We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Capri Ouellette. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole Capri below.

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

A few years ago while I was living in the San Diego area, I decided to attend a pop-up holiday market featuring a handful of local small business vendors. I was still fairly new to the area and I didn’t know a ton of people. I took my daughter to the market with me and we walked around, admired all of the beautiful products, and chatted with the vendors.

The last vendor table was a local boutique shop in Encinitas, CA, called Thread Spun. The shop carries a curated selection of sustainably-produced goods and apparel from around the world. Thread Spun’s owner, Heidi, had a beautiful set up with the most thoughtful selection of goods. As we talked, I could tell she was an amazingly genuine person. After we chatted, I told her about my business and suggested we should connect if she was ever looking for photos. I was nervous to put myself out there, but I kept thinking about how amazing it would be to have a client like Thread Spun – work that was focused on lifestyle photos of clothing & goods that are not only beautiful, but also have a beautiful story behind them.

After meeting at the market, Heidi said she was definitely interested in doing a photo shoot, but life got busy for both of us. We stayed in touch over the next few months. One day, she contacted me and said “let’s get this scheduled!” I was beyond thrilled! Before I even drafted her contract for booking, I was already dreaming up the look & feel, brainstorming, and collecting images for the inspiration boards. It felt so great to work with a client who was giving me complete creative freedom. During the weeks leading up to the photo shoot I couldn’t contain my excitement, I created several mood boards, sourced models, gathered props, organized the shot list, and prepared for the four-hour lifestyle photo shoot.

Photo shoot day came, and we set up in Heidi’s front yard. We had beautiful natural lighting, the models were beyond stunning, the props were great, and the setting worked out even better than anticipated. The hours of planning and preparation paid off. Everything seemed to just flow smoothly and the photos definitely ended up reflecting that vibe! I often think back on this day, and am so proud of the work we created. Mostly, Heidi’s trust in me meant everything – I’m so thankful for her and this experience!

Nicole, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Creativity has always been a huge part of my life. My mother taught my sister and I about art from a very young age. She showed us how to make crafts & projects of all sorts. We experimented with many different mediums – paint, paper collage, fabric, pencil, found objects, etc.

I also grew up admiring my father’s film camera and boxes of old photographs. After taking a black & white film photography class in high school, I decided to continue pursuing my love for art through college. I graduated from The University of Hartford Art School in West Hartford, CT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design & Photography.

My husband and I moved to Washington, DC where I had the opportunity to work as a Graphic Designer for Discovery Communications, The ONE Campaign, and Ogilvy & Mather. It was at the advertising agency, Ogilvy, where I developed my skills in content creation, social media marketing campaigns, and photography for big brand clients such as Five Guys, The Peace Corps, and Hennessy.

After living in DC for almost five years, my husband (a U.S. Marine) and I packed up our apartment, I left my job at the agency, and we drove across the country to our new duty station – Camp Pendleton, CA in San Diego County. At that time, I was pregnant with our first daughter and felt so thankful that I’d be able to stay at home with her full-time.

It was only a couple weeks after settling into our new life in California that I decided to start my own photography & graphic design business. I am beyond grateful for my husband’s support and encouragement of my entrepreneurship, my creativity, and most importantly my desire to balance it all while being a stay-at-home mama!

I love working with both brands & families. For my brand clients, I offer photography & graphic design services. My photography work includes lifestyle & product content to be used on social media, websites, and advertisements to promote a product and/or service. My design work includes creative direction, logos & branding, packaging design, front-end web design, print collateral and more. For my family clients, I offer many types of photography sessions. My sessions include, family, kids, holiday, maternity, newborn, engagement, headshots, birthdays, events, and more.

Now, I am a mama of two beautiful girls, and my family & I relocated to Alexandria, VA, just outside of Washington, DC.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

For my families, my mission is driven by capturing a moment in time, a legacy, and delivering sentimental photographs to look back on as families grow, to cherish for years to come.

For my brands, whether a small or big business, my mission is to help carry out their dream. It’s all about visual communication, through photography and design, to create an authentic connection with their community & audience. Ultimately supporting their business to thrive and grow.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started my business in 2017 after my husband and I moved to San Diego. As I mentioned before, I was pregnant with our first baby girl and slowly building my business. We didn’t know anyone so all of my business was from the ground up and came from some of the most unexpected places. I continued to connect with people in our community, make friends, and ultimately expand my clientele. 4 years later, in 2021, we made the move back to the East coast to Northern Virginia. This time I was pregnant with our second baby girl and I almost felt as though I was starting all over again. It was intimidating, and I found myself wondering if I would be able to get back to the same amount of work flow that I was familiar with in San Diego. I knew it was going to be uncomfortable at first making new connections and building new relationships, but I continued to put myself, and my business, out there. These are the challenges of being a military family but with the right mindset, every change is a new adventure with its own unique opportunities. Those uncomfortable moments, the feelings of doubt and loneliness, proved to be temporary and were so worth it – my work flow is actually busier than it’s ever been! I’ve learned that when things feel hard, maybe even impossible, keep pushing. Reach out to your community, start a conversation with a stranger, make connections, and be a nice person. Hard work and kindness are key!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicolecapri.com
• Instagram: nicolecapri_creative

Image Credits
Nicole Capri Creative