Conversations with Nikki Tomlin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Tomlin.

Hi Nikki, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My love for photography and all things visual started at a young age and after attempting to go to college for anything and nothing else I decided to bite the bullet and move to Denver to study photography. I graduated with my BFA in 2016 and moved to NYC where I tried as many roles in my career field as possible. I was a studio manager, content manager, personal assistant for a fine art collector, freelance photographer, and photography assistant. It was a wild year but after 12 months in NYC, I decided I wanted to follow a big childhood dream and move to another country! I made the jump to Vienna, Austria for a few short months before my visa was denied and I landed back in Denver where I became a marketing manager for a commercial real estate company. Again, dabbling in something that I felt my degree could carry me in. Ultimately, I was unhappy and was let go due to COVID and I took that as my sign to do what I always said I wanted to do. Travel and photograph the world! I learned some filming techniques and video editing in college and have been teaching myself new tricks along the way so I can now include video services in my business as well. And here I am answering these questions while car camping in southern California!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not! Studying photography was beyond a full-time job and we went year-round with our longest break being four weeks around the holidays. By the time I graduated I didn’t want to pick up a camera. I think everyone experiences a bit of disappointment and burnout after graduating college and man did it hit me hard. There was a lot of self-doubts watching friends of mine succeed in their own way and doing my best not to compare. Being denied a visa in Austria after being accepted to two universities and making new friends I had to leave wasn’t exactly uplifting either. And in the last two years while launching my business and sharing so much of my life online I have fallen back into the comparison game and have subjected myself to the negative opinions of others. It is something I work with and/or around every day and I truly don’t think it will ever be something I don’t have to deal with but the struggle is worth living the life I have been dreaming of.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a professional photographer, videographer and influencer that specializes in travel, portrait, adventure, and lifestyle genres. I would say I am most known for my spinning videos on Instagram and Tiktok which leads people to discover my travel imagery and adventure videos. I am most proud of being able to continue to learn and grow through my industry in many facets and leading this journey with kindness. I think what sets me apart from others in my industry and niche is that I have the skillset to photograph anything from food to mountains and even though you see my carefully edited feeds I am absolutely raw and real in my stories and captions. I frequently make friends on Instagram that I travel with and something they always mention loving about my pages is that they can tell I am never putting on a show, I am just showing the world me.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If you are unhappy where you are in life start making the changes necessary to get you closer to things that make you happy. It is work but I promise, you will not regret it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nikkitomlin.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkiitomlin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikkiitomlin
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikkiitomlin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nikkitomlin

Image Credits
Nikki Tomlin