Of Quechua descent, Julia Chambi was the third of six children of Martín Chambi (1891–1973) – one of the first major Indigenous Latin American photographers – and Manuela López. She was born in Sicuani (Cusco), where her father opened his first photographic studio. Each of Chambi’s children participated in the family business, and the photographic studio became not only their economic support, but also a sort of school where they learned photography and were in touch with cultural avant-gardes. It was in this way that photography became an inheritance, custom and tradition for J. Chambi.

She studied at Santa Ana school before completing a degree in technical accounting studies. In addition, she decided to explore different artistic disciplines, studying drawing and painting at Diego Quispe Tito School of Fine Arts and ceramics at Juan Tomas Tuyro Tupac Inca Artisanal Center.
J. Chambi collaborated with the graphic department of several local media and institutions. Meanwhile she assumed a more important role in the studio, taking the charge of social photography and family portraits.

With her brothers and friends, she founded the Cine Club Cusco in 1954, a group dedicated to make and explore Andean cinema. In 1961, she was named a partner of the American Institute of Art in Cusco, and in 1966 she became a founding member of the Association of Plastic Artists of Cusco. She was also an active member of Qosqo Center of Native Art, the Association of Professional Photographers of Cusco and the French Alliance of Cusco. J. Chambi emerged not only as an artist, but also as a cultural activist focused on the promotion and recovery of Indigenous artistic expressions. In the 1960s, this work led her to occupy the position of cultural counsellor to the Major of Cusco. She obtained the Culture Award from the National Cultural Institute of Cusco, the Promotion of Culture Award and the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Medal from the National Institute of Culture.

Her work falls between the documentary genre, commercial studio, photojournalism and the technique of photo-oil, also called painted portraits. J. Chambi worked almost exclusively with 6 × 6 cm and 35 mm film and her work documents Cusco festivities, archaeological sites, cultural activities, traditional dances, family portraits and social events. She also photographed the cities of Arequipa, Puno, Ayacucho, Lima and Iquitos in Perú, as well as several cities in Bolivia and Argentina.

In the 1980s, J. Chambi assumed the leadership of the Chambi Photographic Studio where the studio’s commercial work continued, as well as the idea of ​​disseminating and preserving the more than 40,000 images that Martín had left. J. Chambi continued her work uninterrupted until a few months before her death in 2003, at the age of 84.