We worked with Julia for our newborn photoshoot and loved our pictures and experience with her! Her photography style being more lifestyle/editorial, soft, and dreamy, was exactly what I was looking for. Julia was super professional, sweet, and calm which was perfect for our newborn. Booking with Julia was so easy as her availability is shown online and she's quickly responsive to all emails. After booking she provides wardrobe suggestions which was super helpful to prepare, and also had the option of letting me and baby borrow outfits for the shoot. We received our online gallery of photos 3 weeks later and then a print of them a few weeks after then. Loved the pictures she captured and would definitely recommend Julia! read more

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We highly reccomend Julia Shelepova! Julia recently took our family portraits and we could not be more pleased with her style. She is so kind, accommodating and best of all, wonderful and patient with children too. She took her time with us and really got to know our family. We can't wait to use her again for future family portraits. We are so grateful. read more

We couldn't be happier with our stunning photos from Julia! Despite our twin toddlers being less than cooperative during the session, Julia worked her magic, capturing countless beautiful moments of our family that we will cherish forever. Juila was also very understanding when we had to cancel our initial session last-minute due to a family emergency. She was able to get us into her busy fall schedule so that we'd have our photos in time for the holidays as we had wanted. Thank you Julia! read more

We loved our experience with Julia! Having worked with many photographers over the years, this experience stood out as nothing short of amazing. Julia's calm, patient, and easy-going nature immediately put us at ease, and her friendly demeanor made the entire process enjoyable from start to finish. From the moment we booked to the delivery of the final images, everything was seamless. Julia was professional yet approachable, and her attention to detail ensured that every step felt effortless. I'm always a bit hesitant about working with a new photographer--there's always that lingering question about how the pictures will turn out--but Julia completely exceeded our expectations. We couldn't be happier with the results and are so grateful for her incredible work. If you're looking for a photographer who is not only skilled but also a joy to work with, we wholeheartedly recommend Shelepova Photography! read more

Julia has become our family photographer after capturing our precious newborn moments and then her one year photos! We love working with Julia, she makes us feel so comfortable and our pictures always come out wonderful. Julia works with us before the photoshoot to help with our outfits. She gives great advice and even has an extensive wardrobe of flattering dresses for mom to borrow (she also has some baby outfits too). What we love best about Julia though is that she is dog friendly and has always welcomed giant dog Cece in the mix. We love that we can include our dog into our family photos. read more

Julia is absolutely amazing and has been our photographer for 4 years now. We ending up finding her via a friend's reference, and since then have done 4 different family shoots with 2 more scheduled (maternity and newborn). She has an amazing eye at capturing faces as well as the perfect scenery. I'm always scared how our pictures are going to come out having both a dog and a toddler, and every time I'm obsessed with them all. She works well with children and somehow captures the perfect moment in one click. She is also perfect at helping to plan coordinating outfits. We love working with her and will continue to book her for our yearly family photoshoots. read more

Julia is exceptional at her craft. The entire session goes by so quickly and her eye for finding the right shot is impeccable. With two kids (2 and 10 months) I knew that while it may *feel* chaotic to me the mom, that our family was in good hands with a talented photographer. Julia is so friendly and kind and her energy during the session helps set the tone. Her talents are beyond the photographs themselves and extends to what we remember about the session. The way she is with kids and being so fun and friendly while being genuine, it sticks. We felt like not only were we capturing memories of our family in this season of life now but our time during our session was great, too! Julia is so helpful and communicative in helping make sure your needs are met with location, coordinating outfits, general inquiry, and questions leading up to the session. We brought my parents along and both commented on how extraordinary the set up for shots were. Julia has captured our family and created heirlooms for us that we will cherish for years to come! Thank you! read more

Loved Julia! Our family photoshoot experience was so easy from start to finish. She let me use one of her beautiful dresses in her collection and swung by my house so I could try on some options. And then she sent a suggestion board of outfits for my baby and my husband. I feel like half the stress is picking out what to wear. We met her at Filoli and she was punctual and got us in quickly and guided us to all the spots with good lighting. She was so good with us and our baby and directed us which I appreciated since idk how to pose for pictures. There was an encounter with a rude docent at the venue but Julia was very professional. Best of all the pictures turned our way better than I expected. Either we got lucky or her editing skills are amazing! Would highly recommend and would definitely use again. read more

