We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nicole Balboa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

When I was in the middle of my college years, I had received an opportunity to intern for a photographer by the name of Aviva Klein. I interned for her for about a year and half and after a short period of time I had the pleasure of actually working for her as a part time assistant.

During my time with Aviva, she made sure she told me how amazing I was as a person and artist. She was fully aware with how her actions of leadership would impact those around her and she ended up being a mentor for me both professionally and personally. Her mindset is one that I still admire to this day.
She shows me how grace is the way to lead as a leader and in all life situations.

Aviva had a way of being true to herself both in her personal life, people she worked with and the art she created. She always stayed true to the vision she saw for herself as an artist. She took all the routes she felt she needed to take to get her to the point in her work that she knew that it was the path she created for herself. Never faulting to the critiques and criticism of everyone on the outside but instead using it as a guide but on her terms.

Most importantly even though its been a while since we worked together, she always checked in and has continually told me to always follow my heart in art and in life.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been practicing photography for over 10 years. The first time I started taking photography seriously was around my junior year of high school and

Primarily I was photographing musicians and live music acts, but photography was something I wanted to really learn the technicalities of and understand the magic behind creating a vision in real life.

During the last few years of and then after college, I decided I wanted to start focusing on fashion photography. I did all my own research and learned as much fashion as I could just so I can feel confident when I’m working with a client. Also, during my college years, I had already been working in a portrait photography studio for some time, so I had the skill of working with people and bringing out their best self.

During quarantine I had started developing an interest in product photography and have been working on this skill since then.

Currently, I work as a Creative Director for a full-service photo production agency in Manhattan. I help create concepts for some well-known brands.

Outside of my full-time job I work with a lot of models, that I scout through Instagram and through other models I’ve worked with. For some of these shoots I do a variety of things, from just shooting the clients vision, to scouting locations and picking the looks.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Since I started to this day as a Creative Director in the art industry, the coolest thing is seeing a concept and idea come to life. There is really nothing cooler or more rewarding after working so hard to craft a skill then to understand/create the concept of a shoot followed by execution of the idea. From the little details like the background color to the lighting set up, looking at what you envisioned in your head come to life is just really the best feeling.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My parents moved here from Spain when they were young and all I’ve ever known was this strong work ethic they had. They made sure my sisters and I were always taken care of. So, when I made the decision to do photography, I wanted to make sure they knew that it would be something that can be big in the long run. Luckily, they always supported me and continue to this day, means everything.

I just want to validate their trust and belief in me as a daughter, photographer, artist. I know if I grow my creative journey, I can get more opportunities to get in the right doors and succeed.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicolebalboa.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolebalboaphoto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolebalboaphoto/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolebalboa/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBalboaPhoto