Atlanta Fashion Photographer, Portrait Photographer, Atlanta Georgia

Last Monday, my Honey-guy (aka….husband) took me to Sayulita Mexico for our nineteen year anniversary. Yes, you heard me correct….nineteen years. It seems crazy when that number rolls off my tongue. That’s more than half of my life! I am so thankful to be married my best friend.

We met Shawn’s sister Michelle and her husband Mark there too, and celebrated Michelle’s birthday on 11-11-11. So we had a double celebration!  We had a blast catching up and did a ton of fun things. We surfed, snorkeled, did yoga, laid on the beach/pool, ate and laughed a lot. It’s so important to take time for you and your spouse or significant other to reconnect, relax, and play.

I definitely see a trip back to Sayulita in the future.

This is a lemon from one of the lemon trees at the home we stayed in and a view from the third floor overlooking the city.

The picture of the spikes is security measure to protect the home we were staying at. Amazing architecture!

It’s already November and that means Christmas is coming up in just a couple of weeks! Now’s a great time to plan your holiday cards and Karen Nickel Photography has some beautiful design options for you this year.

For all of you who want holiday photo cards, I’ve posted some of my best card templates below.  I have two options available:

~First option using your own pictures.

1. Find some of your favorite pictures.
2. Pick your favorite template below.
3. Call me to put your card together.
4. Pick up your finished cards, stamp, mail, DONE.

Pricing: For 25 cards will cost you $85 (postcard style), each additional 25 cards add $50. Call me for specific pricing on tri-fold as they are a little more expensive.

~Second option having Karen Nickel Photography take your Christmas photos

1. Schedule a session with me.
2. Pick  some of your favorite pictures from your session.
3. Choose your favorite template below.
4. Pick up your finished cards, stamp, mail, DONE.

Pricing: Normal session fees apply, 25 cards will cost you $85, each additional 25 cards add $50.  Call me for specific pricing on tri-fold as they are a little more expensive.

It’s off your list. Whew! Wasn’t that easy?

Now you have even more time to think about holiday shopping…

Email Karen Nickel at Karen@karennickelphotography.com to order custom holiday photo cards or give her a call at 678-773-2562. Make sure you mention which template you like best…

New holiday cards templates are coming your way on Monday. Here’s a little look to wet your appetite.

Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years is almost here…Don’t miss out on sharing a little bit of love with friends and family over the holidays. Give Karen Nickel a call at 678.773.2562.

If you are a senior, this is the year you will make some life changing decisions and experiencing some of the most amazing memories. This is not the end, but the beginning of your life.

This year my son, Ocean, is a senior,  and I have a huge amount of mixed emotions. I am excited and scared at the same time. He will be making life altering decisions over the course of the next 9 months (oh my goodness, that’s just crazy).

Sorry, every time I actually think or talk about it, my heart skips a beat. I seriously do not know where the last 17+ years have gone. In a blink of an eye, it is all gone. I’m a little scattered, sorry, back to decisions…

Ocean will be taking all the information and data he has collected from all his experiences in his lifetime, guidance he has received from my husband and I, school lessons, what he’s seen and heard from family, friends, and media (unfortunately media), and he will put it all together and come up with his own opinions (I believe I just wrote a run-on sentence. lol).

It is a bit nerve racking for  me because now I have to sit back, listen and allow my son to make his own decisions. However, if he asks me to give my opinion, you better believe I will. I truly am overwhelmed with joy for Ocean and am so proud he is my son. He has grown up to be a wonderful young man ( I know, I am a bit partial, as all Moms are).

Moms, a great gift for your seniors (and yourself) is getting senior portraits done. These aren’t your typical senior pictures, but ones that truly show your son/daughter’s personality.

What does your son/daughter LOVE to do? What’s their passion? What’s important to them? I want to get to know your child and really see their personality shine.

Give me a call and shoot me an email and we can set up your son or daughter’s senior portrait session.

My number is 678.773.2562 or email me at karen@nickelweddings.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

This summer I am teaching my son, North, how to photograph and edit images.

My friend and fellow photographer, Marisa Rodriguez, owner of Zuri Images, set up a ‘Not’ wedding with some friends because she is training two guys (Sean and Jake) to photograph weddings. We wanted to show these kids different sides of photography. Marisa is a more traditional photographer and me, well, I am not traditional at all, so we thought it would be perfect.

Marisa set up traditional posed group shots, I did my thing and then Sean, Jake, and North would be able to see what they liked best. And then they’d have the chance to set up their owns shots.

We gave then guidance when needed and encouraged them for a job well done. We did the same with a couples session, which was hands down, my favorite.

North did an amazing job! He paid close attention, took charge, joked with the group, and really did an awesome job. So proud

Oh yes, Sean and Jake did well too.  I am going to share with you a few of North’s best shots. Thank you Seth and Ashley. You were great!

Karen Nickel Photography…Would love to hear from you! 678.773.2562

I have been waiting patiently to meet Ryker.