Oh my. I'm so glad I found Julia. Our maternity shoot with her and the images we got back far exceeded our expectations. Not only is she such a kind and friendly person, but she's also amazingly talented and has a wonderful eye. It was so windy the day of our shoot, but somehow she managed to capture me and my husband in a way I honestly didn't know was possible. I can't thank her enough for capturing this beautiful time in our life. read more

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My husband and I were looking for a maternity photographer and became overwhelmed with all of the available options in the Bay Area. Some criteria we were looking for was to find with someone local to us in San Jose that was familiar with various locations close by, someone that uses natural light in their photos, and an ability to capture emotion and feelings without being too posed. I found Julia's work through Instagram and was instantly drawn to her style. I reached out and she promptly replied to me with more information and her availability to do a 1 hour maternity session. Our original scheduled shoot took place during the same time that the air quality was so poor from the wildfires, and Julia proactively reached out to us to reschedule for a later date so we wouldn't need to compromise quality of our photos, which I really appreciated. During our session, Julia, instantly made us feel comfortable due to her sweet demeanor and helped us pose in natural, non-awkward ways (which we always need help with!). I was 35 weeks pregnant at the time and pretty slow moving, but she was super patient and encouraging with us. After we were done, she sent a few sneak peek photos that evening and we were so excited to see the rest. Julia delivered the photos in record time, and we loved every single one. I knew after our experience and the quality of her work that we would work with her again, and we did! We also hired her for a 2 hour newborn session in our home, and she was so open to letting us do several outfit changes and ideas for photos we wanted. She was patient with us and our little 2 week old baby (which he thankfully slept for 90% of the time). Once again, she quickly turned around the most amazing photos of our baby and little family that I can't get enough of and know we will cherish forever. I can't say enough positive things about working with Julia, and I highly recommend her for family, lifestyle, newborn photography!! read more

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My husband, 1-year-old daughter, mother-in-law, and I took holiday family photos with Julia. It was very easy to book an appointment with her- I just chose a day and time through her website. Julia was quick to reply to emails and answered any questions I had beforehand. She gave ideas for possible locations, and she was knowledgeable about photo permits and costs for various sites. We were looking for somewhere with fall leaves, and Julia suggested Vasona Park. It was exactly what we were envisioning with beautiful trees and leaves on the grass. In addition, there was a lake, bridge, and gorgeous gingko tree with yellow leaves. We had one hour with Julia, which was more than enough time to do poses with 3 different outfits for our daughter. Since Julia has 2 children of her own, she knew how to catch our daughter's attention (she had a ringing bell toy in her bag!). She also knew when to give our daughter a break- she let her rest and took some photos of me and my husband. Julia incorporated many poses that I sent her (I had searched for family photos online and emailed her some). We received our photos very quickly, and we loved all of the moments that Julia captured with her camera. She did a wonderful job, and we can't wait to send out our holiday cards this year! read more

Julia was fantastic! Before we had our daughter, the last thing in my mind was to schedule newborn photos. One night while feeding I thought to myself I would regret if I didn't get this moment documented professionally. Instantly reached out to Julia and she got us in 3 days later! She sent over lots of information on what works best, what outfit looks great and how to handle your newborn that morning to ensure the shoot goes smoothly! Day of, she was professional, puncual and flexible with our questions as well as our attention seeking dog! In addition, Julia was covid safe, which we appreciated! I can't wait for the next time we need to get family photos taken because Julia was such a pleasure to work with! read more

My family and I absolutely enjoyed working with Julia! She's definitely the sweetest to work with and her work is just amazing! I came across Julia page on Instagram and I instantly fell in love with how bright and beautiful the quality of her pictures come out. I knew we had to book with her for my daughter Baptism. I definitely will be booking with her only for all future family portraits. read more

Absolutely fantastic! We had a wonderful time working with Julia for our family photos this year. She was great with our 8mo old daughter and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time taking the photos. The quality of the photos was incredible. Julia is very talented - she has a great eye for composition and lighting, and in addition to being beautiful, her photos captured the joy of the afternoon in a meaningful way. We loved every single one of the photos and will treasure them for years to come. Thank you! read more

