Contemporary Photography, Fort Collins

When Nicole Joelle's parents placed a slim, pink 110 camera into her 6-year-old hands, it was love at first sight. As she watched her first photos materialize underneath the chemicals of her 7th-grade darkroom, she knew her life would revolve around her passion. And it has. Since graduating from the Art Institute of Colorado, Nicole (or Nikki to her friends) has captured intimate images of families and young couples at Contemporary Photography while striking a subtle balance between her subjects and their environment. Family portraits pop out against a simple black background or studio setting, while engagement photos travel to sentimental locales to pick up the textured exterior of a red-brick wall or the peeling paint on an old storefront. At Contemporary Photography, Nicole presents a distinctly modern and mature take on boudoir sessions, framing skin and lace in soft folds of studio lighting. Her photo studio also hosts workshops with trained instructors, helping gets students past questions like "When should I use flash?" and "How do I Photoshop the lens cap out of my self-portrait?"