Professional photographer Julie Ewing is fun and innovative.

Growing up with a dad who loved photography, I am extremely fortunate to have the largest amount of quality photographs I know of any of my friends born in the same era. All of these were developed and printed in our own darkroom in our home.

Many a time I remember saying, "come on dad", "hurry up", testament in the odd picture in the collection with the sullen face and full of attitude!

I wouldn't swap those photos for anything, they mean the world to me and all the history they contain in each and every image brings back so many beautiful memories. Years ago, when we still had a working darkroom at Lifeworks photography, I borrowed dad's meticulously filed negatives and printed copies of many, creating albums for my siblings of our early lives, these albums are priceless! The photos of me below are taken by my dad.

My passion is continued in our WMG™ albums @ Lifeworks, created for our customers with as much love and care.

At the age of 9yrs I was given a camera dad picked up at a junk shop and repaired it, we traveled from our home in Sydney to travel around Victoria for the school holidays, I photographed several rolls of B/W film and on returning from holidays processed these in the darkroom and thus the beginnings of my passion for photography.

I wasn't to pursue my photographic dreams for another 14 years but took many photographs in those years, a camera was never far from my hands. (we are talking way before iPhones and digital were even thought of!)

I studied Nursing straight from school and was in the final hospital trained intake year at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney before it changed to university. I loved Nursing and worked a further year post-grad before setting off to backpack the world for almost 2 years. Before I left, dad insisted that I purchase an SLR camera for my travels. I purchased a Mamiya and boy, I loved that camera!  Boots - London loved it too due to the copious amount of films I shot! Buying this camera was pivotal to my ultimate career change, I upgraded to a Nikon whilst still in London and have remained team Nikon to this day, some 30 years, and many, many camera upgrades later. Travel photography has always remained a passion.

I returned to Australia and enrolled at Sydney Technical College, for a 3-year Photography Associate Diploma and agency Nursed in Intensive Care to pay my way.

In my final year at college, a few notable things happened…..I photographed Hugh Jackman’s folio to enter acting (seriously, I launched his career right!) and met my husband, at that time, also a photographer.

I moved to Melbourne the following year, married, and joined Lifeworks in 1993.

As a graduate, I was thrown right into the deep end of a high-end photography studio in Melbourne, I photographed 500+ Weddings and never looked back.

A career of 8 years in Nursing, though short-lived has given me a sound knowledge of the nuances of photographing pregnant women, newborns, and children of all ages. That, and being a mother myself to 2 awesome kids, Henry and Amelia, has helped me understand what is possible, safe, and natural when photographing infants. Many of my award-winning images have been of pregnant women and newborns over the years.

Having now been involved in the Photographic industry since 1989, as Director of Lifeworks Photography since 1993, there have been challenges, highs, and lows, technology has brought rapid changes to the photographic industry over the past two decades. However it is the valued customers who have not altered, the absolute joy I see on clients' faces when they see their portraits and those of the ones they love most dearly, the emotional response of overwhelming love, there is no other place I would rather be.

The relationships I have built with clients over the years, some dating back to their weddings and others in more recent years, and now as I watch their children grow are some of the most beautiful friendships I treasure.

I have been a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography -AIPP, since 1993 until it's closure in 2021, earning Lifetime membership status in 2019 in recognition of years in the industry and as an AIPP member. Through the AIPP, I have made wonderful friends with photographers all over Australia and Internationally, I have mentored photographers, judged state and national awards, and have been a guest speaker in the UK, Norway, and Australia.

It would be difficult to find a job I could LOVE more!