an out. It’s sort of inland Australia a little bit, so it’s not as big, but they love me coming out every year for. [00:17:11][23.9]

[00:17:12] Lisa DiGeso: That’s so cool, I love that. So are there any unique challenges that you run into when you’re encountering them, and how do you overcome them? [00:17:22][9.7]

[00:17:23] Trina Julius: I guess, it’s one of the biggest challenges is with volume photography. You just you dealing with lots and lots of parents and lots and lots of different, I guess, wishes in regards to how they want their photos. So, you know, I try to be very upfront about my process, what’s involved, what to expect. I give lots of information on my website about the process, you know, frequently asked questions. So as long as I’m very communicative with parents, I find that that process works really well. You know, not every parent reads, which is probably one of my biggest. My biggest bugbears. But, you know, I try to contact them in all forms of communication, whether it be fliers, whether it be, you know, emailed information from the same, text messaging. So I’m doing my best to cover all bases, but still, there’s just that small percentage that turn up and go, oh, I didn’t know it was photo day. I knew, like, oh. [00:18:19][55.7]

[00:18:20] Lisa DiGeso: She dressed herself today. [00:18:21][1.2]

[00:18:26] Trina Julius: You know, you just like, oh, well, we’ve had lots of time to, you know, to give you all the information. There’s been posters on the wall. You’ve had a flier given to you. So that’s probably one of the, the challenging aspects of it. Yeah. Yeah. But otherwise, you know, the administration side of it too is a big part because there is a lot to do and a lot to keep on top of. And, you know, that’s just one thing that I’ve really got down to a fine art now with having that work flow that it streamlines. It made it really quick and easy to to get those photos taken, to get them edited, to get them up on the gallery and ready for the parents to look at and purchase, because that’s, you know, that’s. What I want. That’s what I need. [00:19:07][41.6]

[00:19:08] Lisa DiGeso: So how do you ever run into a situation where either the child hasn’t cooperated at all, so you haven’t gotten anything, or the parents are requesting a reshoot? And how do you deal with that? [00:19:18][10.4]

[00:19:19] Trina Julius: Yeah. So like this particularly happens with toddlers. So toddlers are always a little bit, you know, stranger danger. And you know we’ll try our best. We’ll do what we can. But if they’re upset or if they’re just not wanting us to come anywhere near them, we’re just okay. No problem. Just contact the parents and I refund their deposit that they’ve paid. I just kind of we were unable to this year, maybe next year when, you know your little one’s a little bit older, we’ll be able to capture something lovely for you. But in regards to reshoots, I do. I am very upfront in the beginning. If they don’t like anything in their gallery, which is usually 10 to 15 different photos, which is very, very rare, I think over the course of my time, I’ve probably had 2 or 3 have contacted me and said like, oh, I didn’t like any of the photos because I didn’t like what my child was wearing. And I’m like, well, yeah. What can I do about that? Oh no, no, no. That’s what you dress them to do with and or, you know, oh, I don’t like the way that my child has with style, somebody’s style. You know the wrong way inside. We don’t touch their hair. Whatever they come in with. You know, we might just brush it out of their face or just make sure it’s a little bit tidy, but I never do any redo of hairstyles at all. That can be a funny one sometimes. And then, you know, there’s. You know, that wasn’t my child smile. It’s like, okay, you know, I’m not. You know, we do our best, but we’re only just meeting these children, and we’ve got 5 to 10 minutes with them. We do our absolute best to get a genuine smile, but. Yeah. So it’s it’s very few and far between, because usually they’ll find something in that gallery that will connect with them that they can purchase. [00:20:58][99.0]

[00:20:59] Lisa DiGeso: I think that’s so important is like, you know, you know, and it happened to me years ago, and I was really kind of taken aback by it. I had a client, oh gosh, is probably my favorite one of my first years. And they were just so critical and so mean about their child and the way they looked. And I was just like, oh, it just broke my heart. Like I was like, mama, what do you do when like, the photography is great. Your child looks great. Yeah. You know, and and, that was that was really a hard situation. So yeah, parents that are a little bit harder on their children than necessary. I always break my heart. [00:21:34][34.9]

