We are so excited to announce today’s guest judge!  Nicole Cook of Nicole Cook Photography is our guest judge this week and she is also one of our fabulous speakers for Conference 12!

Nicole is a senior photographer in Northern California and she loves to give her seniors a model experience in their sessions.  Her work has a fashion and editorial edge to it due to her experience in fashion photography before she specialized in high school seniors.

Nicole is joining us in Miami at Conference 12 to talk about how to work with models and give us tips on working with agencies and more!  We are so excited to have her as a speaker and super stoked to have her as a guest judge this week!

Be sure to share your senior photos by posting on our Facebook wall as well as on Instagram and tag @seniorologie and use the hashtag #seniorologiespotlight.  Nicole will be viewing all the photos posted by Friday, September 30 and we will announce the top three on Saturday on the blog.  The winner will be our Facebook timeline cover for the week.

Now let’s meet Nicole….

Tell us a little about yourself…Nicole Cook is a portrait photographer in Northern California specializing in photographing high school senior girls who want a fun and unique model-for-a-day experience. Before finding her passion for working with teens, she pursued fashion photography and worked alongside the editors of magazines such as Florum Fashion, Bay Fashion, Gastronomique En Vogue and Fit Aphrodite to photograph fashion editorials and a fitness magazine cover. Her shift to portrait photography has earned her four magazine covers for Senior Style Guide, Modern Teen Style, Lemonade and Lenses and CHIC Magazine, as well as numerous editorials. Her work was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by an international panel of judges at WPPI, and she’s honored to have been named Top 25 Teen Photographers and a Leading Legend by Senior Style Guide Magazine for two years. Locally, Nicole is an agency approved photographer for a professional modeling agency in Sacramento, which selected her as a partner for projects involving teens, and has been a photographer for Sacramento Fashion Week for the past few years. When not working, Nicole loves spending time with her sweet husband, spunky little boy, and cute little puppy. 

How long have you been in business?  7 years

What do you love most about photographing seniors?  Senior year is one of the biggest transitions of a person’s life, and I love being able to capture seniors at their best so they can always remember that feeling of confidence before they set off for college and adulthood. And of course I love the way their faces light up when they first see their images, and the tears in their parents’ eyes when their child is perfectly captured – that’s what keeps me going!

What’s in your camera bag?  Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 70-200 2.0L II
Canon 135 2.0L
Canon 50 1.4

Favorite type of location for a senior shoot?  I love shooting near flowers!

What is one tip you can share regarding senior photography?  Tailor each session to your client and make sure their poses feel natural to them and are representative of their personalities. If your client is uncomfortable in any way it’ll show in the images, so make sure you help them feel comfortable and confident and you’ll both be happier with the results!