Happy New Year!!
2020 was not an easy year for small businesses (or really anyone), and I know of a few photography studios that unfortunately had to shut their doors. I can’t blame them, times are tough, and if I didn’t have 14 yrs invested into my business, I may have been considering it too. But creating memories & empowering women with photography is my life passion and I’m NOT going anywhere!
2020 Selfies while working
Reflecting on 2020…Surviving & Striving
2021 had a rocky start. But now that my kids are back in school (in-person!!!), I finally had some time to reflect on the previous year. Yes, most of my plans and trips were cancelled. Yes, there was a pandemic & political & social unrest. Yes, it was a ROUGH year! But there was still lots of amazing things that came out of 2020. We were given the blessing of more time to focus on what matters. The world had to re-prioritize what was really important. Many people were inspired to try something new or leave something behind that no longer benefitted them. Perhaps you discovered a little more about yourself…or that person you were stuck in quarantine with for days on end.
Weddings Cancelled, Virtual & Outdoor Photo Sessions Encouraged
ALL of the weddings I had booked for 2020 were cancelled. I also had to shut down my boudoir studio for a few months. Yet, I still was able to photograph lots of amazing people this year. I did my first (and hopefully last) remote photo shoot during the shutdown. See how I did that on this blog post from April – Virtual Photo Shoot.
Starting the Year with Love & Romance
I didn’t have any weddings to photograph in 2020. However, I started 2020 with a couples anniversary photo session on New Years Day in Wash Park. And then in October I had a fall engagement session in a gorgeous Aspen grove in the Colorado foothills. Its always a pleasure to document love, but even more so when the world feels like its full of hate.
Taking the Time to Treat Yourself with Boudoir Photography
In 2020 I refueled my passion for empowering woman, by making them feel brave & beautiful with boudoir photography. I had quite a few fabulous females that came to me for many various reasons. Some were ready to see themselves from a different perspective, ready to embrace their sexuality & celebrate their bodies. Others woman simply wanted to feel beautiful. Some ladies wanted a unique fun experience, or to create a sexy gift for their husband or significant other. With indoor businesses closed for a few months and then makeup artists not able to perform services for even longer, I had to postpone lots of sessions or take them outside. I did love the opportunity to do some outdoor boudoir photo shoots. I certainly plan to continue that option this summer. Here are just a few pictures from some of my boudoir photography sessions in 2020.
Denver Shuts Down & Art Brings Messages of Hope
With businesses closed & nowhere to go I spent a lot of time just walking around my South Broadway neighborhood near downtown Denver. Usually this street is bustling with traffic so it was quite eerie to see all the bars and boutiques boarded up. It did make me smile to see all the artwork that adorned the walls. It gave me something to look forward to as every time I walked down South Broadway I would find new graffiti art to photograph and new words of wisdom and encouragement to read.
Covid-19 street art when businesses shut down in Denver, photography of 2020 by Nicole Nichols Photography
Covid graffiti art during lockdown in Denver, CO, pictures by Nicole Nichols Photography
A New Way of Life & Standing up with BLM
With a pandemic it definitley took getting used to a new way of life. On this photo below instead of celebrating Easter Sunday with a normal large group of friends we stayed home by ourselves and tried on our first masks. My kids learned a lot this year…well maybe not so much in “remote school” but there were a lot of other social & political events to open their eyes to, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.
supporting Black Lives Matter in downtown Denver & our family showing off our first masks on Easter Day.
With all our travel plans cancelled, it made room for lots of camping trips!
With all of our out of state trips & flights cancelled we took advantage of our gorgeous state of Colorado and my family & I took many road trips & spent quite a few weekends camping in the great outdoors.
enjoying the great outdoors in Colorado during one of our camping trips
Colorado adventures in nature with the family 2020
sharing a lake with a moose in Colorado during one of our camping trips
enjoying the great outdoors in Colorado during one of our camping trips
A Year of Outdoor Adventures
I have been saying for years that I wanted to do more mountain bike rides, more camping, and more hiking. Well, with not many other options available, I certainly can say I did a lot more outdoor everything in 2020! My kids rode their bikes on streets for the first time, as they were shut-down to allow for more pedestrian traffic. My daughter learned how to roller-skate & climb trees. I still can’t get my 4yr old to ride a pedal bike, but he’s certainly mastered his Strider bike.
getting outdoors with lots of bike rides in Colorado
lots of hiking with the kids as we get outdoors as much as possible during summer 2020
lots of bike rides, road trips, & hiking in CO & Utah with the family 2020
sunrise on a camping trip in Utah
I NEVER expected to be a “Homeschool” Teacher
My kids also had to learn how to use a computer and I had to learn patience as I tried my best to manage their online schedules and teach them the best I could. I never would have thought a 4 & 6yr old would be doing classes online…or at least attempted to. This certainly was not a highlight of the year, but a challenge that I had to document.
trying to manage remote school with a pre-schooler & 1st grader
My End of Year “Thank You”
Even though I had to take a step back from my business this year to take over as “teacher” when schools shut-down, I managed in the late nights & weekends to keep afloat and grow where I could. One thing I was able to focus on in 2020 was my girls only boudoir FB Group. I watched my group grow from 100 to nearly 500 as I created this safe, fun, and inspiring safe space for women to connect. It was so nice to have this group when we all needed a place to socialize and have adult conversations. Below is a clip from a FB live I recorded on NYE, chatting about my FB Group & thanking my members for joining me through the hardships of 2020. If you’re a woman and not yet in the group, please join us, I would love to have you in there!
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