[00:21:35] Trina Julius: Yeah, but just never know what’s going on. You know, with them, we don’t know what’s happening in their lives, and they just don’t realize it at the point. And, you know, they might look back in years to kind of go, you know, that was beautiful. That’s fine with. Yeah. Yeah. So I just give him a I always give him a little bit of slack because I think, you know, I’ve got young kids, I have a, I’ve got a 14 and a 18 year old. Not so easy like I, you know, I, I do remember that time when they’re young and it’s hard. It’s, you know am. Yeah. Fortunately, sometimes the photographer might bear the brunt, but, I just, I just I’m polite, I’m kind, I’m considerate and say, that’s okay. No problem. [00:22:12][36.8]

[00:22:13] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. So are there any essential tools or resources photographers that might be looking to incorporate or get started in this niche that you can recommend? [00:22:21][8.8]

[00:22:23] Trina Julius: Yeah. So oh, gosh. There’s anything from the equipment that I photograph with on site. So I use a mirrorless canon camera, which I love to. So the new facial tracking is just a game changer for kids photography. [00:22:35][12.8]

[00:22:37] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah I bet. [00:22:37][0.4]

[00:22:38] Trina Julius: Yeah. So I, I use that I use a 50 mil prime lens as well. And I’m always shooting at like 2.0, 2.3 to get a really lovely background. And then on the administration side of it, it’s just having really good gallery software that you can use that is, intuitive and you can customize to, make sure that, you know, your processes, it’s works really well. So and parents can order easily. So I have, I use a particular one called Situs. It’s not a really well known one. But we in Australia don’t have access to software such as Got Photo or Picture Day or Proof Pics or a few of the other ones. It’s just not available for Australians, which is really odd. I’ve talked to the software developers a few times and said. Hey, come on board to the Australians. [00:23:26][48.1]

[00:23:26] Lisa DiGeso: You know what’s different in Australia? I go, it’s. [00:23:31][4.2]

[00:23:31] Trina Julius: It’s sometimes it’s the suppliers that provide the prints so you can get fulfillment done by presets of any prints that parents order. But, I or I do self fulfilling. So I send off my prints to my own private lab. And, that works well for me. That’s. Yeah, it’s just finding the right software that fits your business. Yeah. [00:23:52][21.4]

[00:23:53] Lisa DiGeso: Love that. So, any tips on staying organized with having that many clients? [00:23:57][4.1]

[00:23:58] Trina Julius: Yeah. So, like, my motto is prior preparation prevents poor performance. And I have a huge believer in that. I’ve always prepared. I’m always organized up front before I start at the center. I have, you know, all my folders organized. I have, you know, the just the process. So I’ve got emails or pre-written that I send out at particular points. It’s just, you know, making sure that you’ve got all those things ready to go so it can just happen as you work through the process. So yeah, just being organized upfront and because you want as soon as you take the photos, you want that quick turnaround to the parents. I don’t like my parents having to wait any longer than five days to see their child’s photos. I just I love getting them out quickly because they’re surprised by yesterday. [00:24:44][45.6]

[00:24:45] Lisa DiGeso: Has there been any session or child that’s been particularly memorable and become one of your favorite sessions? And if so, can you share the story with us? [00:24:54][8.7]

[00:24:55] Trina Julius: Oh my gosh, it’s so many. I’m just thinking back to one particular one who was a few months ago and she was just adorable. She had these stitches like she was just she was like, like, can we go over here? Can I have my photo taken here? And she giggled the whole way through. I did not have to prompt turtle. She run the session on me. She was like, oh, I like, I like climbing up here. Can we go? Yeah, I’m like yes. And then she grabbed a book and she opened it up and she’s like, just sit on the ground and she’s like, giggling at it. And then she did look up at me and I’m like. Oh my goodness, she’s doing my job for me. Yeah. So and then at the end she’s like, can I have more? And I’m like, oh gosh, I love to. I could have just taken 100 photos of this along because she was just so cute. I just did like how I have to photograph other children now. Thank you. Yeah, so I love it when they like that. She was just. [00:25:47][52.7]

