Thursday, March 03, 2011 10:16:10 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Alright. So this is a question that has plagued me for several years. Photography and digital art have essentially merged into one. The line between what is "real" (i.e. photographed in the physical world) and what is "artificial" (i.e. drawn or otherwise created on a computer) has become utterly blurred. The vast majority of award winning competition prints are usually a mish-mash of digitally-composited elements some of which are taken from photographs and others that are drawn/created in a variety of computer programs. In the end, you have something that is unarguably a beautiful work of art. But is it really photography? Or is it more altered art or altered photography?
I've struggled with this question, wondering where to take my work. Obviously, some aspects of photography remain firmly grounded in the "real" like photojournalistic images at a wedding, etc. And anyone who has taken one of my workshops or chatted with me knows that I'm a firm believer in getting the image right in-camera. It's the only way to actually make a real living out of photography. You can take 2 minutes to fix a problem with a photo (like stray hairs or bad light or poor posing) or spend an hour in Photoshop fixing the mistake. Obviously, the less time you spend, the more money you make overall. So there is a strong pull for me to do as much as possible in-camera as I shoot.
But who doesn't love a little bit of drama and art unfettered by the reigns of reality? And I have to admit, it's wonderful to be freed from the whims of nature and physics when wanting to realize an artistic vision for a composition.
So here's an example. I took this image with a definite idea in my head of what I wanted the final image to look like. But time and the physical world weren't cooperating with me on this day. I had all of 3 minutes to take this shot. Not enough time to set up a light. And it was the middle of the day, so no directional light to work with. But I had an idea and still took the shot anyway, knowing that the "art" would have to happen in Photoshop.
So here is the original RAW SOOC image. It's not the best image. I went for a middle exposure with the shot, leaving the child a little dark but also leaving a little detail in the window. I knew that this exposure would leave me detail in my highlights but also give me enough detail in my shadows too to create a better balance of exposure in Photoshop.
So step one in Photoshop was to bring up the exposure of the child in RAW and fix the obvious problems of cropping and perspective. Obviously, this step completely blew out the window detail, but I knew that I would bring that back in the next step.
So the next step was to leave the exposure on the essentially child the same, but bring down everything else. I brought in a dark exposure of the window and masked it into the shot and added multiple layers to darken the image.
The next step was to reduce the color in the image, creating a vintage look:
The next step was to create a definite source of directional light in the image. So I created light rays in Photoshop. This took several layers and some fancy blending to create the correct spread and sense of light.
I then added a texture for added warmth and depth.
The final step was to add a curved vignette to the edges and a vintage photo border:
Obviously, the final image is drawn from the original photograph, but it has artificial elements that were wholly created in PS. This image could have been taken to look like this SOOC (more or less), but it would have required a lighting crew and several hours to set up. And in the end, this was probably faster to do in PS, haha.
Of course, this is a mild example of digital image manipulation. But the question still remains for me . . . . at what point does something cease to be a photograph and become something else entirely? And is it a line that should concern me in the first place?
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 11:41:38 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, I know it's a little early for spring cleaning, but even though there's still two feet of snow outside, I have spring fever. So I decided to do a little spring cleaning today . . . you know, getting caught up on all the little things that I never get around to doing.
So for starters, I updated some website images like my blog header above and my wedding website. Sooooo needed to be done.
Then I went to work on our workshops in Houston, TX in a couple weeks, packing and prepping stuff. 'Cause hey! It is warm and spring-ish in Houston, right? We've had some last minute shifting, so we do still have a few slots in the workshops still. So email if you're interested in a last-minute workshop enrollment special. And I've also realized that I have a little time for a family or senior session while I'm down there. So if you would be interested in a session, also email!
Then I decided to tackle the out-of-control clutter on my desk and realized that I have a large stack of Christmas cards left over from the holidays. It's a long story why, but I ended up with leftover cards. So if you would like a holiday card special from me, I'd be happy to send you one. Please just email me your address to nichole [at] nicholeV.com and I'll drop one snail mail to you! Here's a little preview of the front . . .
Whew! That's all . . . . now if someone could just motivate me to potty train my two-year-old . . . .
