Pricing!

After much, MUCH, MUCH consideration, I have decided to start charing for my photography services. This has been a hard decision for me because I love to give people gifts and photographs are the best gifts I have to give. But after evaluating my time, travel, and materials, I have decided to take the plunge and become official! I have kept my prices extremely low for a couple of reasons:


1. I am still learning, going to school, shooting things I have yet to shoot...ect...


2. While still learning, I still do not have the means for professional equipment such as a CD printer, super sweet packaging, ect. But have no fears, your images will be to die for and top notch quality!


3. Because I love you and want you to give me the opportunity to show you your beauty!


Please visit my investments page for pricing information.


When considering my prices, I made sure to keep in mind that I am still a student who is learning and striving through my learnings at The Art Institute of Portland. Right now, my prices are kept low but eventually, I will increase them over time. 


Thanks for all of your support and understanding! I hope to see you soon!


-nicole

Sweet Meredith!

Yet again, I was suppose to be working on a fashion shoot (you know, shooting the outfit, shoes, earrings, ect) but it is so hard to focus on boring aspects when you have such a gorgeous model! A friend from work volunteered her super sweet sister to be a model for me. I had what I wanted in mind and she was fine with doing what I needed. But once we started shooting, I lost my focus...I guess we can add fashion photography to my "cannot do" list! Lets add "portrait on location" photography instead!

I took Meredith out to a vacant field that I had shot in the day before (see Sabrina's blog!). It's a great, big field with a huge, old tree and a couple of hay stacks. Perfect for shooting in! There were a ton of crickets attacking us while we shot and we had to be super careful while we walked as there were a few poky weeds around. But nevertheless, we conquered that field and got some great shots!

Never underestimate a strong woman...a lovely, sweet, caring, and beautiful woman...

See what I am talking about...

Thank you soooo much Meredith for being such a willing and great model! You are so beautiful! I hope you enjoy your pictures as much as I have...and Jenn, thank you so much for finding me the PERFECT model!! You both are awesome!

-nicole

Heart Breaker Alert!

Oh today was SOOO much fun! I had the extreme pleasure of photographing Sabrina, a friend of ours little girl! How cute is she! No, seriously! She is ADORABLE! I couldn't stop telling her how awesome she looked in the pictures! And she was SUCH a natural! When I told her this, she said "It's because I watch America's Next Top Model!" Well, sheesh, that's all it takes!?


This was suppose to be a "fashion shoot" for a final project coming up...but...needless to say, I had other things in mind once Sabrina got in front of the lens...she was way to pretty to just focus on the clothing!


I am so glad that Sabrina and her mom April were willing to let me photograph Sabrina while exploring areas of Washington. I had so much fun with them! I miss them terribly through out the year (April's kids are seriously the cutest, most well behaved kids ever!) as we only seem to find one day out of 365 to get together. Hopefully that will change though...hopefully more pictures will be in order...hint hint :)

Hope you all have a wonderful labor day weekend! Stay safe!

-nicole

Soon To Be Mom...Ashley

I have known Ashley for quite some time now. We met in high school...way back when! For as long as I can remember, I have always looked up to her in some way of another (even though she doesn't know it!). When we went to school together, she was always so confident, strong, and willing to be herself. Now, she is a mature, GORGEOUS, loving human being...and did I mention...a soon to be mother!

Ashley has this awesome, unique style about her. Can't you tell? She (and myself...more so her now...) are Volcom ADDICTS! She knows how to make anything look good, she can pull off any hair color and style, and she's got that AWESOME skin tone that every girl wants!

I cannot wait to meet her baby and photograph the newest addition to her perfect, stylish, little family! We have some time before babe is due, so in the meanwhile, we will be doing maternity shots! Here is a little preview and hopefully there will be so much more to come!!

Ashley- Thank you so much for coming all the way out to the Gorge and being my model! Though I was suppose to shoot the "human form", I had WAY more fun photographing how gorgeous you are! Thank you for having confidence in me and allowing me to capture how beautiful you are, at all angles. You are an inspiration to me and I hope to see you more in the future!

-nicole

Baby Portland Arrives!

I am always looking for a newborn to photograph so I can get more practice! I know that it can be a little bit nerve racking when a photography student asks to photograph your brand new baby. But the best part about allowing me to photograph your baby, is that I will love your baby just as much as you do and care for him/her just the same. 

Recently, my luck on finding a newborn to photograph has been improving because I actually have a couple of newborn shoots lined up! Thanks to a good friend of mine, I was introduced to Portland's mama and was able to photograph her life at two weeks old!

World, meet the beautiful, gorgeous, lovely Portland!

Check out this hair!! LONG, blonde hair!! SO CUTE!!

I had never done a shot like this but her mama wanted one and I wasn't going to tell her no! 

I LOVE this photo!

Daddy and his baby girl...so sweet!

Mom- Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your precious little girl! I cannot wait to see her again! She truly is a gorgeous baby!

Influenced by Love

It is my mom's birthday today! August 22nd, 2010 marks the first year that we have photographed her birthday! I want to start doing this to show her how beautiful she is and how much love she has around her. She already knows this but I want her to remember all of the good times that we have as a family, celebrating her life. 

I don't want to brag or anything but I truly do have the BEST mother in the whole world. If you are ever looking for inspiration, motivation, love, friendship...my mother, Mary Boal, is that person! I don't think that Blogger would let me write as much as I could about my mother, and I don't think that I have the days that it would take to describe her as a whole. For now, I will do my best to paint the picture of my mom, Mary.

