Julian Talib Mares

The origin story

Hi, my name is Julian Mares. Talib is actually my middle name but I found it so meaningful I decided to make it the face of my brand. Talib in Arabic means “seeker of knowledge; student” and that’s exactly how I would define myself.

I’m a seeker of knowledge, adventures, and most importantly - myself. My photography journey started when I was going through a period of self-discovery as I questioned the stereotypical American dream of just going to school, getting a degree, and living comfortably.

Photography has empowered me to overcome many challenges and I’m grateful to have taken the leap into the unknown. It was never my intention to take this hobby and turn it into a career and that’s been the beauty of the journey. Vulnerability for me has been the best feeling I’ve felt. The chase I get from not knowing what’s ahead of me is what pushes me forward to be great. I crave the feeling of being uncomfortable because it’s when I’ve been the most vulnerable that I’ve achieved the greatest growth I’ve gone through.

My Mission Statement

I have many goals in life but the one that’ll always remain true is I want to leave a legacy that’ll outlive myself. My dream with my life would be to open up my own non-profit to help raise awareness for mental health advocating and providing safe havens for people struggling with mental health issues. As someone who is a recovering victim of mental health neglect, I feel it’s my duty to help the next person from going through the same, and it’s something I’m very passionate about and I know I will achieve.

Fun facts

Personality type : INFP

Enneagram: Type 4

Horoscope: Gemini & Cancer cusp

“House” DJ - Julian Memento

Lover of travel

Coffee lover

Photography - The Universal Language

This career is such a deep reflection of who I am to me. I’m a very spiritual and logical person so by the nature of that I’m very philosophical. To me, photography is this rich and deep connection I have where I get to capture “actual life.” To me, it’s a universal language of deep emotions, and storytelling - it’s a forever medium. The moments I capture I craft with such deep connection in order to provide a sense of nostalgia by using a storytelling method with imagery. Every small interaction and moment matters to me. It’s all a feeling I chase so I can visually put people back in time.

Before I got into photography I had very severe social anxiety and I would be afraid to be in public and would panic at the thought of being amongst people. This craft has pushed me to break through and learn how to communicate better and as of 2021 to present I currently am going to therapy for communication.

Coming from a broken home made it really hard for me to know how to speak to people. I’m so thankful I’ve been able to take small steps forward to be able to go out into the world. I’m a really hurt soul that’s fighting every day to be a better person than the environment I grew up in. Photography has allowed me to experience so many memories with people while giving me a little curtain to hide behind but that little curtain has been enough to hold my hand and make it less and less hard to be out in the world. One photo at a time.