TESTIMONIALS
Katie Rice: We had the absolute pleasure of having Nicole as our birth photographer and bonus doula for our youngest child's home birth, and we couldn't have been more thrilled. From the moment we met, her professionalism and warmth immediately put us at ease. She not only brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, but also a genuine kindness and compassion that made the entire birthing process feel truly magical.
Nicole's care and attention extended beyond just me; she was also amazing with our older child, providing reassurance and support during what could have been an overwhelming experience for them. And then the pictures and video– breathtaking doesn't even begin to describe them. Nicole’s incredible eye for detail, artistry, and sensitivity produced photos that are nothing short of stunning.
It's not often that you come across someone as dedicated as Nicole, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have had her by our side. Without a doubt, if we ever need photos taken in the future, Nicole will be our first choice. Thank you Nicole, for your incredible work and for being such an integral part of our family's story <3
Tiffany Angell : Before Nicole, I had never had professional photos taken of my family. I was nervous about the cost, about what to wear, even how I would look in the photos. In 2018, I knew instantly that I wanted her to photograph our wedding. I had been following her on Facebook for a while and loved everything about her style of all the different genres of photography. From wedding, to Birth Photography, to family I loved that she always captured the rawness of motherhood and family. My family and I have since done 10+ different shots with Nicole. From our family engagement photos to our wedding to a Mommy and Me session with my youngest to our yearly family photos. My kids love her. My husband doesn't feel uncomfortable or awkward while we are in a session, they even have inside jokes! She always seems to find the greatest shots that we didn't even know we wanted. She was there for the birth of my 4th child and held my hand as she text my husband to run the halls with our toddler, ensuring he did not miss it! And she has somehow mastered capturing the pre-teen and toddler phase we were in for far too long! My kids have grown up before her lens, she knows them and they know her. They feel comfortable around her. My youngest calls her "coles" and talks about her all the time! I am thankful, not only for the photos that we will cherish for forever but for the friend that I have found to be by my side.
Jessica V- Nicole is a gem. She has an eye for beautiful, thoughtful and moving birth photography. Knowing this baby would be our last, we invited her to document our home birth. She was the first person I called when I thought I was in labor, as she had stressed to me that she would rather be called too early than potentially miss the birth. She was right! My labor lasted an hour and she was the first one to arrive at our house. I was blown away by the tender moments she captured of my daughter, partner, and dog during labor and after the birth. We were in a dark bathroom for the birth, and we were so focused on labor/birth that none of us noticed the flash on the camera. I treasure the documentation of our daughter’s birth, and many friends have commented (upon viewing the gallery) that they wept.
Nicole has a wonderful and unobtrusive energy that immediately puts you at ease and we were comfortable with her presence at a very vulnerable moment in your life. Her excitement at attending a birth is contagious. We are so lucky to have her in Madison. You won’t be disappointed.
Bethany Choe: Nicole has been a sweet and consistent presence in our lives as we started parenthood. She was flexible when I struggled to decide what aspects of pregnancy and birth were most important for me to have captured, she was a calm and reassuring presence while we went through a very difficult four-day induction, and has overall been someone I've looked forward to meeting with time and time again. So far we've had such a dreamy experience with her during a breastfeeding mini and a family session right after my son's first birthday. Nicole's photos are precious to us; they reflect challenging times as well as the joy of growing as a family. When I daydream about our future, I often wonder what it will look like through Nicole's lens and am excited to continue working with her and having her in our lives.
Lindsey Waydick: I remember the first time I saw a birth photo that nicole took- I was in tears and just knew I had to have her be there for my next birth! After a long awaited labor, she was there right away and not only captured everything, she was also one of the biggest supports during that time. Nicole is a warm hug and your biggest cheerleader when you need it most. After a somewhat traumatic birth and delivery/NICU stay, Nicole was one of the first people to greet us when we got back home and those are still some of my most precious photos to look back on. She was also checking in on me, feeding me information and support, and reminding me how everything would all be okay.
Thankfully for my next birth, things were much “smoother” and faster too. I literally have footage from my ring camera showing Nicole running into our house to make sure she made it on time and didn’t miss a thing!!
I cry almost every time I get to look back on those pictures and am so grateful to have them, so many things that I may have blacked out or not remembered if it weren’t for her. And once again, being an amazing support and friend through it all.
Since then we have gone back to Nicole for any life events and family photos each year. I always worry that the kids weren’t behaving or smiling enough and yet almost every photo we get back is just stunning. She makes us look so good! Plus we actually have lots of fun while doing these photos, laughing and making it relaxed/real life.
My whole house is filled with canvases and photos all from Nicole and they have made our home a beautiful place to look back on all those memories.
Nicole is so much more than a photographer, she’s a friend, she’s a strong woman and someone I feel so lucky to have in our lives and be there to capture it all!
