2010 Artistic Guild Photographer of the Year - Juliana Mozart

Juliana Mozart, Brazil

Juliana Mozart, AG’s 2010 Photographer of the Year, admits, “I’m a very frustrated ex-bride!” Years ago, the photographer she hired to capture her momentous day forgot to replace the flash’s battery. The videographer did not show up. The day passed without any tangible remembrances of it. She jokes that her therapy for having an empty wedding album is photographing each of her client’s weddings with much love and passion.

Though in truth, Mozart’s passion for her work comes from something that cannot be pinned down. It’s evident in her photography, in which the angles and perspectives from which she captures her subjects are constantly shifting in unexpected ways. When looking at her work, the viewer feels as though she has been transmitted into the artful, beautiful way in which Mozart sees the world. She finds surprising ways of framing a moment, making her work always new and fresh and idiosyncratic.

Her passion for photography is effusive and always has been. She says, “I never thought photography would be a hobby for me…and as soon as I captured my first wedding, I became addicted to the energy that runs through me when I’m working.” With sixty weddings in the last year alone, Mozart’s life becomes passionate frequently. It shows in her work. There is a vibrancy and energy that jumps off her photographs.

As a non-traditional wedding photojournalist, she views a print as the “origin of the perfect picture,” and says, “I don’t think when I’m taking a picture, ‘That’s it. I’m done.’” From the print, she translates it into its most interesting and beautiful manifestation. In this way, she is always pushing herself to create that perfect picture.

Mozart’s creativity does not stop with photography itself. She makes a handmade album that is a piece of art. In addition to leather for the cover, she also uses wood, lace or fabric. “Each client’s album is very important to me. I want [my clients] to show it to their families and expose it in a favorite place in the house for many years to come.”

From Mozart’s ebullient demeanor at the weddings to the final piece of artwork she presents the couple, her work is a true labor of love.

– Lauren Ragland / For the Wedding Photojournalist Association