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 3:22:41 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Alright! Let's face it . . . you're busy, I'm busy. Let me cut to the chase. I would LOVE some feedback on what products you would be interested in seeing from Flourish Emporium and/or my {life as art} workshops within the next 6 months. I want to use my time developing products that others will find useful.
So, I've created a little survey. It's short, sweet and should take less than a minute to complete. As a thank you for taking the survey, everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing for a $200 gift certificate good toward any of my products. So you could use it to buy $200 worth of goodies from Flourish, or you could put it toward your favorite {life as art} workshop. There are so many possibilities!
Take the survey here!
This survey and contest will run until February 26th.
Also, don't forget to get your free Valentine's template set (hey, there's always next year, right?) and save 20% off any Flourish purchase. You can see the details here.
Thanks so much!
Monday, February 07, 2011 11:57:18 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, it's been insanely cold outside the last little while, so we thought we'd heat things up a little with some great deals and new stuff at Flourish Emporium and the {life as art} Workshops.
For starters, we have begun to make other Flourish products compatible with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Elements can be somewhat difficult when it comes to installing and using actions, but we've managed to take the headache out of the process. Our new Elements installer will install Flourish Elements actions for you, allowing you to just open Photoshop Elements and start using your actions. We have always had PSE versions of the Essential Color Pop and Essential BW sets, but we are happy to announce an Elements version of the Ethereal Actions and Textures set. We anticipate rolling out Elements versions of the Chic Vintage and Antique Vintage sets in the upcoming months. We are also working on a Textures and Tints action set for Photoshop that will include some slick new texture features, like a texture picker box so you don't have to go hunting through harddrives to find the perfect texture. So stay tuned for more goodness!
And to spread a little love, let's do a pre-Valentine's day sale at Flourish Emporium. Enter this coupon code at checkout to receive an additional 20% off your total purchase:
Valentines2011
And best of all, for a limited time, we are offering a free set of Valentines templates with any Flourish purchase. You can see the set here. Just add it to your cart along with other purchases before you checkout. This set is fantastic as it includes regular 5x7 templates, but also some rep card templates for Miller's Lab. I love rep cards for Valentines Day. The beauty of Millers rep cards is that the front of every card can be different. So you could print 25 or 50 cards and each one can have a different photo. I use rep cards to create custom Valentine cards for my children and clients to give to friends and put my logo on the back as an added little bit of advertisement. Don't forget to add this free set to your cart when you checkout!
Some of the templates:
As an extra bonus, spend more than $100 at Flourish Emporium and
receive a $25 gift certificate. Just checkout with at least $100 in
products in your cart and write "Gift Certificate Please" in the notes
box at checkout. We will send you a $25 gift certificate to put toward
your next Flourish purchase.
Also, we are starting up our 2011
workshop season and had our first lighting workshop of 2011 last
weekend. The workshop was fantastic and just makes me even more excited
for the rest of our 2011 workshops. If you've been waiting to enroll in a
workshop or to purchase a workshop in a box, now is your chance. Here's
a coupon code that will give you $50 off your purchase at http://workshops.nicholeV.com:
BoxFeb2011
Note that all coupon codes will expire on Friday, Feb 18th.
Also,
if you own a {life as art} Workshop in a Box and would like to attend
an in-person workshop, please contact us. We have decided to apply the
majority of your Workshop in a Box purchase toward your in-person
enrollment. So please email us and we can give you all the details!
Monday, January 31, 2011 11:54:02 AM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Well, as many of you know, I was lucky enough to attend Imaging USA 2 weeks ago. It was fabulous to see so many old friends and stroll through the tradeshow and look at what vendors have to offer this year. Not to mention escaping the bitter cold and leaving the kiddos in Utah for a fun weekend away in San Antonio with my husband, haha.
It was also a huge honor to be a part of PPA's first Grand Imaging awards. Usually with PPA's international print competition, the best any one print can do is to be accepted into their Loan Collection for the year. But for 2011, they decided to start doing Grand Imaging Awards, where they will honor the top 10 prints in a category (the categories being Wedding, Portrait, Editorial, Digital Imaging, etc.). I was thrilled when one of my wedding prints made it into PPA's 2011 Loan Collection. But I was even more astonished when I received a call about a month ago and was informed that my print would be honored as one of the top 10 Wedding images for 2011. Definitely did my happy dance!
