Julia Sellmann Photography

Julia Sellmann
takes photos
to tell stories

Karl Emil and Grete
Karl Emil and Grete

Karl Emil was diagnosed after he was born. Grete remembers how fragile he felt in her arms and how she worried about his health, but mostly, she remembers, "I thought he was so cute." Two years later, in 2004, Denmark became one of the first countries in the world to offer prenatal Down syndrome screening to every pregnant woman, regardless of age or other risk factors. Nearly all expecting mothers choose to take the test; of those who get a Down syndrome diagnosis, more than 95 percent choose to abort.

The Aarsø's
The Aarsø's
Elea on a bookshelf
Elea on a bookshelf
Karl Emil and Grete
Karl Emil and Grete

His notebooks are full of poetry written in his careful, sturdy handwriting. He loves music – his gold-rimmed glasses are modeled after his favorite Danish pop star’s. He gets cranky sometimes, like all teens do.

Elea and Louise in Fredriksberg
Elea and Louise in Fredriksberg
Elea's puppet show
Elea's puppet show
The Aarsø's in Fredriksberg
The Aarsø's in Fredriksberg
Elea
Elea

He could tell he was different. "He asked me, if it was because of Down syndrome that he sometimes didn’t understand things." As he’s gotten older, she said, he has found his peace with it.

The Atlantic, № 10 / 2020
Text: Sarah Zhang
Director of Photography: Luise Stauss
Photo Editor: Christine Walsh



Julia Sellmann is a photographer with a special focus on portraits, based in Germany.

Contact:
info@juliasellmann.com
+49 1575 9610710


Management:
ACN, Amie Norris
acn@acnstudio.com
+1 917-376-6374

Travels:
May 05th – 08th, Berlin
September, New York

(23) Portraits book
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Selected Clients
Die Zeit
Zeit Magazin
SZ Magazin
T Magazine
The Atlantic
National Geographic
The Guardian
Geo
Stern
Pitchfork
Spiegel
Focus
Brand Eins
Capital
Business Punk
11 Freunde
Vice
Aktion Mensch
Airbnb
Google
Lufthansa
Mercedes
VW
Postbank
Ergo
Malteser
muehlhausmoers
C3
Strichpunkt Design

Impressum