Nicole Bates Photography

asy and effortless. Nicole is accountable, professional, gentle, and a true artist. Leading up to our wedding, she maintained organized and thorough communication between us, making sure everyone was on the same page. The day of our wedding, Nicole had an effortlessly calm and gentle aura, which created a space that everyone felt relaxed. She honored our photographic requests and guided us through the process with grace. Nicole had a fellow photographer, Brooke Peters, assist her in capturing the day and they were a dynamic duo and perfect collaborators. The results of these two point of views were seamless and undetectable in the final gallery. We received a surprisingly large collection of sneak peek photos shortly after our wedding and we knew in that moment, Nicole made our dreams come true. We have now received our entire wedding album and it has left us speechless. We cannot thank Nicole (& Brooke) enough for highlighting the best parts of our wedding day, capturing priceless candids of loved ones, spotlighting every detail of our theme, and creating timeless pieces of art that we will honor for our lifetime.

earlier than I expected. This was only the second time my husband and I would have professional photos taken so we were nervous about feeling awkward. But her calm, relaxed energy made us feel at ease and made it all feel seamless! I would totally recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer for their wedding! 😊

to listen to our vision for our day. She did an amazing job making sure to get all of the shots we wanted, and captured all of the special moments of our wedding day perfectly. Our sneak peek photos are gorgeous, and we can't wait to see the rest of our gallery! I also did a boudoir shoot with Nicole and I'm in love with the photos she took! She made me feel so comfortable and beautiful, and my husband loved receiving the photos as a wedding gift!

professional, friendly, easy to work with, and was on top of making sure everything was communicated and that our input was listened to. Her ability to capture the happiness, joy, love, and fun we had on our wedding day is absolutely unbelievable and so incredible! She exceeded all of our expectations, and anyone would be so lucky to have her as their photographer. You will not regret it for a single moment. BOOK HER NOW!

kind and really understanding of what we were looking to capture on our wedding day. She made the photography process the easiest part of our day. She was on time, incredibly organized, immediately made us and our families feel so comfortable, and she captured such special and genuine moments from our wedding that we will treasure forever. The photobooth was so much fun!! She also did our engagement pics and we can't wait to work with her again when we ask her for maternity/family pics!! I wouldn't hesitate to book her, you absolutely can't go wrong. Thank you, Nicole!!

t our engagement shoot, she made us feel completely comfortable throughout the entire process. It was very important to us to have someone we felt good around, and it definitely shows in every photo. Our wedding pictures just blew us away! She captured SO many special and sweet moments (both candid and not) that I will cherish forever.

y 1, she was communicative, professional and easy to work with. She made us feel comfortable from the jump at our engagement photos which made us even more excited for our wedding day. Day of the wedding, she went ABOVE and beyond and truly doubled as a photographer/coordinator as she helped answer so many questions and take care of so many little details. She did anything she could to make sure we felt at ease. She answered all questions, calmed all nerves, and made sure our day was perfect. I trusted her 100%. We are SO happy with our gallery, she captured EVERY moment. Best decision of our wedding- do not hesitate to book her!!! Thank you for everything Nicole!

s nothing short of incredible. First, booking was seamless! Nicole provided a detailed questionnaire and timeline that not only assured me that she would capture every single one of our special moments, but also aided in the planning process by outlining a schedule of special events like family portraits, first looks, etc. Second, communication with Nicole was easy and consistent. She made us feel so comfortable reaching out to her with small changes in our timeline or requests for specific most-wanted captures. The best part of our experience with Nicole was the day-of. She arrived early for setup and was ready to start shooting right on schedule. She dealt so quickly with requested detail shots, so patiently with our large bridal party and family (this was a must when looking for our photographer!), and so kindly and discrete with a couple wardrobe malfunctions and silly faces. It was almost like she was two places at once sometimes! In summary, Nicole Bates Photography was an absolute dream to work with; so professional, detailed, and talented. Not to mention the sneak peak of photos that arrived very quickly are absolutely amazing! Do not hesitate to book with Nicole. Her incredible talent is a rare find and I can guarantee you’ll be absolutely elated with your photos. We’re still in awe at how amazing our experience was! Thank you for making our day perfect, Nicole Bates Photography! PS- get the Photo Booth! It was such a huge hit with our guests! Everyone from ages 5-85 absolutely loved this add-on!

lots of little kids and Nicole was so effective in helping us wrangle everyone and getting the little ones to smile! As someone who does not like their picture taken, Nicole made me feel so safe and supported. She was so patient with us and even let me borrow her coat when I was freezing between pictures. Our pictures came back more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! I had some specific ideas for a photos and she did an amazing job making these ideas and dreams become a reality. We will definitely keep in touch with Nicole for family pictures in the future. I cannot recommend her enough-- I would give her 10/5 stars if I could!