Mom and Dad had planned ahead. On and off the date had changed and kept everyone on their toes. Ryker was finally born June 21st,  to Jason and Trish of Atlanta GA.

I spent the afternoon with both Ryker and his family. Ryker was such a treat to be around. He was a complete gentleman. He was so sleepy and barely made a noise.

There’s nothing like holding a newborn…such a miracle. Thank you Trish and Jason for sharing your sweet little guy with me.

If you’re about to have a little one, give me a call at 678.773.2562. I would love to hear from you!

What is beauty?

Is it a sound?  Is it a person’s looks? Maybe even a familiar smell? Is it even possible to define beauty?  A dictionary can give a basic definition,  but can we as human beings say what is or isn’t beautiful?  No one opinion of beauty is completely the same, so here is my perspective.

. beauty is loving

. beauty is a genuine glance between two people

. beauty is the sound of the waves crashing against the ocean beach

. beauty is the sound of the wind blowing through the branches of a tree

. beauty is birds singing, as though they have an audience

. beauty is two people in a room, no words said, being comfortable with the silence that is shared

. beauty is the flare of sunshine in an image, it’s magnificent

. beauty is the smell of a flower

. beauty is laughter

. beauty is tears shared between friends, happy or sad

. beauty is listening to music alone that was once enjoyed with a friend, bringing you back to that very moment in time of togetherness

. beauty is a shared  memory

. beauty is holding hands, an embrace,  a kiss

. beauty is hearing a person’s hopes and dreams

I am dedicating this blog to my mother-in-law, Aurea. She is truly a beautiful woman, inside and out. She finds delight in the simple things in life.  She is one of the strongest, most courageous, loving,  kind-hearted, and encouraging woman I know. Thank you for being a part of our family’s life. You rock!

Here are some images I took while visiting Aurea and my sister-in-law, Michelle in CA.

A few fun shots I took for my son Ocean who LOVES cars.

Karen Nickel Photography~karen@nickelweddings.com~678.773.2562 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 678.773.2562 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Hey world, it’s been a while since I last wrote, but I am glad to be back. I recently went out to California to visit my sister-in-law, her family, and my mother-in-law (who was also visiting).

You see, almost every year my husband and I each take a small vacation. Shawn, with his guy friends and me with my girl friends, and/or family. This year I was blessed to be able to visit some family, as well as, get some much needed beach time. Typically this mini vacation lasts 3-5 days, however, my husband is a very generous man, so he booked my flights and tacked on a few extra days, 9 to be exact. That’s right, 9 days in CA.

While I was there, I got to enjoy catching up with my family (and seeing my niece River!), hot yoga, beach time, hiking, visiting a couple wineries, good food, and a few hours of good old playing around taking fun pictures!

Below you will get to see my beautiful sister-in-law, Michelle, who is expecting her second baby girl. It was such a treat to be able to photograph Michelle at such an amazing location beside the Carpenteria beach, in CA. Michelle was willing to try anything to ‘get the shot’. She totally rocked it!!!

If you are looking for a unique photography experience, I’d love to hear from you. Karen Nickel Photography @ 678.773.2562 or karen@nickelweddings.com.

Happy New Year to all my blog followers! Hope you all had a wonderful 2010. I was so busy (especially over the pre-holiday months)with all my amazing clients that I kind of fell off the face of blogs for the last couple of months. Please except my apologies!

However, on the bright side of things, I am back! I will be sharing some of work over the next couple of posts (wish I could share all, but there is just not enough time in the day). I’ll start with a fun shoot I did in the month of December.

Kid’s photography at its best

Children are so much fun to photograph, especially when they are in their own little worlds, and could care less that someone is staring at them. I had the pleasure of watching these three siblings play around and do what kids do best, pretend.

First of all, let’s rewind just a little bit. I was contacted by Ryan, the father of these three, and he wanted to have a photo session for his children, so he could give it as a gift to his wife (Katie) for Christmas. I know, super thoughtful, right?! I was blown away by his thoughtfulness!

How do you do that, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. While his wife was out of town with some friends for the weekend, Ryan decided it was the best time to pull this off. I will have to say, Ryan came very prepared. He had at least 2-3 outfits for each of the kids, a big toy car, a blanket, some toys that each child would enjoy, and a lot of energy.

During the portrait session, Ryan was texting back and forth with his wive’s friend, to make sure she would not get suspicious of him (Ryan) not being home when she pulled in the driveway. He was very successful in doing just that, and surprised Katie with all the images framed (in vintage style frames that Ryan himself had finished). On Christmas morning Katie woke up to a house full of  framed images of her three babies That image makes me smile.

Meet the Hoehn family!

The first image you see, where all of the kids are smiling, well, Ryan was behind me, being a Dad, making funny faces and being silly. Props to Ryan!

Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

To experience Kid’s Photography at it’s best, please contact Karen Nickel Photography at 678.773.2562.

Here is a peek at a fun photo shoot I did last week. I think the best part about it was the laughter and the fun this family had. You could tell they were constantly enjoying life, laughing and playing together.