Meet Nicole De Haven-Malik of Lilac & Fern Photography in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole De Haven-Malik.

Nicole, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Back in 2012, I was just starting out in the world of digital photography and a friend asked me to shoot boudoir for her. I agreed without really knowing much about it and actually didn’t like the photos. They were exactly what everyone else was doing at the time: renting a hotel room, scheduling gals, and doing back to back boudoir that were sexier and more for a fella than for the client herself.

As out of my comfort zone as that was, it was the catalyst for what my brand is now: elegant intimate portraits for women that are somewhere on their journey to seeing themselves in a more beautiful way, the way the rest of the world sees them.

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?
The journey to where I am today has not been an easy one. I’m a full time mom as well as a business owner and I have had many moves since 2012 to support my husband and his career as an engineer.
I began my business here in Colorado only to have to move to upstate NY for three years. It was a great experience and I was able to land a job at the area’s top lingerie boutique which only propelled my love of lingerie to a new level. After NY, we returned to Colorado for a year than Idaho for a year. Now that we’re back and settling in with no plans to move ever again (I’m cemented here!), I can see that, while each move was a hassle, I also see that I was afforded the opportunity to shift my business a bit with each move, becoming more and more a vision of what works for me and my clients. I have learned to put my head down and focus on what fuels me and my work and, in doing that, I’ve found the most incredible clients that truly understand the work I create for them.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Lilac & Fern is known for studio and outdoor boudoir that is not so much sultry and come-hither, but boudoir that is about saying a big “F You” to society and it’s antiquated beauty standards. I want the women I work with to celebrate their bodies as they are now and know that boudoir is about learning to love themselves in nothing but lingerie.

I offer three different boudoir experiences: Tushy Tuesday, White Sheet (indoor), and Signature Outdoor.

My love and knowledge of luxury lingerie is one of the aspects of the boudoir experience that my clients enjoy and benefit from the most. I have a well stocked closet my clients can borrow from and I offer fit advice as well as styling that includes designers not found here in Colorado.

The newest upgrade to the Lilac & Fern experience is that I’m now offering extreme locations and travel options which has been wildly popular since I began offering it a few months ago. My clients are loving the location options off the beaten path for Signature Outdoor sessions and I can’t wait to see where the next year brings me for these shoots.

What were you like growing up?
I was totally awkward as a kid. Ha! I mean, who wasn’t? I was painfully shy and didn’t push myself to try new things. I spent my days outside, until after sunset, and grew up wanting to be a painter but I have zero skills in that area. Ironically, I still appreciate art in a big way and collaborate with an amazing artist here in Colorado, Shanna Johnson, that offers illustrations for my clients so, while I’m not a painter or illustrator, it still is a part of my work today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lilacandfernphotography.com/
• Email: nicole@lilacandfernphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilacandfernphotography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1545274615774374/
• Other: https://mailchi.mp/c19c10b08024/intsagramsignup

Image Credit:
All photos are shared with permission of client and images are by Lilac & Fern Photography.

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