I remember when I was a kid, I loved my mom so much (and I still do!). Family members would take me to the beach or up north to Seattle for the weekend, and about half way into the first day, I was always in tears, crying for my mom to come pick me up. And you know what, she always did! Now a days, we live about an hour apart from each other and don't see each other as much. Whenever my mom comes to my house, I always cry when she leaves. I know, I know, call me a baby, but when you have a mother as great as mine...

She use to write me little love notes every morning and I kept all of them. I love going back and reading all the little "I love you" notes. Once, I taped and tacked ALL of the letters she ever wrote to me on my wall. It covered the whole, entire wall!

One time, the night before my birthday, I had fallen asleep on the couch. When I woke up the next morning, the WHOLE house was decorated in Little Mermaid decor (yes, I was a Little Mermaid fanatic was I was a kid)! It was like Christmas to me! I don't remember if I ever thanked her for it, but I will never forget that birthday, ever.

Every summer, my mom would spend a good hour or two braiding all of my hair into those cool little braids. I use to love having this done!! And I mean, it was every, single summer. She would go grocery shopping and I would go with her. Right next to the store we went to was a Sally's Beauty Supply store and she always bought those tiny, little hair ties. Then we would go home and spend the day doing my hair.

As I got older, got a job and went to high school, my mom taught me valuable lessons about life that I practice now. Like, love your family. Truly love them and tell them. Tell them every day, tell them every hour, tell them you love them right when you think about it. Because you never know when they will be gone. Never quit without giving two weeks notice, no matter how bad you hate your job. Pay your rent first, you need a roof over your head before you need anything else (well, I think food would be a close first...but I get what she is saying). Always change your oil when you need to, you don't want to pay more for a car repair. Hang mirrors all over a wall, it makes a room look bigger. People are in your life for a season, reason or a lifetime....the list goes on and on. 

And during our families hardest times, when we had no money to play, when we lived in a small apartment and lost everything, she made our lives better than anyone else we knew. We use to have "Ozzy Osbourne" nights where we would watch the Osbourne show and she would get us pizza. I know now that she didn't have the money for that pizza, but she wanted our life to be normal and fun. And she did...she made it normal and fun and in the process, created ever lasting memories.

As I get older, I reflect on all of these good memories and life lessons and thank God that I am blessed enough, even after being the naughty little girl I was and a difficult teen, to have her as my mom. She is the best person in the world and I would give anything to see her smile and be happy. She is the hardest working woman I know and if you met her, you would tell right away that that is who she is.

Please take a moment to meet my best friend and mom, Mary...

And as always, a picture of your photographer (and todays party group, minus Adam)!

With love, 

nicole

Robert and Cherice Melchior Married!

Adam and I were completely honored when we were invited to attend Robert and Cherice's wedding. They are the cutest couple ever and their love could be felt amongst the people and energy! Though I was not the photographer, I wanted to take some shots to remember how beautiful Cherice was and how lovely the scenery was!

I believe the all the bridesmaids put their bouquets in the vases amongst the tables... aren't these colors to die for!!

These were the tags that we grabbed to find which table we were sitting at. We were lucky enough to sit right in front of the bride and grooms table!

The "wedding cake"...YUMMY and DELICIOUS cupcakes! Adam was eyeballing them all night long!! I wouldn't be surprised if he stole a few more when we weren't looking!

...oh sweet, sugary goodness...

The logo's in the picture frame were also on the invitations. These two are so creative! I may just have to steal them when it's wedding time for me...*hint* *hint*...

If that menu doesn't look good to you, go find your appetite and come back! The fish was so moist, the chicken had tons of flavor and I am pretty sure that most of us were guilty of grabbing a couple more pieces of that soft and chewy bread!

Perfect day for a wedding in the Gorge! Hood River is known to be pretty windy. But we were all lucky in that the weather was warm and the evening was great! This is the scene looking west...it was the view for most of the night!

Robert's sister Amy and his step mom (Adam's mom) Sheryl. Are they totally cute or what!! Amy has the most amazing, gorgeous blue eyes and Sheryl has such a loving glow! Love these ladies!

Adam, Jeff (Robert's brother and groomsman) and Adie (Jeff's wife). Whenever Adam and Jeff get together, they act like two peas in a pod! And Adie is so beautiful! She is as sweet in person as she looks on film!

Dick (Robert's dad) and Sheryl. I really do love these two. I don't ever say it enough...or in person...but they are family to me. They have been nothing but loving and caring towards me. They make me feel like I am part of the family! Love you guys!

Introducing, Cherice Melchior! She was walking around giving EVERYONE hugs so I was snapping from far away. I am so happy I got one that shows how she was the entire night. Glowing, dazzling, gorgeous. The ideal bride! Congratulations Cherice and I cannot wait to see you soon!

I wish I had gotten some of Robert! I didn't see him as much because he was greeting everyone and sharing the love as well. *Sorry Rob*....But picture this...Groom, with an AWESOME mohawk, brown leather converse, and a bright lime green tie...totally cool!!

I hope you all had as much fun as I did looking at these pictures and meeting a good half of the people I call "family". If any of you ever get the chance to meet any of these people, be prepared to have your life changed in such a positive and uplifting manner. "Take in the moment"

In upcoming news, Adam and I are getting prepared to start looking to move. That means we need to capture the beautiful things that remind us of our home now. I hope to do a short series on everything that reminds us of where we are currently living...

Also, I have a couple of newborn shoots coming up! If you or anyone you know is expecting or has a newborn that is less than two weeks old, please email me for a FREE session! 

Thanks for reading everyone!

- Nicole