So anyway, here is the print, which most of you are already familiar with:
And here I am on stage at Imaging with the other top 10 finishers and the presidents of PPA. Image is courtesy of Chris Hanoch.
I'm always a little star-struck in these situations and just can't believe that my prints can compete at this level. So thank you everyone who cheered for me! I so appreciate your support and encouragement!
Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:13:34 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Whew! It's been a crazy week attending Imaging USA and catching up on everything. But I'm back in front of my computer and ready to roll out some great new things for 2011.
But first, I wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to email or message me about my weight loss over the last 6 months or so. It's been a long journey, but I really feel that I have the photography community to thank for it all. In particular, those who have attended my workshops over the last 2 years. Let me explain.
I've always known that the vast majority of people who are in the late 30's and are physically fit and a healthy weight work very hard to maintain their bodies. Very few people can be 37 years old, eat whatever they want, never exercise and still be a normal weight (though I know a few who are . . . . you know who you are . . . . yes, I'm staring at you . . . . ). The rest have to work hard at it. Over the last 2 years, I've had some wonderful conversations with workshop attendees about photography, but also about life and balancing parenting and work and health and everything else. So last summer, I just decided that if all these amazing people could balance kids, family, a photography business and STILL have time to look fabulous, I could do it too! So thank you for all your incredible examples and being so inspiring for me to just get with it and pull myself together!
Also, I've had a lot of emails from people asking about what snacks I eat when dieting. As I've mentioned before, I basically eat every 2 hours all day long. I never eat too much, but I'm also never hungry. I'm the kind of person that can't feel like I'm "depriving" myself when trying to diet. So if I feel hungry or like I never get to eat yummy foods, I just won't stick with a diet. So here are a list of snacks that I love that are between 70-150 calories each.
My personal fav is Mango Lhassi. I make homemade probiotic yogurt out of super low-cal, organic local skim milk (it ends up being around 85 calories per cup) and then blend 1/2 cup of my plain yogurt with 4 oz. of ripe mango, 1/2 cup ice and a little water and ZSweet. Add a dollop of fat-free RediWhip and you have 2 cups of heaven with less than 125 calories.
I also love to make a Cranberry-Strawberry Smoothie too. Blend 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup yogurt with 1/2 cup ice, a little water and ZSweet to taste. Again, it's around 125 calories (depending on the yogurt you use).
For something starchy, you can't beat a 100 calorie bag of popcorn. But I also love multi-grain, whole wheat bread. Sunflower Market makes a deliciously hearty bread that only has 50 calories per slice. I toast it and instead of butter on it, I smear a wedge of Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese (or Light Garlic and Herb from Sonoma Jack). Only 135 hearty calories and so yum!
For a sweet treat, you can't beat protein bars. I love Atkins Chocolate Oatmeal Fiber Bars. They taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and have fiber and protein and only 130 calories per bar. I also love Atkins Caramel Nut Chew bars. They taste like a Snickers and again, have protein, fiber and only 130 calories. South Beach also makes some good protein bars . . . . Basically, I just went to the store, bought one of every type of protein bar under 200 calories and made a list of my favorites, haha.
I also always have a large supply of fruit and veggies on hand. So a snack can also be an apple, a pear, an orange or a grapefruit (again, sweetened with ZSweet). I also have some 130 calorie bags of pistachios and other nuts. They also make for a quick, easy snack. Crunchies are also delicious to snack on. To be honest, I find myself scheduling my snacks everyday, because they're all so yummy, I can't wait to eat one, haha.
Thanks again for all your kind words and support!
Thursday, January 13, 2011 12:02:36 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
Alright, though I should be posting one of the fabulous weddings I’ve shot over the last few months, I’m instead still fixated on recipes (I did mention that I love to cook, right?!). So stay with me, haha!
As many of you know, I lived for a year and a half in Italy with most of my time being spent in and around Florence. This is a dish I had a LOT while I was there. It’s incredibly typical of Tuscan cooking and northern Italian cuisine in general. And it’s about my favorite way to cook chicken. I’ve presented two ways to cook this recipe below, but there are endless variations of it. You can easily substitute any other kind of citrus for the lemon. Oranges also make a delicious chicken too. Italians would typically serve this meal with oven-baked diced potatoes and a spring mix salad with balsamic dressing.