llege, and hours away from home. I knew that I would need a team of family, friends, and professionals to help guide me in the wedding process with all of the unknowns. Nicole supported me throughout the entire process and helped answer all of my questions. My husband and I aren’t naturals in front of the camera, but you would never know because of Nicole’s talent! I would hire her again & again & again!!!

and allowed us to have a whole different perspective of our wedding. We are absolutely in love with our pictures and are so grateful we went with Nicole. She’s the best and you won’t regret choosing her as your photographer. Thank you for making our day spectacular! Your eye for all the little things is out of this world!!!

elaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. She is incredibly professional and captures moments from your special day that you only thought you saw. The end product she delivers meets all expectations and she’ll give you a sneak peek that will blow you away. I cannot recommend Nicole enough! She is our favorite!

feel at ease. The wedding day was a bit stressful because it was outside & it downpoured… all day. However, Nicole came in and made us feel like everything was totally perfect & we were instantly at ease. Our photos turned out so beautifully & we couldn’t be happier! Absolutely a winner here!

y perfectly, helped keep me relaxed and ensured all the important moments were captured. We absolutely love the way our photos turned out. She really made our colors pop and the fun of the dance floor shine!

but both my husband and I felt so comfortable in her presence. She truly helped make our day the best day for us. She was responsive throughout the whole process and we are so so glad we chose her!! We plan to use her should we need professional photos in the future, even though we have quite a drive to her!!

to creatively execute it. Our pictures turned out amazing.

t might be like on our wedding day to be in front of the camera. She also helped us develop a realistic timeline for our wedding day. On the day of our wedding, she was a superstar doing everything from helping me bustle my dress to capturing us in the moment when we didn't even know that she was taking photos. We are so grateful that we had her to capture our day and love having the pictures as memories now.

the groom

wedding day (doing things that went way above as just being the "photographer") and when we got our photos back, I was astonished at not only the moments she was able to capture, but how she really was able to infuse the love and energy of our wedding day into the editing style. I am obsessed with the photos and would highly recommend working with Nicole for an amazing experience!

t cut the things down because she would make sure we would get ones with our best friends - they didn't need to be on a list. We also spoke about the fact that we would be outside and under a tree for the formal family pictures and that it would create heavy shadows. She assured us that would not be an issue as well. Needless to say, we did not get formal pictures with friends that she assured us we would and the family pictures had deep shadows and extremely bright areas. Not to mention there was absolutely no staging with the family pictures - floating heads, my wife and I are not front and center, the groups are heavily lopsided, they are a mess - they truly look like an amateur took them. So much so that I paid over $600 to a separate professional editor to help photoshop and correct. This is on top of the already $2000+ expense of using Nicole. The pictures still don't look good and every time I look at the family pictures I get upset, so I just don't look at them. My wife spent days crying because she has no pictures with her friends - even after we were told to not put them on the list of necessary photos because Nicole assured us she would get them. All of that said, Nicole did try to make it better. But, ultimately what is needed is to go back to the day, get the pictures that were promised, and bring a proper order to group pictures. As for the solo pictures of just my wife and I, those look great. Clearly she is an expert at taking couples shots. But, that is where the expertise ends. We only have one wedding day and the photographer's job is to get all the shots that were discussed, stage and organize group shots so there is a cohesiveness, and properly edit/color correct. None of that was done and now the moments are lost in time. My wife and I are both really sad and upset that we will not have good photos to look back on and remember the day well.

rofessional, creative and produces high quality work. She has completed our engagement, wedding, maternity and newborn photography. Highly recommend!

rn as an LGBTQ+ couple, and our families are both thrilled with how everything turned out. Nicole stuck to every deadline and promise she made, and my wife and I cannot thank her enough :)

ple and makes you feel comfortable. She captures photos that feel very natural and not forced and the angles and lighting will make any bride, groom, mom, and family feel and look stunning. Highly recommend

o kind and personable to work with, I would absolutely recommend her to anyone!

round on your special day. I couldn't recommend here enough.

l over again. On top of all of the great photos she was also there for me during the day whether it was getting me a water or helping me move my hair around. After the wedding we had multiple family members tell us how great she was and got all the images that meant a lot to them. I wish I could get married again to rehire her.