I stumbled across Julia's Instagram profile while searching for a photographer to take maternity and newborn photos and booking her was the best decision my husband and I ever made! She is professional, sweet and is absolutely amazing behind the camera. The location she recommended for our maternity photos was absolutely stunning and the photos turned out better than I could have imagined. The newborn session took place in the comfort of our own home and the photos turned out beautifully. I loved the fact she was able to capture all the little details of our nursery and let our dog be apart of the shoot as well. I would highly recommend Julia for anyone looking to capture these special moments in your life. You won't regret it. read more

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Julia has photographed my family multiple times since 2018. She is our go-to photographer for our yearly family photos as well as baby and maternity shoots. Julia's work is timeless, stunning and captures a family's love beautifully. She is very helpful in planning and coordinating outfits for a cohesive look and gives great tips and suggestions. She's very easy to work with and my kids are always comfortable with her. I would highly recommend Julia. I cherish the family photos she has captured. read more

We contacted Julia a couple years ago for a family portrait session when my daughter was six months old after seeing many of my high school friend's photos that she had taken. We loved the photos and her simple, light and airy style photography. We just had another family portrait session with my now 2 year old and baby on the way. She is also very responsive and able to deliver the photos exactly when she says they will be ready. I also love the sneak peak she does where we get a few in the couple days post the shoot. We can't wait to take some more with Baby #2 next year :) Thanks Julia! read more

Shelepova Photography - Session Photography Near Me

Don't overthink it - book a session with Julia, you'll be glad you did :) At nearly 8 months pregnant with two other kiddos in tow (a 2 year old and 6 year old), my husband and I are so glad we took maternity/family photos with Julia! I was nervous about the process being so pregnant and with 2 other small children, yet Julia was amazing - from start to finish. She is so responsive and helpful in answering questions prior to the session, generous with her beautiful clothing options in her client wardrobe (trust me Mamas, she has you covered!), and flexible with our location choice. We picked a spot in our local county park that we love - not the easiest to get to, yet Julia was so sweet and up for it :) The session itself was so easy and enjoyable for everyone - truly everyone had a great time (even given it was a hot day!). The turnaround time for the photos was quick and they came out beautifully - so many to choose from and they print even better than they look on the computer!!! We highly recommend entrusting Julia with your next special session. read more

My maternity photoshoot was covered by Julia and I must say she did a wonderful job making me and my husband both very comfortable in the front of the camera. She made sure I had the guide to prep for the shoot. She Clicked a lot of pictures on the film (which was a pleasant surprise) , she suggested beautiful poses and made sure the light in the background was perfect. I highly recommend her to capture your maternity shoot , I will definitely be booking her again to capture my family pictures once my baby is in my arms :) read more

We just had our first kid and Last minute we decided we needed baby pictures. She got back to us quickly and was so flexible to get us on her schedule. Not only did we have our baby but we moved the day after he was born so our new home was a wreck, she assured me that she still could take beautiful pictures, I trusted her. She got to the house and literally we had boxes and nothing set up. She took advantage of this minimalist look and set up beautiful places for pictures. She was creative, patient, kind and flexible. I appreciated the experience I had with her. A week later we got our photos from her. (So quick) and we LOVED them. Very beautiful, soft, light, airy photos. Photos I'm so excited to display in my home! read more

Julia is a fantastic photographer. I had found her via instagram and had looked at many portfolios before choosing hers. This is the first time we worked with Julia to do a family / maternity photoshoot and the photos were beautiful. Before the session, I had emailed Julia with a lot of questions to confirm that she could capture all the combination of pictures I was requesting, plus the attention to detail during posing (wisps of hair out of place, neckline too low, angles, etc). She so patiently entertained all my questions to help me feel comfortable, which is so important to me. Some of my favorite aspects with working with Julia: Super nice to work with, patient with questions and requests, allowed our dog to join our session (without an extra fee), was able to capture rare and fleeting smiles from my difficult toddler, showed up on time, was attentive during the shoot, provided a variety of poses, did not rush through the shoot and took her time, delivered the photos earlier than estimated and gave more photos than anticipated as well. Importantly, the photos were beautiful - light and airy tones, the poses, and the people! Oh and one more huge plus is her dress collection for maternity was beautiful! You don't get to try it on until the day of the shoot, so it's a gamble on how it fits, but the dresses were absolutely perfect and flowy, both in color and style for the perfect maternity shoot. I quickly decided not to wear the dress I showed up in. She let me shoot in two of her dresses and I loved them both. Thanks again Julia for a great experience! read more

