Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicolette Bardos.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Nicolette. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Definitely! It’s a bit all over, but my interest in photography seems to have started when I was really young, where I could be found playing with Polaroid and other point and shoot cameras. I LOVED taking pictures of things, everything. I guess this continued into high school, where I would make my friends “model” in random outfits so we could do photoshoots. One of my best friends (then and now) also loved doing this, so we spent a crazy amount of time dressing up and taking photos of each other around our neighborhoods and parks. So weird LOL.
This lead to taking senior portraits, for friends, family photos, etc. and it became my part-time job in high school as I was learning along the way about the shooting, editing, building a client base, etc! I continued this in college and officially established my business. I decided to then study fine art and photography as well as business, formally for my degree.
My interests shifted more towards commercial & fashion photography as I grew, which lead me to spend three years in Southern California shooting with various brands/companies/agencies. It all started with an internship at the Pacsun headquarters in the photo studio, and took off from there!
It’s a long story as to why, but after a few years, I realized that commercial photography isn’t what I wanted to be my main thing. I redshifted my focus back to my own business, and continued shooting weddings, families, etc. while just doing some smaller-scale commercial and branding jobs on the side.
I now run my business full time here in Colorado again, as well as part-time in California. It has been a whirlwind figuring out where I wanted to be with it all, but I am really happy with how things are now. 🙂 My main focus is weddings + other personal storytelling.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth probably isn’t how I would describe it! LOL. But I look back now after doing this for ten years and realize how valuable each struggle was. Beyond logistical challenges of running a business, especially one that just started as an artistic hobby, my biggest struggles were probably just navigating which paths I wanted to take, how I wanted to use my photography, etc.
For years, I deeply believed I was meant to be in the commercial fashion industry until I was there for some time and had a huge wake-up call to the realities of what that meant. I had some incredible experiences and worked hard for opportunities I almost never imagined that I would accomplish, however, I also struggled a lot, feeling like I had to stay true to what my dreams USED to be, even though I felt them changing.
I found myself sacrificing so many of my values and morals and to fit into the mold that the industry tries to keep you in. It’s a long story, but I realized that following what I believe in and want for myself, is worth way more than pride and proving I can do something. But that’s a whole other tangent. 😉
Overall I wouldn’t be where I am now without all of the trials & errors! I am so grateful for all of it and am thrilled with the opportunities I have worked hard for and been supported in. I settled back in Colorado “full time” about a month ago, and it has been a dream.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Of course! In general, I consider myself a portrait photographer. I photograph weddings, families, engagements, and just all kinds of peoples’ personal stories. Despite my previous rant, I do still do some select commercial and branding photography as well. 🙂
My goal in anything is to tell stories authentically, in addition to artistically, and to capture moments + feelings that are genuine. I fully believe that everyone’s story + relationships with those close to them are so beautiful and unique, and to capture them that way and preserve them forever — HECK YES. It gives me all the feels.
I want everyone to feel important + worthy of celebrating, and I strive to do that with the visuals that I capture. Beyond having beautiful photographs to cherish forever, it is really important to me that my clients (let’s are real they all become my friends whether they like it or not) really enjoy the experience and feel like they can be themselves no matter what.
What were you like growing up?
I am now 26 and I still feel like I am not a grown-up, HA! But I would say as a kid I was (still am?) a real weirdo, pretty quirky and strange and not afraid to be myself. I was REALLY quiet and shy (hard to believe) until I was maybe eight or nine. But I always loved playing outside, climbing trees, exercising the HECK out my crazy imagination.
I was always loving on animals, or collecting bugs and building them homes out of shoe boxes. (I LOVED building stuff with boxes, no idea why.) I enjoyed doing crafty things, playing with Barbies, etc. I was in ballet & dance classes for 17 years, starting when I was three, and also really enjoyed the swim team! I was a pretty active, goofy, free-spirited kid.
Pricing:
- Weddings ~ 3500-4500
- Portraits ~ 425 – 600
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nicolettebardos.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @nicolettebardos
Image Credit:
All photos are by me EXCEPT the two of me shooting — the winter scene one is by Crystal Smith, the other one in studio is a random phone photo, I don’t know who took it for me!
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