A Day in Los Angeles With Photographer Julie Goldstone

Julie Goldstone is photographer based in Los Angeles, with a focus on interiors and beauty. Raised between France and California, she fell in love with making images through travel and received a BFA from NYU's Tisch. Mama to Malou and Hugo, and two giant sheepdogs, she's a big fan of eating, traveling, snowboarding and reading magazines. Julie’s day involves a hike in Tujunga, mushroom tincture tea, working closely with stylists, school drop off and pick up for her two kiddos, and evening post-production time.

6:30am: I wake up with my three and seven-year-old, and we cuddle for a bit in bed until I get up to make a coffee. I like to be able to sit and sip it with NPR while they quietly eat breakfast, which happens about thirty percent of the time. The other seventy percent, I’m playing DJ for their requests of Taylor Swift or “It’s Raining Tacos” on my poor, poor Spotify while rushing around, making sure they get out of the house on time, fed, and in the best-case scenario, with teeth brushed, for school.

7:30am: With a quiet house, if it’s not a shoot day, I put on my fanny pack and I’ll take my giant sheepdog pup on a hike. The older one is done with hikes, sadly. We walk or jog for about an hour in Tujunga, where I live at the foothills of Angeles Crest. Sometimes I call my mom who now lives back in France in the small town where I grew up, or one of my close friends that I left back East. It’s a beautiful way to start the day with views of all East LA and super clean air. I always come back feeling resourced and incredibly lucky to be living where I do. On a shoot day, I would be getting ready, packing up EQ or starting to set up in my studio downstairs.

8:30am: I’ll make my mushroom tincture tea — LA rubbed off quickly on me — squeeze some fresh OJ with lemon juice and a slice of toast and sit down to read my emails or post new work on socials. If it’s a shoot day, I’ll be on set by this time, whether it’s in my home studio downstairs or on location somewhere.

On a non-shoot day, I usually have a meeting at some point during the workday with clients or producers, and will be doing a little bit of prep for that which involves making sure my portfolio is up to date, or creating a PDF with relevant work for the meeting etc. If it’s a light workday, I love to sneak out around this time for a hot yoga class in Pasadena.

9:00am: On a shoot day, this is when I’m with one of my assistants and the stylist team running through lighting setups, scouting for our shots on location or talking through the art direction and shot list to make sure everyone is on the same page so that we can run an efficient set. I work very closely with my stylists, as the images that we create are very much a collaboration and reflection of us both. The first hour on set is so crucial to setting the tone for the energy and flow of the rest of the day.

2:15pm: If I’m not on set, this is when I have to go pick up my seven-year-old daughter, Malou, from school, and we’ll often go to a little coffee shop and do homework before getting her to one of her various after school activities. Making time to be a present Mama is challenging in the competitive world of freelancing but also a non-negotiable when I see how fleeting their childhood is. Once she’s at dance or climbing or whichever activity, I’ll plug back in, answer emails or work on some art direction or whatever task needs to happen for work before it’s time to go pick up my three-year-old son from preschool. On a shoot day or when I have a heavy workload or meeting, I have our babysitter pick them up.

5:30pm: When not on set, this is when the chaos begins at home. Puppies are jumping and kids are running as I’m trying to cook, answer last minute work texts or emails, and just get all my ducks in a row for the next few hours of parenting. Being on set at this time, or wrapping up a job, often comes as a very welcome treat especially if I get to come home once the house has quieted down. But of course, too many days away and I miss it.

8:30pm: With kiddos in bed, if I’m not creatively drained, this is when I work on mood boards or finish up with some post-production work if I didn’t get to it earlier in the day. If my workload isn’t too heavy, this is the time I get to work on one of my new hobbies like sewing or watch a show. Once a week or so this is also the time I get to go out for a drink with a friend or my husband.

10:30pm: It’s always a long day in my little world, and I try my best to get in bed by 10:30 or earlier, knowing that a few hours from then, tiny creatures will be jumping all over me again.