the Julie B

Welcome friends! My name is Julie Beaird of Julie B Photography and I’m excited that you’re here! I’m starting my official blog and I decided to begin with an introduction about myself and why I love what I do!

I am married to my best friend and high school sweetheart, Austin. We’ve been together for over fifteen years, and man have we been through a helluva lot but mostly good! We both studied at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. I graduated as a nurse and Austin as a mechanical engineer. I worked for a year in Knoxville in the Mother Baby Unit until Austin and I got married in 2016. He accepted a position at Shaw Industries in north Georgia, so we moved to Chattanooga to be closer to his job. I was sad to leave the job I loved at UT Medical Center, but I quickly found a job in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Erlanger Children's Hospital.

I quickly fell in love with the teeny tiny little fighters and NICU became my home. I spent a couple years where I floated to PICU, the children's ER, and the pediatric floor, but also continued to work in the NICU. I’m currently a PRN in the NICU because I'm trying my best to help our daughter fight the challenges that come her way.

We have a four-year-old named Emma Claire. She was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex in December of 2021 when she was a year old. I'll probably end up writing an entire post about TSC at some point, but for now I'll try keep it short. It's a rare genetic disease where her DNA had a mutation causing her to develop tumors in her organs. While these tumors are non-cancerous, they are far from benign. Most of her challenges come from the tumors in her brain. She has epilepsy, is on the autism spectrum at a level 2, and has a global developmental delay to name a few.

She is the TOUGHEST kid I've ever met - I'm not even exaggerating! She has endured so many doctors’ appointments, lab draws, hospital stays, PT, OT, ST, Feeding Therapy...I could go on and on. We're so proud of her! It is absolutely amazing to see her progress in her therapies.

(*Side note because it needs to be said: If you have a concern about your child's development, health, whatever - YOU are their advocate. Your gut instincts as a mom are usually right. We were told by so many people, trying to make us feel less worried, "Oh, I bet she's fine! Every kid does things at their own pace!" While this statement is not wrong per se, it is incomplete. What should be said is "I know it's scary to think something might be wrong with your baby, but if you're worried about it, get it checked out.”)

I get chills when I think about how the Holy Spirit led us while making choices for Emma Claire. I just can't believe that if we hadn't pursued genetic testing, we wouldn't have known about her abnormal EEG. We would've been completely unprepared for her first seizure, and she would be so much further behind in development. Thank you, Lord, for my educated, stubborn, anxious, obsessive nurse brain that wouldn't let it go that she had low muscle tone and wasn’t meeting milestones.

The Holy Spirit led me through nursing school, pediatrics, and then into a life where I can use my knowledge and skills as a medical mama. I could write an entire thesis on the way the Lord has worked - even when we were mad about our circumstances. Even when OUR plans were changed. Even when we thought we couldn't make it through losing our son Jack at 18 weeks, just two months after receiving Emma Claire’s lifelong diagnosis. The Lord carried us. He placed the exact people in our lives that we needed to help us through it and has never left us.



I honestly didn’t mean to write this much about my daughter’s diagnosis, but I’m constantly amazed by how far she’s come and how the Lord works in our daily lives. This in connection with my job at the hospital and losing a baby is why I’m so passionate about photography, especially working with families. I love capturing those special moments between each family. We never know how much time we have with each other, so we have to make the most of it. What better way to do that than with photos!

...Well, I am going to have to do another post soon because I haven't told you about our fur baby, Rocky and our rainbow baby, Owen.

Thank you so much for being here and getting to know me! I’m so excited to be your photographer! To learn more about booking a session, head to my contact page and fill out my form!