Kelsey Swenson: Nicole has been taking pictures of our family for the last 5 years and has captured our growth; from babies being engaged, to adding 4 legged members, pregnancy and becoming a mom and dad. She always pulls through on an amazing location when I can’t think of a place for pictures. She always takes her time with us during a session making sure we never feel rushed and assures we have more than enough pictures with multiple different poses. Nicole manages to capture everything I think of and then more, poses I didn’t even know I wanted but realize they are some of my favorite. Every time we get pictures taken I’m early awaiting my sneak peaks and never disappointed with the end results. We have pictures that we can cherish for the rest of our life and always look forward to working with Nicole!
Emily Hutchinson: Working in labor and delivery I had seen Nicole and her work and was amazed at how well she captured the beauty and rawness of labor and early postpartum.
When it came time for my own family photos I knew we needed to use Nicole. She is flexible, approachable and pays close attention to the small details we don’t want to forget. Her images are realistic, natural and not over edited. She makes my husband (who’s not so much into photos) feel comfortable and plenty silly to keep my toddler entertained and happy. Sessions are a perfect mix of guided activities/poses and candid shots. I always tell her she’s a magician when we get our galleries back!
Paige Boozell: When I first met Nicole, I was a single mama of a toddler. We met at a park for a breastfeeding mini and got totally eaten alive by mosquitoes - she made me laugh and feel at ease and totally captured my sweet, shy toddler’s personality.
Fast forward a few years, I got engaged to the man of my dreams and I knew Nicole was the person I wanted to document our wedding. Head over to the Oak and Ivy page to see the magic Nicole and Shawn created on our wedding day!
About six months later, I needed new pictures of my growing boys, and who else would I call, except Nicole! I was more nervous to see these pictures - after the session I wasn’t so sure we had gotten any really good shots, but, silly me, of course Nicole did again. Pure magic.
By the time I got pregnant with my third, Nicole felt like more of a friend and I knew I wanted her to document some part of this next journey. She came and took newborn photos with us at home and there are no words to express how grateful I am that she was able to capture that hazy, newborn fog of my older boys loving on their little brother and the tired bliss that is postpartum.
Every room in my house has pictures taken by Nicole and I will forever and always recommend Nicole to anyone and everyone looking for a photographer. She is not only a photographer, but an artist, a miracle worker, a friendly face, a calming presence, truly a treasure.
Gina Kutz: We love working with Nicole for our family photos!
I love that she always captures the moments, the facial expressions and the joy of each age and stage for my kids with each of their individual personalities.
The photos are always exactly what I want them to be. When I am selecting outfits and envisioning the types of photos that I want, I am always so happy when I get my photos link and see that Nicole has captured everything I wanted and that her talent is so in tune with my vision of what I wanted to encapsulate. Yearly family photos are an absolute necessity to me because we will never get the chance to go back in time to capture these moments and stages of our family growing and living our life.
Brittany Kohrt: Nicole has been our family photographer for many years now. Her talent for capturing people, personalities and those small precious details are complimented by her kindness and fun personality. She has a creative mind that is showcased in the results. We look forward to our Day in the Life session with her every year!
Allison Lynch: "I first met Nicole while doing a breastfeeding mini session. She perfectly captured my beautiful and funny toddler nursing experience. Little did I know that Nicole would soon become a huge part of my life. I hired Nicole as my birth photographer for my second birth. After experiencing a traumatic first birth, I knew I wanted to document the second since births are so deeply transformative for a family. Nicole soon turned into a friend that was cheering me on as I reached 42 weeks. On my son’s birth day, Nicole was my eyes. By having her there to document the experience, I could relax and get into labor land. She always had that extra hand to hold and I never felt like I was having my picture taken. My son’s birth was the most amazing experience and I’m so glad to have those pictures to look back on and notice all the things I would have forgotten. Nicole captured the very moment my heart was healed. So when I was pregnant with my third and final baby, I knew Nicole needed to be there. Nicole has a gift of both supporting families and taking breathtaking photos. I’ve found my photographer for life, but more importantly, I’ve found a friend who supports me in new motherhood and shows me through photos how beautiful this life is."
Cody O'Claire : My experience with Nicole as a birth photographer is an amazing one. My initial thoughts of having a birth photographer was more of an excitement for my wife, and not for myself. I figured there would just be some great photos. Not to mention, quite a bit of money spent for these photos.
Not only were there great photos taken but also a sense of calmness and reassurance was provided. Nicole's experience in the birthing scene is evident, in the calming words and with tips along the way. She felt more like a doula than a birth photographer. She was able to help calm my wife when I didn't know what to do or say. She would walk over and put her hands on my wife's shoulder, and it was amazing to see my wife's entire body relax. I would have never known to do that. Now thinking about it, she would do the same to me once in a while. She would put a hand to my back and let me know this is all normal. It helped me stay calm as well.
She was with us early in the morning(midnight-ish) keeping my wife company while everyone else slept, and stayed with us until long after our son was here the next night. If I would have truly known, what having a birth photographer was, I would have done this all with each of my other children. This experience was well worth the money, and with everything we got, it was extremely priceless and money well spent. Having Nicole there as a birth coach was well worth the money in itself, the beautiful photos were just a bonus. Thank you for everything Nicole. My wife and I both feel we have gained a great friend through all of this as well. You are amazing at what you do.