Quick Dinner Option 1
- 3 large chicken breasts (about 8 oz each), sliced in half to make a total of 6 thinner chicken breasts that are about 4 oz each
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 T. dried rosemary or 2 T. fresh
- 1 t. dried sage or 1 T. fresh
- 1 large lemon
- 1 T. olive oil
Gently heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Fry for less than a minute, until the garlic is fragrant but not brown. Add the rosemary and sage and fry for another minute until fragrant. Add your chicken breasts and cook on both sides until browned and cooked. Zest and juice the lemon. When the chicken is done, pour the lemon juice over the chicken and toss in the lemon zest. Remove the chicken immediately from the pan and use the lemon juice to deglaze the pan and bring up all the browned bit on the bottom (if you can). Pour the lemon juice back over the chicken and serve. Each 4 oz chicken breast will have around 140-150 calories.
Plan Ahead Dinner Option 2
- 1 whole chicken
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 T. dried rosemary
- 2 t. dried sage
- 2 large lemons
- 1 T. olive oil
Zest your lemons and toss the lemon zest, garlic, rosemary, sage and olive oil into a blender or food processor. Process into a paste. Rub the mixture all over and inside of the whole chicken. I actually try to get it in between the skin and the meat of the chicken. Place the chicken onto a rack in a roasting pan and roast at 325 until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 (or so) in the thigh. This usually takes at least 2 hours. Once the chicken is done, remove from the oven and pour the juice from both lemons over the chicken. Cut and serve immediately. For a tasty (though not low-cal) treat, use the drippings in the roasting pan as a dipping sauce for bread and the chicken.
Here is a photo of the chicken breast preparation with winter squash and peas. It's a yummy meal with around 250 calories. It's really hard for me to feel like I'm "dieting" when I eat food like this, haha.
Friday, January 07, 2011 4:28:57 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
So many of you have asked for this recipe, so here you go!
First of all, don’t be daunted by this list of ingredients. This soup is simple, delicious and wonderfully healthy. This recipe also makes a TON. About 10 quarts of soup, so make sure you have a big pot. You can scale down the recipe if you’d like; just cut all the ingredients in half. But I like to make a lot and then freeze it in 2 cup containers. It freezes beautifully and allows you to have a pre-portioned, healthy, home-cooked lunch in a matter of minutes. When cooked, each cup of soup will have about 100 calories, tons of protein and fiber and lots of wholesome veggie goodness. Note that this chili will have a little heat/spiciness to it; not a ton, but a little. Most of the heat comes from the chili powder you choose, so keep that in mind. If you’re really concerned about the heat, omit the other types of peppers and just use lots of bell peppers. You can also make this dish vegetarian by omitting the meat and using 1 lb diced portabello mushrooms and veggie broth instead.
- 1 29 oz package Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Mix or 29 oz of dried beans of your choice.
- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 15 oz cans tomatoe puree (not sauce)
- 1 little can tomato paste
- ½ t. black pepper
- 12-15 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced
- 2 large onions, finely diced
- 4 T. New Mexico chili powder or chili powder of your choice. I like New Mexico chili powder because it has lots of flavor but only a little heat. You can usually find it in the Hispanic spice section of any grocery store that has a decent selection. Of course, any kind of chili powder will do. If you’re using a different kind of chili powder, you might want to start with just a tablespoon or two of chili powder and then keep adding it in until you think it tastes right.
- 1 t. cumin
- 1 lb super lean ground beef
- 1.5 lbs super lean ground turkey (look for lean ground turkey breast meat)
- 3 large fresh bell peppers, seeds and membranes removed, diced
- 2 large fresh Anaheim peppers, seeds and membranes removed, diced
- 3 fresh banana peppers (or sweet yellow peppers), seeds and membranes removed, diced
- 1-2 fresh poblano peppers (optional), seeds and membranes removed, diced. You can also add other peppers like jalapenos or serranos if you like more heat. Personally, I like to keep the chili somewhat mild so my kids will eat it.
- Beef boullion (enough to flavor 4 or 5 quarts of fluid). I recommend Tones beef broth base from Sam’s Club.
