A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers

060 - Julia Fullerton-Batten

Episode Summary

Julia Fullerton-Batten is an acclaimed and exhibited fine-art and commercial photographer whose body of work now encompasses twelve major projects and two photo books spanning two decades as a professional. Julia was born to a German mother and English father in Bremen, Germany and moved to the USA at the age of two. When she was 16, after her parents divorce, she and her siblings moved with their father to the UK where she completed her secondary education. Subsequently she assisted professional photographers for five years before a first commercial assignment kick-started her career in 1995. The foundation of her subsequent success was Teenage Stories (2005), later published as a book, an evocative exploration of the transitional phase from teenage girl to womanhood. Julia admits to a pronounced semi-autobiographical influence in much of her earlier work, often falling back on recollections of her own formative and teenage years, her parents divorce, and her own early relationships. Julia’s use of unusual locations, highly creative settings and street-cast models, accented with cinematic lighting are hallmarks of her distinctive style. Her most recent project, The Act, shot in 2016, is a comprehensive study of the performing and private lives of fifteen women active in the UK sex industry. Her still images are enhanced by interviews with these women, captured both in video and text. The Act was published in 2017 as a book by Sutherl&Editions, in a limited edition of 300. Julia has won numerous awards for both her commercial and fine-art work, and is a Hasselblad Master. She lives in London with her husband and two young sons. In episode 060, Julia discusses, among other things: An apprenticeship assisting Travels with a camera Her first big commercial job Teenage Stories Mothers and Daughters Big set-ups and complex lighting The Act Website | Facebook | Instagram “Now and then, just before a big shoot that I’ve put together, I think ‘why have I done this? Why have I created this big set? And relying on so many people, when actually all I wanna do is just take pictures.’”

Episode Notes

Julia Fullerton-Batten is an acclaimed and exhibited fine-art and commercial photographer whose body of work now encompasses twelve major projects and two photo books spanning two decades as a professional. Julia was born to a German mother and English father in Bremen, Germany and moved to the USA at the age of two. When she was 16, after her parents divorce, she and her siblings moved with their father to the UK where she completed her secondary education. Subsequently she assisted professional photographers for five years before a first commercial assignment kick-started her career in 1995. The foundation of her subsequent success was Teenage Stories (2005), later published as a book, an evocative exploration of the transitional phase from teenage girl to womanhood. Julia admits to a pronounced semi-autobiographical influence in much of her earlier work, often falling back on recollections of her own formative and teenage years, her parents divorce, and her own early relationships. Julia’s use of unusual locations, highly creative settings and street-cast models, accented with cinematic lighting are hallmarks of her distinctive style. Her most recent project, The Act, shot in 2016, is a comprehensive study of the performing and private lives of fifteen women active in the UK sex industry. Her still images are enhanced by interviews with these women, captured both in video and text. The Act was published in 2017 as a book by Sutherl&Editions, in a limited edition of 300. Julia has won numerous awards for both her commercial and fine-art work, and is a Hasselblad Master. She lives in London with her husband and two young sons. In episode 060, Julia discusses, among other things: An apprenticeship assisting Travels with a camera Her first big commercial job Teenage Stories Mothers and Daughters Big set-ups and complex lighting The Act Website | Facebook | Instagram “Now and then, just before a big shoot that I’ve put together, I think ‘why have I done this? Why have I created this big set? And relying on so many people, when actually all I wanna do is just take pictures.’”