Had a wonderful time with Julia on a family shoot. She is very professional and was able to accommodate our needs. She helped direct us with different poses and was able to bring out the fun in our family shoot. We loved her work and would highly recommend! read more

We can't thank Julia enough for our family pictures! We are in absolute LOVE with them!! She did such an amazing job, they are seriously breath taking!! She is so talented! She did such an amazing job capturing our family and you wouldn't even be able to tell it was one of the hottest days of the year! We can't thank you enough! We will cherish these photos for years to come. We will definitely be having her take future family photos and refer to to our friends and family. If you'd love beautiful photos or your family, we highly recommend Julia! read more

Shelepova Photography - Session Photography Near Me

Julia has photographed our family on numerous occasions (maternity, newborn, family sessions) and we are always soooo happy with the photos. As someone who is not used to being photographed and is usually awkward in photos, Julia makes it look natural. She's amazing with kids and babies too! I was a bit worried with a rambunctious toddler during our newborn photo shoot but Julia managed to capture some really sweet and priceless sibling moments! We will cherish these photos forever and I love seeing them printed and hanging in my home. read more

The family portraits Julia shot for us turned out to be absolutely stunning. I'm extremely pleased with my decision to book a photo session with her. In fact after the shoot was done but before the photos were available, I was slightly nervous as to how the photos would turn out. Doing a semi-structured photo session with a 21-month-old is not an easy task. Right after we began, before the first photograph was shot, my little one ran off to explore--of course this garden, this new place, was exciting to him. We ended up spending lots of time chasing him around. To accommodate my son's bed time, I also arranged the session to be done from 4:30 to 5:30, meaning lighting would be rather harsh or at least non-ideal, not to mention chasing a little one on a hot summer day made us tired and sweaty. Despite all these, the photos look effortless and beautiful. It's as if Julia is a magician capable of creating miracles out of a mess. :) I also added a mini session for myself. After my son was born, with all the hard work that is required of parenthood, I realized that with each passing year I'm getting older, and I wanted to have some photos to document this stage of my life. I'm not a model good at posing, but I have Julia who's an excellent instructor. Her instructions were so simple and easy to follow that the photos look absolutely magical. I'm grateful that Julia is our photographer who documented the precious moments in our life and who helped me celebrate my identity as a woman as well as a mother. read more

We couldn't ask for a better photographer. We had a great time at the Rose Garden and the photos were magical. Thanks for keeping the kids entertained and being patient while we sometimes had to wrangle a toddler. We love our photos and we'll be coming back! read more

Julia photographed my family for our fall portraits last year. She made the process so easy from beginning to end. She has such a warm and calm personality, which helped make the session flow smoothly. My kids fell in love with her immediately. We had a blast during our session. As a fellow photographer, I trusted her vision completely and her work absolutely did not disappoint. We love our beautiful images so much and will treasure them for a lifetime. Thank you, Julia! xoxo read more

Julia did our maternity photoshoot and we loved all of the pictures! I luckily found her on Instagram while I was looking for a natural light photographer. Julia has a gift in finding pretty lighting while capturing beautiful moments. She is professional, nice, and a pleasure to work with. Don't worry if you don't know how to pose because she will let you know what to do. On our day of the shoot it was so windy, I thought I was going to fly off the hill, but Julia was still able to capture breathtaking photos using wind as a tool instead of letting it become a hindrance. I would definitely recommend Julia as a photographer for anyone looking to have pretty photos. Thanks again Julia! read more

We had an amazing Newborn session with Shelepova photography. She was very Professional, patient and kind. She let us took our time for feeding the baby, putting him to sleep, changing diapers and etc. I love her simple and bright style of photography and love all of the photos. I highly recommend working with her. read more

We cannot have more positive things to say regarding our family portrait session with Julia. She is incredibly professional and a pleasure to work with. She has a calming and positive energy that made our photo shoot so relaxing and enjoyable, even with a five month old! :) The pictures turned out to be stunning! We are so grateful to her to have captured these early days as a family. We can't wait to have another session with her, once our baby is a little older. read more