She is so sweet and down to earth and made the process so easy! On the day of the wedding, Nicole did a great job of coordinating the wedding party for pictures as well as family members. She made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and got so many great shots! We would choose her again and again and hope to have her as our photographer again in the future!

at ease on the wedding day! During the photo session she was even able to handle my MIL's requests , without me having to deal with it. And of course in the end, the photos are gorgeous. I strongly recommend hiring Nicole for your event!

the beach and our reception was at the Veranda. Nicole captured such special and sweet moments throughout the day. We were so lucky to have her as our photographer!

y comforting to have her be by our side all day. The pictures were captured perfectly for each special moment on our wedding day. We would 10/10 recommend her to any bride and groom!

the day” that was captured through her lens. 10/10 would recommend! She was kind and friendly. We were thrilled with the delivery of our gallery. The book I made with her photos tells the story of our wedding day. Nicole’s photos are amazing memories with our loved ones on our special day. We will treasure them for our entire lives <3

! I would highly recommend hiring Nicole for any photography needs. She was very creative, knowledgeable and professional when helping position everyone to snap the best pictures and we all had fun while doing so! It is very clear that Nicole loves to capture true love and that is exactly what she did for my husband and I!!!

ng to scope out what areas would photograph best. The packages she offers are great, and the flexibility to customize based on our budget was awesome too. Having her help with our timeline was an extra that was WELL worth it! We really love all of the candid photos captured between us and our loved ones, and we are just so thankful to have had Nicole photograph our day. You can tell she loves what she does, and she's great at it!

vibrant they are. You can feel the emotion in her pictures, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. We had rain our our wedding day and everything had to move indoors; Nicole gave me options of how we could switch the picture timeline around, and immediately made me feel at ease. When you meet Nicole it feels like you’ve known her forever, and the comfort reflects in her gorgeous work. I could go on and on- cannot recommend her enough!

th restrictions from the state, Nicole was on top of it wanting to know what she could do for us. Letting us know that no matter what we decided to do she would support us and be there. A month before the wedding she made contact and wanting to know what had changed, if anything, and if we needed anything even outside photographs. The big day came and Nicole was on top of everything. Even being pregnant she was moving around making sure every special moment was captured. At one point we were ahead of schedule and we were able to some extra shots. She helped us stick to the time line and made sure every detail was photographed and even some surprise moments. I would highly recommend Nicole to anyone who is looking for a photographer for a wedding, engagement, family portraits, etc.

en we started to plan our wedding for Sept. 2020. There was so much change done to our day because of the current health crisis and Nicole was by our side every step of the way. She reached out right away in March seeing if we needed any help or support during this time and to let us know she will make her 2020 couples a priority and if we needed to reschedule our day she would do her best to make herself available to us. From there on out she continued to help me make a wedding timeline for our day and discussing the photos that were important to us on our day. The day of our wedding was an absolute breeze with Nicole by our side. She kept us on track all day long! I cannot express how grateful we were for her, capturing every necessary photo along the way. She was prompt, professional, and naturally a great energy to have around. We were not the wedding party to have a huge photo session and feel comfortable in front of the camera. But with Nicole, it was effortless to stand in front of her camera. It was so fun to take photos with her! Her creativity goes beyond words she is a true artist. Her photos speak volumes to how much she loves her job. I am so happy I stumbled upon her instagram by searching #swmichiganphotographer we look forward to the day we get to work with Nicole again in the future. #swmichigansearchin#swmichiganphotographer and am looking forward to the day that we can work with her again in the future.

very calm and flexible as my husband and I rescheduled our wedding twice due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Nicole captured not only the planned posed photos but also the private candid moments as well, providing high quality and genuine photos that my husband and our families will cherish for a lifetime.

ures. We absolutely adore her and her work! We can’t recommend her enough!!

use issues and it definitely did. It ended up being an absolute blizzard out but Nicole did not miss a beat (even let me wear her scarf to keep warm). She was able to capture every moment in a magical way that allows us to enjoy memories for a lifetime. We look forward to working with Nicole in the future.

red genuine and sweet photos throughout the wedding that we are so grateful to have ♡. We have used Nicole for our engagement, wedding, and maternity photos. We would highly recommend her for anyone seeking professional, artistic photos of your special day.

ove away, leaving him unable to do our wedding. We seriously considered just foregoing pictures, but our respective families protested. That left us frantically searching for someone who could accommodate us last minute. Nicole willingly jumped right in without any push-back or concern--despite having never met us. She showed up day of and worked with our unconventional schedule to capture our day perfectly. I'm not someone who actually enjoys seeing myself in photos, yet the ones Nicole took are just downright lovely. I would use her again in a heartbeat.