Behind the Page: Preserving Family Memories with Julien James

Memory, communication, and storytelling lie at the heart of archival practices. Julien James weaves these elements together in his introspective photobook, I Love You Always, All Ways.

Julien James is a Los Angeles-based photographer whose work examines identity, memory, and the intimate architecture of family. His photobook “I Love You Always, All Ways” weaves together three generations of fatherhood through family photographs, handwritten letters, and his son’s drawings—an exploration of how we archive love across time.

His practice moves fluidly between commercial work for Apple, Verizon, and Airbnb (earning two Golden Cubes at the 101st ADC Awards) and personal documentary projects like “Saint of the Sideline,” which traces football culture across West Africa and the Caribbean. Whether working for global brands or creating deeply personal narratives, his images hold moments with an effortless intimacy—rooted in realism, distinguished by dramatic light and shadow, revealing the truth of human experience.