Julia did our newborn shoot and we could not be happier with the results. With our baby coming a littler earlier than expected, and having a few other conflicts, Julia was so flexible in moving around our shoot date for a time that fit our new family. She was great working around our dog that wanted all of her attention, and captured some great moments of our family. Highly recommend using Julia to create these treasures for your family. read more

Working with Julie from start to finish was perfect. She was so personable and helped us create natural poses for our maternity shoot. We loved many of the photos capturing such a special time in our lives. read more

My husband and I just had the pleasure of working with Julia a few weeks ago. She was professional and made us feel very comfortable every step of the way. We just received our gallery and could not be more pleased our maternity photos. We scheduled a mini session so we were pleasantly surprised with the quantity of great photos she was able to capture in such a short time. I will be using her again for family photos in the future and I would highly recommend her to friends and family. THANK YOU, Julia. read more

Julia recently did our maternity and newborn photo shoot and I was blown away. Both sets pictures came out AMAZING and better than I could have imagined - I still get compliments to this day! Everything from Julia's style choice, background choice, lightening, pose recommendations was on point. What I really loved is that she has her own wardrobe of dresses that she allowed me to use for my shoots and they were absolutely perfect! I honestly was on the fence with even doing maternity photos, but after seeing my photos, I'm so happy that I decided to do it and chose Julia as our photographer. I highly recommend Julia for any maternity, newborn, and/or family photos! read more

We were so glad that Julia was recommended to us for our family photos. Photo shoots are not a favorite activity for me, but Julia made it seamless, fun, and was so patient. She was very knowledgeable of the beautiful, classic, artistic venue that she recommended. She provided guidance, was so complimentary, and made us feel very confident and comfortable throughout the shoot. The photos were gorgeous and she captured the personalities of our kids and of our family in these precious photos. Love, love, love the photos. Thank you Julia! read more

We were lucky enough to get in on Julia's Fall mini sessions recently and absolutely loved our experience with her! She is warm and friendly, patient (which is so important with a toddler!), and professional. The day of our shoot was windy, our toddler was less than cheerful and we were a bit stressed; so we were unsure how the photos could be any good-but when we got them back, we were stunned to see how beautiful they are! She somehow captured the most incredible moments and even quite a few of our 2 year old smiling! Julia helped us feel relaxed and comfortable, and invited us to just interact naturally as a family. We feel so grateful that we chose to do these photos and look forward to treasuring them forever. Julia comes highly recommended! read more

This review is long overdue. I hired Julia for a newborn & family at-home photo session when my newborn was 16 days old. The booking process was great, After inquiry she replied promptly, I selected a date/time, I paid through her website, receipt was generated. She emailed me a convenient document About best outfits and colors to wear to appear flattering in the photos, all great tips for "timeless" photos. On the day of the photo shoot, she brought flowers, which was such a sweet surprise for a new mother. She was very professional during the shoot. The editing was so creamy and dreamy, she sent me a couple photos that evening to preview what the end result would look like. It was one lovely surprise after the other with Julia. She sent me bonus photos In the final photos delivery, plus she mailed us a lovely little square photo album with my newborn son's name on it. I did not expect this So, when I opened the mail, It melted my heart. Thank you so much Julia for your services. I will 100% request you for your services again in the future. ** Tip for others who want to book Julia's services: keep all your outfit changes and props ready so you can maximum utilize your time slot. read more

Julia is an absolute joy to work with! She makes everything super easy. She responds to queries very fast and you feel like she is listening to your needs or desires. read more

We had the pleasure of having Julia take newborn/family photos for us. I was initially apprehensive as I was concerned my 5 day old baby would be fussy. But Julia put us all at ease from the moment she walked into our home for the photo shoot. Her calming and gentle presence made my worries go away. She was so patient and flexible when I had to breastfeed the baby, she would take pictures of my two older kids while I tended to the baby. She is one of those thoughtful photographers that will take their time to get the right shot and not make you feel rushed. Julia pleasantly surprised us by emailing a few shots of the pics she took the same day so we can at least share with family and friends. And in less than two weeks we got our full edited gallery and are so happy and thankful for the photos of our family. I cannot say enough about her professionalism but above that she is kind and attentive which is what any mom with a newborn can ask for! We highly recommend her, you will treasure all the precious moments that she captures! read more