- 1 bag matchstick carrots or about 5 finely diced carrots
- 4 medium yellow or green zucchini, diced
- 2 cups frozen corn
Rinse the beans and sort through them to make sure there’s nothing icky in them. Then soak the beans overnight in a generous amount of water. Drain the soaking water and rinse the beans well. This is an important step if you want to have gas-free beans.
Put the beans into a large pot if you’re making the full recipe (at least a 15-quart pot) and cover them with water. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato paste, garlic, onion, chili powder, black pepper and cumin. DO NOT add any broth or anything with salt. This will make it so your beans won’t soften. Cook for about 1.5-2 hours or until the beans are soft. The time kinda depends on your beans and how long you let them soak beforehand, so don’t be surprised if this takes more or less time.
As your beans are cooking, brown the meats together in a large sauce pan and thoroughly drain any fat off of them. Once the beans are soft, add the meat, all the peppers and the carrots. You might need to add more water at this point, if you feel that your chili is too thick. In the end, you should have about 10 quarts of soup. Once your water to soup ratio is good, add beef boullion cubes or paste. I usually add enough to make about 4 quarts of broth, but it’s really up to you. Add it until you feel the taste is good. Cook the veggies for about 10 minutes or until their softish. Then add the zucchini and corn. The zucchini will cook quickly (in about 3 minutes), so I add it at the very end. Dish and serve! Yum!
Note: When cooking with tomatoes, you might need to adjust the salt-to-sugar ratio in your dish. Sometimes tomatoes have more or less sugar in them. Also, the cheaper the canned tomatoes, the more likely you will need to adjust the sugar. If your chili has flavor, but seems like it’s missing something, try adding a little sugar (like 2 T.) and then ½ t. salt. Keep adjusting until the dish has the right zing.
Thursday, January 06, 2011 1:44:36 PM (Mountain Standard Time, UTC-07:00) ( )
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who posted or emailed or FB'd me about my last post. You all brought tears to my eyes! Thank you so much!
Many people have asked me about what I eat and what else I'm doing to lose weight. So as I promised in my last post, I wanted to just describe what I've been doing. Let me just begin by saying that I'm not a dietitian nor do I have a degree in nutrition (though I don't have a degree in Photography either, haha), but I do have a basic understanding of most of the types of diets and weight loss regimes out there (South Beach, Adkins, Weight Watchers, etc.) So saying that, please note that I'm just sharing what I've done.
For starters, I know that weight loss is fairly straightforward. It's just a question of calories in versus calories out. Once you have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories, you will lose one pound of weight. What you eat can make a huge difference in your overall health, but a calorie is a calorie is a calorie despite what anyone else says. Even if you eat super healthy food, if you eat too much of it, you won't lose weight. And vice versa, you can eat a super unhealthy diet (like this guy) and still lose weight as long as you're eating fewer calories than your body burns. You won't be healthy, but you will lose weight.
So knowing this, I knew that I just needed to reduce my caloric intake. Of course, doing so isn't usually all that easy. Also, I'm not one of those people with a hyper metabolism who just massively overeats junk food. I've always had a relatively healthy diet (i.e. rarely drink soda, eat fast food maybe 4 times a year, never eat potato chips, probably haven't had a twinkie or other similar food in 20 years, etc.). I just have a slightly slower metabolism than normal which means that I fight tooth and nail for every pound that I lose. In looking at my current daily calorie intake in August (which was around 1800-2000 calories a day), I knew that I was going to have to drastically cut my calories in order to lose weight. I had cut my calories to 1400 in January 2010 and had tried to lose weight, but it just wouldn't really budge. So this time, I was determined to succeed.
So I decided to cut my calories down to 900-1000 a day. I know this seems drastic to some, but any more than that, and I just don't lose weight. My metabolism just isn't that fast. But so few calories a day just seems almost impossible to do for month after month. Here's what I know about my own body and weight loss:
1. My body will viciously hold onto weight if it feels that I am "starving."
2. I don't do well with food cravings if I'm feeling hungry.
3. I have a serious sweet tooth and love food in general. So dieting is hard if I feel that I'm "denying" myself yummy food.
What to do?
The first simple solution to problem 1 and 2 was to eat every 2 hours all day. If my body always had food to digest, then it wouldn't feel that I was starving. Also, with food always in my stomach, I wouldn't be hungry all the time. This would also help my metabolism and hopefully keep it elevated throughout the day, burning more calories.
