Education really is SO important and when an opportunity crosses your path you should take it!! 

Last week, I have the amazing opportunity to learn from MY favorite newborn photographer, Amy McDaniel from Dewdrops photography. She flew in from Georgia to give a workshop to six lucky ladies and I was honored to be there! I'll admit, I was kind of a crazy fan girl!! :) 

We photographed four beautiful babies and went through at many poses as they would let us! It was magical. I truly do LOVE my job, and I will never stop learning and striving to be better. 

Here are some of my favorite images from the day! Thank you Amy for being a patient and open teacher! * Styling and posing by Amy, image and edit by me! *

Come and take a look each week to see what my Tuesday Tip is!! It might be something profound, or funny, maybe something business related or perhaps something personal... Let's have some fun with this and feel free to join in and start a conversation!! 

Here's my first tip.....how to dress for Fall family pictures!! Ugh! I know! I have my OWN family pictures coming up (gotta practice what you preach!) and my family are a nightmare! My best advice... dress the most difficult family member first (my eldest son!), and co-ordinate everyone else from there! Follow this link for more great advice! 

I want to thank everyone who came out this year for the Mommy & Me mini sessions! I truly enjoyed these sessions as they mean so much to me. As a mom, I know that molding my little people into respectable human beings is a hard and thankless job! But we do it because we ADORE their sweet little faces, stinky little toes and melt-your-heart giggles. Yet, we often forget to get in front of the camera and share in the fun WITH them! I want my kids to look back and see that I was present in their lives and that I did actually enjoy being around them! Happy Mother's Day to all you WONDERFUL mommas out there! ~ Nickie

This summer has been a busy one and I have been blessed to photograph so many little people and their big people! For instance, the Kreiter family! Working with this beautiful couple took me back in time to when I was pregnant with my first baby. There is just something so magical and awesome (in the truest sense!) to be bringing a little person into the world. From being two people who love each other, to stepping into the role of 'parents'. It's amazing and scary, but these two did it so beautifully! Meet the Kreiter Family ~ Meghan, Casey and Landen. Thank you for choosing me to capture this special time. x

Sales sessions are the ugly but necessary side of Nicola Jane Photography! While I would much rather spend all my time with my little clients and create beautiful pictures for their big people, each month I keep getting these annoying bills that I have to pay! Yes, NJP is a business! Gosh darn it! This is not my favorite part of the 'job'! Over the years I have tried several different approaches with pricing all the while trying to keep you, my amazing clients, in mind! Because, let's be honest, if you're not happy, then NJP cannot exist (*insert very sad, pouty face here!*), but if I cannot pay those pesky bills, then NJP also cannot exist! What a pickle! 

So, after having these beautiful miraculous babies, reality set in! Babies are hard work! Toddlers are even harder! Yet through it all, watching these little people develop personalities is amazing! I had two baby boys, born from the same gene pool only months apart, and yet they couldn't be MORE different. I was so naive to think that my second son would be just like his brother! I couldn't have been more wrong! 

It's hard to describe my boys, as in some ways they have similar qualities; kind, sweet, emotional, curious and tenacious, but they show it in different ways. And yet, in other ways they are the perfect yin to the other's yang! As a mother, I am grateful to the photographer inside of me to be able to capture their uniqueness! My eldest... he has a very solemn and tender sole. He is unsure of himself and is very contemplatative... he is a thinker and very much a mama's boy! :)

My youngest is very intense. Very black and white. Very deep, and yet, a TOTAL goofball! He is wild and daring and up for anything! He is loud and shy and generally simultaneously awesome and a hard work to hang out with! :) 

Looking back on their young lives, I know that their personalities where innate. When I was pregnant with them, even then they behaved differently! One was quiet and worried me every day, and the other was active and gave me no rest! Nothing has changed! Every day they challenge me and frustrate me, but EVERY day I look at them and marvel at the privilege of being their Mum. They are amazing and I get to watch them grow and learn and be who they want to be. It's an honor. 

But why does this even matter? Because I know that all children no matter what their history have their own stories to tell and their own personalities to show. When you come into my studio, I will see every little client as themselves, and I want to capture their soul. Sometimes they are playful and cannot sit still, other times they are tearful and quiet.. there is no normal, and that is ok! They are all phenomenal and amazing and I am so lucky to be able to capture a moment in their little lives for their big people to treasure forever. 

"Hold him a little longer, 
Rock him a little more.
Tell him another story,
Tell him a million more.
Let him sleep on your shoulder,
Cherish his every smile.
He is only a baby,
for just a little while."
​~ Anon. 

Lately, I've been asked a lot about why I love doing newborn sessions! They're hard work, they're hot and they're messy!! It's true, but come on, look at how adorable they are!! However, it's not just the cuteness that makes me do it, it's something much more than that. Let me take you on a journey....

Once upon a time, I was told I would not be able to have my own children. Hearing that causes a pain in your heart that is beyond words. But then, one day, the impossible happened... I found out I was pregnant! He was my little nugget of joy and hope. Carrying him nestled under my heart was the biggest blessing of my life and I loved feeling him grow safe inside me. Being pregnant was a miraculous feeling that I truly cherished and seeing a swollen belly still to this day makes all those feelings gush back. It's amazing! Growing a tiny person inside you is just amazing! And so maternity photography just makes sense! It's selfish really, because I get to revel in all those amazing feelings that I had when I carried my babies! Yes, babies... plural!!! 

Ok... the next part of this story is SO cliche, but just go with it!! Not only was I that disgustingly glowy woman that had perfect pregnancies, but I will also tell you a story of how perfect their deliveries were! Oh my goodness! I was made to do this! When my first baby was born, he crawled up to my chest and just stayed there! There were people buzzing all around us, but by then, tunnel vision had set in... it was just me and him! This tiny little person that I had made who had been connected to me for months, who grew each day under my heart, had now stolen it! Completely! My life would never be the same. Those tiny fingers and toes, his button nose, those wrinkles, his chubby cheeks...I knew I was in trouble!!

So I guess, that's why I do it! Everything about babies makes me gush! They are simply amazing to me. They are not a paycheck (that's a whole other story!!), but something to be treasured, protected and loved. I don't take this business of being a mother for granted, and my business is an extension of my mothering! I truly LOVE what I do! 

With love, 
Nickie, Ryan and Owen. xx

Bumps and babies!! What could be better? I'm not sure which I find more beautiful! I love it when I get to photograph both and create a story. 

And then came baby!

I love my job! :)