[00:25:48] Lisa DiGeso: I know. When they’re so cooperative and they’re like, so into it. Like, it just. It’s like, you are my favorite. I love you so much. [00:25:54][6.2]

[00:25:54] Trina Julius: Yeah. I was like, oh. I’ve got two boys. I’m like, oh, I love you. You know, I was so I was the right. [00:26:00][6.4]

[00:26:04] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. So are you ready to dive into our lightning round? [00:26:07][2.6]

[00:26:07] Lisa DiGeso: Oh, yes. I’m excited about your lightning round. Okay. [00:26:10][2.8]

[00:26:11] Lisa DiGeso: So if you like to cook, what do you like to cook the most? [00:26:14][3.1]

[00:26:15] Trina Julius: My favorite is banana bread. My, my kids love my banana bread, so. [00:26:19][3.6]

[00:26:22] Lisa DiGeso: Favorite movie? [00:26:22][0.4]

[00:26:23] Trina Julius: Oh, gosh. There’s the, I don’t know. Oh, I’m trying to think. Of the holiday. I love the holiday. I watch that every year. That’s my fav. [00:26:35][12.0]

[00:26:35] Lisa DiGeso: I watch it like 13 times every year. Oh, that is on repeat, I love. What did you want to be when you grew up as a kid? [00:26:44][8.6]

[00:26:45] Trina Julius: I started off I started off my working career as a nurse, so I always wanted to be a nurse. I went right through my nursing education. I was a registered nurse for 15 years, and then I swapped into photography. So I guess that’s what I wanted to be. But. Yeah, it’s changed my life. [00:27:03][17.2]

[00:27:03] Lisa DiGeso: I love that, I love it. Go to song that lifts you up when you’re down. [00:27:08][4.8]

[00:27:12] Trina Julius: Oh, just. Anything on the pop charts, really. I just love just listening to the top ten. I don’t know if you know Guy Sebastian over there in the States. You do? Oh, okay. He’s got lots of great songs. So, I usually put his album on and sing along in the car. [00:27:27][15.7]

[00:27:28] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah, I love it, I love that. Favorite. Guilty or not? So guilty pleasure. [00:27:32][4.7]

[00:27:33] Trina Julius: Chocolate. Hardly guilty pleasure. Because I’m a diabetic, so. Oh, yeah. So it’s a very guilty pleasure. Yeah. I have a little bit. [00:27:43][9.3]

[00:27:43] Lisa DiGeso: Little pieces, I love it. Oceans or mountains and why? [00:27:48][4.2]

[00:27:49] Trina Julius: Definitely mountains. Yeah. So. Yeah. Even though I live fairly close to say, still. Yeah. Just the scenery and the. Yeah, just. [00:27:58][9.5]

[00:27:59] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah, definitely. I love that. I live in central British Columbia, so I live around mountains, and I’m such an ocean girl. [00:28:05][6.2]

[00:28:07] Trina Julius: Sometimes I think we’re born in the wrong spot. [00:28:09][1.5]

[00:28:13] Lisa DiGeso: I love it. What’s your favorite comfort food? [00:28:14][0.9]

[00:28:16] Lisa DiGeso: Well. Chocolate biscuits. I love it again. No, totally the wrong thing for me. That’s that. That would be my comfort food. Yeah, yeah. [00:28:24][8.1]

[00:28:25] Lisa DiGeso: What is something you’ve accomplished as an adult that your younger self would be proud of? [00:28:30][4.4]

[00:28:32] Trina Julius: I think just running my own business and just having that confidence and that, you know, to get myself out there and even now that I’m starting to educate as well in the field, just to stand up and just, you know, show the way that I do things, I think my younger self would be so proud of me because I was a little shyer when I was younger. So I think my younger self me like, wow, look at you go girl. Yeah. So I love it. Yeah, I love it. [00:28:55][23.4]