The third problem I tackled head on. I LOVE cooking. I always have. It easily rivals photography as a passion for me. So I turned all my cooking energy into creating delicious, low calorie foods; foods that would leave me feeling like I had had a delicious treat. I also decided that NO food would be considered off limits. I could eat anything that I wanted. I just couldn't exceed 1000 calories a day. So if I wanted to blow all 1000 calories on a milk shake, I most certainly could, haha. However, if I want to have a full stomach all day and not have nasty cravings, then I need to choose low glycemic, low calorie, highly nutritious foods.
So here is a list of what I ate on Monday along with photos of the food. This is EXTREMELY typical of what I eat on a daily basis. (As a sidenote, I've also realized that I STINK at food photography . . . . definitely something to work on, haha).
8:00 am: Big bowl of Bob's Red Mill Oat Bran cereal with peaches and sugar-free maple syrup (150 calories)
10:00 am: Whole medium grapefruit smothered in powdered erythritol, my fav zero calorie sweetener . . . tastes like sugar, looks like sugar and is all natural. Zsweet is the brand I prefer. (70 calories)
12:00 pm: Super yummy, hearty, homemade 13 Bean Chili (2 cups) with a clementine orange. (230 calories)
2:00 pm: My non-coffee version of an almond mocha latte with foamed milk and 1/2 of a GoLean Crunchy Caramel Chocolate bar (I mentioned I have a sweet tooth, right?). (100 calories)
4:00 pm: This is the time of day that I'm always fighting the munchies, so this day I opted for something "snacky:" a 100-calorie bag of kettle popcorn. (100 calories)
6:00 pm: Tuscan Lemon-Garlic-Rosemary chicken with fresh winter squash and peas. It all tasted soooo much better than it looks. Yum! (250 calories)
And that was my Monday. I usually don't eat after 6:00 pm as I want to sleep on an empty stomach so my body will burn fat while I sleep. Final calorie count for the day: 900 calories
The one thing you will notice lacking from my day's food here is bread or really flour of any sort. Though I say that no foods are off-limits and I do feel that I can eat anything I want, I've generally cut out all bread and flour. That's been the hardest part, because I do love bread. But I had found that highly glycemic foods, like white bread, don't make me feel full and actually spike my appetite. So 20 minutes after eating a slice of white bread (which usually has around 100 calories), I would find myself feeling even hungrier and really, really craving more white bread. That effect in itself was motivation enough to stay away from white flour in general. By moving to whole grains, beans, lean protein and fresh produce, I've really helped to remove a lot of the food cravings. I'm planning on continuing to post my menus and recipes (like the chili and chicken from this post) for people who are interested in them.
In addition to my diet, I have also added exercise. I am under strict doctor's orders to NOT do anything that will be jarring to my lower spine due to a massive birth defect of my lower back, so running and such are off limits. But I do power walk, bike and do circuit training 6 days a week.
Anyway, that's just a little of what I've been doing. . . . . more goodness is to come!
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Nichole Van has repeatedly been labeled as a hot, new, up and coming photographer. As a Utah wedding photographer and a Utah
portrait photographer, she specializes in turning everyday life into art. Nichole loves expressing the unique beauty of
every client, creating artistic images that make people gasp when they see them.
As an international award-winning photographer, Nichole won the prestigious International 8x10 Portrait of the Year from
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) for 2007. Consequently, her international award winning photography
was featured in Rangefinder Magazine in June 2008. She has also taken First, Second and Third place honors from WPPI in other
international competitions for her child and family photography. Additionally, Nichole has received numerous Accolades of
Excellence and currently holds an Accolade of Photographic Mastery from WPPI.
In addition to her love for photography, Nichole loves teaching and enjoyed being English faculty at Brigham Young University
for nearly 10 years. As the best of both worlds, teaching photography to others is her passion. Nichole currently offers
international photography workshops focusing on helping others enhance creativity and artistry in their photos. Combining her
excellence in teaching with her photographic knowledge, Nichole’s Life as Art Workshops are quickly revamping industry standards
for photographic workshops.
Nichole lives in southern Utah County with her husband and three children. You can see her work at www.nicholeV.com.