Meet Julie and Rad Fraasa | Photographers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie and Rad Fraasa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie and Rad, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Adaptability.

Rad spent two years in Togo with the Peace Corps and we spent the majority of our twenties and early thirties traveling. We’ve lived in places with no cell service or high-speed wifi, where life is different than we are accustomed to in the States. Rad and I met in a beach town in Vietnam, and we became close as we sat on those iconic little red plastic chairs and ate mi quang, spotted endangered monkeys on our motorbike excursions, did photo walks around the city, and cleaned up trash on the beach. We’d frequently walk to our favorite eatery only to find it randomly closed or have a 2-hour bus trip mysteriously turn into a 5-hour digression as the driver ran errands and visited friends. We learned to go with the flow and to figure out things as we go.

We were originally going to start our business in 2020, which, as you might imagine, did not quite go as planned. Luckily things did pick back up. In fact, 2021 & 2022 were absolute boom years for the wedding industry, which meant trial by fire for us newbie wedding photographers. We spent many sleepless nights editing galleries and continuing our photography education. During that time we also got pregnant and welcomed our daughter, Maya. She got her first passport when she was only 2 weeks old because we had an elopement in Ærøskøbing, Denmark. So she traveled through Scandinavia with us as a two-month-old.

Without adaptability, we’d be stuck. We probably wouldn’t have made it past the ideation stage of our business. We’ve figured things out as we’ve gone and it’s been an incredible experience. We shoot weddings where a hundred little things can go awry, but we’re always up to figure it out, make the best of it, and love every minute of it.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I definitely wouldn’t say it’s been easy to get to this point, but it has gotten easier, and it has always felt right even when things were difficult. So much about the business feels serendipitous to us, and I think that our clients are the main reason for that. There’s a sort of virtuous circle at play here: from the outset, we wanted our photographs to feel timeless and authentic, which attracted clients with similar values, and that has helped us build a portfolio we feel proud of. We always strive to understand our couples, their values, and the unique trajectory of their relationship, and we try to make space for them to pause and appreciate the wedding day as it unfolds. Ultimately we want each gallery to tell that story as completely as possible so that our clients can relive those moments decades from now.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day one – Get breakfast at Biscuit Head, then hop on a La Zoom tour. Go for a hike in the afternoon, through tunnels of blooming rhododendrons ending with a waterfall if we’re lucky. Rest up and then head out for dinner at Leo’s House of Thirst. See a show, ideally at Salvage Station or the Orange Peel. There are so many great music venues and bands love to stop here on tour, so there’s a good chance of catching one any night of the week. Get a huge slice at PIE.ZAA after the show.

Day two – Grab a coffee at Farewell and spend the day exploring downtown, appreciating all the art deco buildings, and doing some shopping at Nest Organics, Battery Park Book Exchange, and Citizen Vinyl. Lunch at Curate, maybe followed by tea at Dobra or a beer at Burial. Get a burger there or some Good Hot Fish right next door.

Day three – Breakfast at Taco Billy, then walk to the River Arts District for a pottery class at The Village Potters Clay. Grab something from a food truck and/or a beer at Wedge then stroll around Marquee, then walk the river greenway until dinner at Rosabee’s.

Day four – Slow morning with homemade scones and French press coffee, then hang out at Junebug Creek Lounge. Afterward, we’d grab sandwiches and kombucha at Rosetta’s Kitchen to-go, then head to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a hike and a picnic. Later, get dinner at Heiwa Shokudo, followed by a drink at Sovereign Remedies.

Day five – Get breakfast at Sunny Point then check out some shops in West Asheville like Flora and Harvest Records. Head to Zillicoah to enjoy live music, outstanding lagers, and maybe a snack by the river. Rest up and then get Nine Mile for dinner.

Day six – Another slower morning at home, maybe breakfast at Yellow Mug followed by a yoga class at Asheville Community Yoga. Squeeze in one more hike, or head to a museum or art gallery depending on the weather. Pick up Siam Thai and eat somewhere with a view, Craggy Pinnacle if we’re feeling ambitious.

Day seven – Grab brunch at The Omni Grove Park Inn and then tour the Biltmore. Meander around the grounds and sample some wine, then get dinner at Neng Jr.’s.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Rad and I are both very fortunate to come from loving families who have rooted for us as we’ve embarked on our entrepreneurial journey. Now that we have a daughter, we begin to fathom the stress we must have put on our parents when we grabbed one-way tickets to other countries. Supporting a family with a small business comes with some uncertainty. I’m sure seeing us on more conventional career trajectories would have been easier on our parents but they’ve never deterred us. We’re also lucky enough to have a few more people to mention so… I’d like to give a shoutout to Gigi Karmous-Edwards, who was the first entrepreneur I worked with in college and remains an inspiration to me today. Lastly, I have to mention our good friend, Erin Godleski, who encouraged us to shoot weddings and even trusted us to capture her own wedding back when we were absolute beginners. Without her, we might never have gotten into the wedding industry and we love it.

Website: www.julesandconrad.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/julesandconrad

Facebook: www.facebook.com/julesandconrad

Image Credits
Jules and Conrad Photography