Smarty Mom: Julie Wagoner

By Katie M

It is my pleasure to introduce to you Julie Wagoner, this week’s Smarty Mom! You may recognize Julie Wagoner’s name – she is a local photographer who owns her own business called UpperCase Photography – and she was one of the 11 Triad businesses who graciously participated in our Mother of All Mother’s Day Give-Aways last month. Well, I am excited for you all to get to know her better – and check out her portraits online!

Julie and her husband Tory have three beautiful children, Grace (8), Claire (4) and Stella (1 ½). She has lived in the Triad for 10 years after growing up in Stokes County and attending Meredith College in Raleigh. After college, Julie was an elementary school teacher for six years. She loved being a teacher, but after the birth of her second daughter, she decided to stop teaching which enabled her to nurture her interest in photography. Her family loves being active at their church, Maples Springs United Methodist Church, for Wednesday night dinners, bible school, small groups, soccer and children’s choir.

So let’s chat with Julie.

How did you know you wanted to pursue photography and then start your own business?
I could see my little ones growing and changing right before me eyes and I wanted to capture each little detail of them—Grace’s graceful ballerina twirls, Claire’s “scrunchy nose face,” Stella’s tiny baby feet. The technical aspects of photography became an obsession and I poured myself into learning as much as possible. After my children tired of me practicing on them, I began photographing friends and families’ children and pretty soon…the business was born! I try to capture for my clients those same things that I want to capture about my own children, those fleeting childhood moments that will soon be just memories. I love that my clients see my vision and sing my praises to all of their friends and family—keeping my business growing every day. I now have a home studio and shoot lots of outdoor sessions as well. I feel so blessed to be living my dream, doing something I love and being a mom to three beautiful girls all at the same time!

How do you balance your work and home life?
Well, that’s a big question around my house…since my home is where I work and my business is a passion. As my business has grown tremendously over the past couple of years, my family and I have continued to be flexible and adjust to its demands. I know I definitely couldn’t balance it all without the help of my very supportive husband. He is often on “daddy duty” when I have weekend shoots and he is fearless about taking all three girls out and about—church events, birthday parties, even to get the oil changed in our cars! I have also trained myself to be more of a night-owl so I can get lots of photo editing accomplished after the children go to bed—between 8-11pm that is often where you’ll find me. I am lucky that my business is all mine and I decide when I schedule shoots, etc so I can work around my husband and girls’ schedules as much as possible. I think at the heart of all the craziness though, it is great for my girls to see their mom fulfilling her dreams. I hope one day they have the courage to live their own dreams as well and do something they love!

What Smarty tips do you have for other moms aspiring to start their own business?
I think my advice would be to “do your homework.” Make a business plan and map out goals you would like to accomplish and how much work you would like to be doing. There are organizations here in the triad that can help small businesses with this type of planning. Also, make sure your spouse is definitely on board. My husband has nudged me along from day one and is one of my biggest fans. He is also the voice of reason when I want spend too much on props and photography-related goodies (once again, remember that shopping obsession) Once you’ve done your planning and secured all the necessary paperwork...go for it! I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself owning my own photography business, but when it started happening I just jumped right in and now I think the sky’s the limit for UpperCase Photography!

Well you certainly know how to work hard, let’s talk about how you like to have fun!

Favorite place to get a good deal on kids clothes?
I love to shop for clothing for my girls—it is my weakness! I shop lots of consignment sales, including New Philadelphia Preschool’s Clothing Sale and the Boutique Resale. I also like to buy unique, custom items on etsy. My mother-in-law also likes to shop for my girls so we have a deal—I shop mostly at Gymboree (with Gymbucks and coupons of course) and she shops mostly at Gap (with her Gap card discounts). That way we don’t end up buying the same items. Of course, my girls’ clothing gets passed down from one girl to the next and then on to my nieces so everything gets well loved!

What is your favorite family activity?
We love to rent kid’s movies, pop popcorn, and cuddle up in front of the tv. My kids rarely get to stay up late so it’s a treat for them if they are up past 8pm watching a movie. Grace’s most recent favorite was the Kit Kittredge American Girl Movie and Claire loves any “princess” movie. Stella is really just along for the popcorn and cuddles.

Favorite “mommy-time” activity?
When I have a free moment I love to check out the blogs of all of my favorite photographers and gain inspiration. Rarely, I might have time for a girls night out to chat with girlfriends, which I love!

Best place to eat lunch with the kids?
We love Roly Poly on Jonestown Rd.—fresh ingredients wrapped in an easy-to-eat tortilla shell. My kids love turkey and cheese wraps and I love the Chicken Cobb roll (minus the bleu cheese).

Favorite place to eat dinner out with the kids?
We eat at El Maguey, a little Mexican restaurant VERY close to our house, about once a week. It is fast, kid friendly, and convenient…and they have excellent food. I love the ACP (with the cheese dip on the side, please).

Funniest thing your kid(s) has ever said?
I ask my husband all the time what we did for entertainment before the kids came along—they are just so funny! I remember right after our middle daughter Claire was born, I was putting some photos of her in frames and putting them up in our home. Grace, our oldest, looked at me with the strangest look on her face and asked, “But Mommy, why are you putting up pictures of HER?” I think it was at that moment that she realized her new baby sister was going to be a permanent addition to the family.

Claire has lots of “claireisms” but our favorite one is “nexterday.” For a long time she used this invented word, nexterday, to mean anything past or future. Quite a handy word really—takes the place of both yesterday and tomorrow!

And little Stella is still in the mockingbird stage where she repeats everything we say. So for fun, we all take turns saying funny things and listening to Stella repeat them in her little baby voice—so cute!

Favorite park in the Triad?
It may not be convenient for all parts of the triad, but we love to go out to Tobaccoville Park. There’s a great playground, track, tennis courts, gazebos with porch swings, and plenty of room to run.

Mini-van or SUV?
Now that we have three kids, it’s Mini-van all the way.

Best thing about raising a family in the Triad?
Lots of fun family activities like parks, historic sites, museums, concerts...and our parents are only about 45 minutes away.

Best kept secret in the Triad?
UpperCase Photography!...no really, I think Vienna Elementary School is one of the area’s best kept secrets. My oldest is in 2nd grade there and we love being Vienna Tigers!

Best birthday party you have attended?
My girls attended a “Scooby Doo” party for their friends Madison and Willow at Lake Norman. It involved a boat ride and a “mystery” to solve and ended with cake and goodies—it was a great time for all!

I could not live without my...
Camera, of course, but also my laptop. My laptop stays humming all day with everything from emails, placing orders, searching for math facts websites for Grace to practice her facts, scouting out deals on girls clothing (remember my obsession;-), letting Claire have her “Little Bill” fix (she loves that little fella)...it really is amazing how much we have at our fingertips these days.

I wish someone had told me sooner about...
Hiring Wake Forest students as babysitters. I have a couple of Wake Forest students who help me out when I need to shoot sessions in the afternoons. They are WONDERFUL young ladies—very responsible and reliable—and all of my girls love them!

Thanks, Julie, for all your Smarty answers!

Don't forget to log on to Triad Smarty Pants on Monday to find out which lucky Smarty won the 1/2 day camp slot at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art!

Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM