Influential Woman · Photography

Julie Harshman

Freelance Photographer, Self employed

Holden, MO

3Awards received

Her Story

About Julie

I've been doing freelance photography for about 3 years now, and it has become my true passion. I actively enter competitions on platforms like ViewBug and PhotoCrowd, where I compete against thousands of other photographers - sometimes up to 10,000 entries in a single competition. Despite the intense competition, I've been winning awards and have had my work exhibited internationally. I've had 5 exhibits in Milan and 7 exhibits around the world total. Right now, I'm focused on building my photography business, and I feel like I'm about ready to start making money from it. My approach to photography is guided by what I see and the themes that competitions provide, which gives me direction on what to look for. I see things along the way that I think would make great photographs, and I capture them. Things just seem to fall into place. I'm still working in security as well, but I hope to transition more fully into photography, perhaps in a different field or in a different way.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Julie

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think my upbringing really shaped who I am today. My mom was very independent and taught me and my two sisters to be independent as well. She taught us girls not to let anybody hold us down as far as our desires go, and that we could do what we wanted to, that we had a place in the world. She taught us to be strong, to be very strong. My grandfather was our father figure, and he treated us girls kind of like grandsons. I mean, we were girls and we were treated like girls as far as being special, but there wasn't anything we couldn't do. We helped him build his garage, and he was a truck driver so we went on rides with him. We got to see a lot of things and do a lot of things. That's probably how I got to be so diverse in all the things that I like and do. He also had businesses on the side, and that's probably where I got that entrepreneurial spirit as well.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Don't give up. When things look hard, don't give up. You just don't know what's gonna happen, and if you keep trying, the possibility's there.

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