Photographing my 100th Wedding-  A Perfect New Orleans Wedding in the French Quarter!

Plus it’s My Wedding Anniversary Today!

This weekend was a huge milestone for me as I photographed my 100th wedding!  It’s hard to believe I have photographed so many weddings in the past 5 years, but it excites me to think what my next 100 will be like..hopefully more destinations such as Hawaii & Paris, and more creative ways to showcase my art such as with the fusion of photography and video.   Lauren & Seth’s wedding was perfect for my 100th with a beautiful intimate ceremony in Jackson Square and a bride and groom full of emotion and love.  Lauren had all kinds of unique details and surprises in store for her guests including a fun New Orleans 2nd line parade through the French Quarter.  I was so happy Lauren & Seth chose New Orleans for their destination wedding, and that they found me so I was able to celebrate this milestone and their special day with them. Their wedding also fell on the same weekend as mine exactly two years ago.  On March 30, 2008 I was staying in the French Quarter for my own wedding and did a photo shoot in Jackson Square before heading off to the ceremony.  Unfortunately, my husband had to stay in Denver and work but we will be going out to dinner tonight to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary.   A toast to lots more years of love, weddings, & photography!!  xoxoxo

With the weather finally starting to warm up its time for portraits – maternity, babies, seniors, children, families, models, and even pets – you name it I’ve done it! The portrait section of my website is in desperate need of updating (its been on my to do list for 3 years now!), so I figured for now I needed to get more samples on my blog.
Below is a book, or album, I recently had printed of different outdoor and studio portrait photo sessions I have done over the past few years. Flip through the slide show below if you want to see this portrait portfolio, or even better set up a consultation with me in person so you can see the quality of the album, touch the pages, and feel how awesome this fuzzy leather cover is!
I’m also trying out a new slide show program that creates these cool flip pages, so please let me know if you have any issues viewing the flip book.

New Orleans…the gothic city of romance & grunge is a perfect place for a Trash the Dress style photo shoot. The scene was perfect…a bride in an antique wedding dress, amongst the grime of the French Quarter, the beauty of the architecture, & oak trees lit up by old street lights. Frenchmen St., the locals’ Bourbon St….without the strip clubs & cheesy DJ’s…with extra soul and character….my favorite place to meet…and a perfect backdrop. The sunlight dropped fast, but with the amazing ISO capabilities of my Nikon D700 camera, low light and night time photography becomes a welcome challenge. Thank you Michelle for going all out on this shoot, with the antique lace veil and feather eyelashes to top it off. If you want to see more pictures from this photo shoot and other trash the dress style shoots, please go to my website and click on “Sexy & Fun Gallery.” Whether it’s the day after your wedding, your 2 year anniversary, or just a fun shoot in your mom’s 1970’s wedding dress, trash the dress photo shoots are a great way to get that dress out of the closet and shown off like it should be! And of course you don’t have to literally “trash” the dress…that’s just become the modern term for a post wedding day bridal photo shoot. With no ceremony to rush off to or formal pictures left to take, the bride becomes free to relax and do as she wishes…or dares.
Enjoy!

Last week I was dragged kicking and screaming to Vegas…OK I’m lying.   Who wouldn’t want to go to WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International)?   It is the biggest annual convention and trade show for photographers in the US, and with the amount of international photographers I met, possibly even worldwide!   All the big celebrity photographers were there from Dennis Reggie to Gary Fong, as well as just about every photography vendor from Adorama to Zookbooks.   I’m so excited about all the new ideas and lessons I came home with which will really expand my offerings to my clients.  One concept widely talked about was the integration of video into DSLR cameras.  As soon as I found out a few months ago that Nikon’s new D300s had a video mode I started saving up for one.  And while myself and the other video inspired photographers I talked to do not really have any desire to switch over to videography, its just a new cool feature that we can implement into our creative offerings.   Currently the audio and video capabilities with DSLR cameras are really poor compared to what a pro video camera can do.  You also can not capture both video and photos simultaneously, so please don’t ask me to shoot your wedding video too, but once I get the hang of this I can’t wait to see what I can come up with.  If you’re curious to see what these cameras can do so far, scroll down to watch my first attempt at shooting a video…it will get better I promise.

Above – An intriguing Boudoir photography workshop.

Below – The WPPI convention had me up before sunrise every morning with meetings and workshops that went late into the night…but the last night in town was celebrated by a party hosted by Pictage at Studio 54.   That’s me at the bottom with 2 of my favorite Denver photographers, Happy & Tricia.

Check out my first attempt to create a video with with my new camera.

This bridal show, or wedding preview event, sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun and a great place to talk to wedding vendors and get ideas for your wedding day! I will not have a booth there, but I am a sponsor of the show and will be there myself to check it out. If you see me please don’t be shy.  This wedding preview event is taking place next weekend at Infinity Park and I have an extra pair of tickets. If you would like a free pair of tickets simply become a fan of my Facebook Fan Page, and I’ll give them to the first person to post on my wall that they want free tickets to the wedding preview event!

Do you want to win an amazing night with your closest friends & amazing pictures to remember it by?

One lucky bride to be will win photography coverage by Nicole Nichols Photography for your Bachelorette Party! Includes your choice of either a hotel room & champagne for a Boudoir style party OR if you have your own unique idea for a fun bachelorette party, lets hear it!

To register simply become a Facebook fan of Nicole Nichols Photography & click on the tab “Win a Bachelorette Party” for details.  If you are not on Facebook then leave a comment below and I will email you the details.  Hurry & register today, once 100 people register the contest will close!