We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Bowman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I had the fortunate experience of getting to try many different career options before starting my own business. When I graduated from Northern Arizona University, I had a degree in Psychology. Aside from becoming a Psychologist, it is not a particularly useful degree in the major job market. It landed me a job in customer service and I spend a majority of my time working in an office setting. This allowed me to gain a great deal of experience in handling tricky situations, and taught me how effectively manage paperwork.

After that, I got a master’s degree in Elementary Education. I became a teacher for a short time until my daughter was born. This experience allowed me to work with children of many age groups and a whole host of personalities, and helps me to be a more effective photographer when it comes to working with kids.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

After having my daughter, I realized that it was incredibly difficult to work full-time hours and to be a mom. I was worried about returning to the classroom, and I had a love of photography. I began my journey by taking pictures of adoptable dogs, and slowly worked my way into families.

Because of the way my career began, I love when you bring your dogs to our shoots. We get to have some really candid moments that bring the whole family together. Working with young kids and dogs can be a challenge, but I really love to lean into it. No shoot needs to be perfect, and I want you to be able to remember your lives just as they are right now.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was first getting started, my main goal was to become solely a pet photographer. I quickly learned that I loved to share this experience with the pet families, and those were my favorite moments. From there I started to lean into the photography that I really loved and eventually opened up to just families and even elopements!

I also noticed a major gap in the industry. Business owners and local influencers were looking for monthly images or an inexpensive way to update their website or social media. This is how the content shoots were born. It allows me to provide my clients with the experience they are looking for while also keeping the price point in a range that allows them to update more frequently.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

It amazes me how many free resources are available to new photographers! Online videos have taught me so much over the years. You can watch videos about everything from how to set up your camera to how to operate all of the editing programs. Many of the editing programs now have tutorials built in, and I highly recommend checking those out!

HeartsSpeak is another fantastic organization for anyone looking to get into shelter or rescue photography. They have amazing resources on their website and there is a group of fellow members who are always willing to share their knowledge.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nicolebowmanphotography.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/nicolebowmanphotography