[00:28:56] Lisa DiGeso: What are you most grateful for in this season of life? [00:28:58][2.6]

[00:29:00] Trina Julius: Well, I’m grateful for my family, of course, and my beautiful friends. But I’m just so grateful to be able to run my own business, have that freedom and flexibility for my lifestyle, I guess. Yeah. [00:29:10][10.4]

[00:29:11] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. What has been the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given? [00:29:16][4.9]

[00:29:18] Trina Julius: Yes. It’s been so much. I guess the the planning started, you know, planning and making sure you’re ahead. That that thing that I said before, prior preparation for events, for performance. I was told that many, many years ago, and probably about 20 years ago now. So. And I just live by that. And as long as I feel organized, I feel on top of things. So yeah. So that’s all I can give forward to new photographers coming forward is just be organized and have your ducks in a row. [00:29:46][28.3]

[00:29:47] Lisa DiGeso: I love it. Yeah. What do you wish more photographers knew? [00:29:51][3.4]

[00:29:53] Trina Julius: I guess I wish they would just follow what their passion is. Follow what suits their personalities. Don’t do what’s popular, do what you want to do and just really believe in that. And just practice, practice, practice, and, just go for it. Yeah. [00:30:10][17.5]

[00:30:12] Lisa DiGeso: I love that. Where can our listeners learn more from you? [00:30:16][3.9]

[00:30:16] Trina Julius: Okay, so my photography website is redcherryimages.com.au So that you. If they want to learn about how to be a preschool photographer. I learn the way I do things. You know, I’ve got lots of I’ve got a little mini course on preschool posing, which is a fabulous resource for anyone who’s looking to maybe start out in preschool photography. So they go to artofkindyphotography.com. All right. Yeah. And there’s all the information there. [00:30:42][25.2]

[00:30:42] Lisa DiGeso: Awesome. And we’ll make sure we include that in the show notes too. So I love to end my interviews just with this last question. And it is what are you currently curious about or artistically curious about? [00:30:54][11.4]

[00:30:55] Trina Julius: Yeah. So I guess when it comes to the photography side, I would love to create a competition. Not a competition, but an awards on preschool photography. There’s just nothing out there with preschool photography. [00:31:09][13.6]

[00:31:09] Trina Julius: So I’m looking into that. And because I’ve got a community behind me, a Facebook group are all preschool kiddy photographers. So I love to introduce something like that because it’s just nothing. It’s children’s categories. But. So I guess preschool is just another category on its own, and we’re just a little bit forgotten about some time. Yeah, yeah. So that’s. What I love it to. Be a little bit creative. And yeah, it’s not so much creative. It’s it’s probably just something I think. [00:31:36][26.6]

[00:31:37] Lisa DiGeso: Yeah, yeah yeah I like that. Well Trina, thank you so much for joining me today. [00:31:42][5.0]

[00:31:42] Trina Julius: Thank you. I’ve had so much fun. It’s been so lovely with you. [00:31:46][3.2]

[00:31:46] Lisa DiGeso: Right? I know it’s up. Oh, yeah. oh. [00:31:51][5.0]

[00:31:51] Lisa DiGeso: My beautiful friends, I hope you have enjoyed this conversation just as much as I have. I am sending you so much of my light and my love today and every single day. I’ll see you next time. [00:32:03][11.9]

[00:32:08] Lisa DiGeso: Hey, friend. You know what’s the worst? It’s just being mid-session and completely freezing. You start to feel awkward, your clients start looking at you for direction, and your brain feels like you just hit a wall. Now, believe me, you are not alone. And that’s why we created the Storytellers Toolkit. It’s an emotive prompt guide to help sessions stay free flowing and fun. And best of all, right now it’s totally free. It’s full of prompts for parents, motherhood, family, siblings and couples, and even surefire smile prompts. We’ve put together over 200 prompts for you so you’ll never be lost for an idea again. Grab your copy at themilkyway.ca/toolkit. [00:32:08][0.0]

[1820.7]