Nicole Bates Photography

Nicole was the best photographer we could have asked for. She truly went above and beyond in helping us plan the timeline and getting us through the day. We have a big family with 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!

Amidst all of the stress that comes with planning a wedding, Nicole was an area of stability and peace for me. When I got engaged, I was 20 years old, finishing my final year of college, 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!!!

We were trying for a while to find a photographer in the Michigan area & came across Nicole’s portfolio. Her work spoke for itself and she was so easy to talk with and she made us 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!

Nicole photographed our engagement session and September wedding. We found her as she was a preferred vendor through our venue and we’re so glad we did! She captured our wedding day 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!

If you are getting married you NEED to hire Nicole. From the engagement shoot to our wedding day Nicole made taking pictures fun and easy. She listens to your vision and helps you to creatively execute it. Our pictures turned out amazing.

Nicole went above and beyond to make our wedding day great. We had an engagement shoot with her last fall which helped us to get a feel for how to take pictures together and what it 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.

Nicole was creative, quick, and efficient. She did not deny any requests and was enthusiastic throughout the whole evening. I would highly recommend her. Denise Krivanec Mother of the groom

Nicole was incredible as our wedding photographer. She was so grounded, calm, and collected, and had amazing ideas for various poses for photos. She was incredibly helpful on the 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!

We spoke with Nicole multiple times before our wedding day. Initially we had a list of more formal pictures that we wanted - specific friends and family. She said that we could just 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.

Nicole is an incredible photographer. I have yet to find another whose work is as beautiful as hers, which is why we’ll always choose her for all of our photography needs. She is professional, creative and produces high quality work. She has completed our engagement, wedding, maternity and newborn photography. Highly recommend!

Nicole was awesome! We loved having her capture our special day.

Nicole was so kind and patient throughout our entire experience! We knew we'd made the right decision for our wedding after our engagement shoot with her. There was never any concern 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 :)

If you are thinking about booking Nicole for your wedding do yourself a favor and DO IT NOW! She is absolutely incredible. She finds a way to bring out the best of you and your couple 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

Nicole was fabulous to work with! She captured both our engagement photos and our wedding photos and both turned out beautiful. We received SO many compliments on them. Nicole is so kind and personable to work with, I would absolutely recommend her to anyone!

Nicole was EVERYTHING we wanted and more. Our wedding photos turned out amazing and we will cherish these forever. Nicole is professional and also a very kind, fun person to have around on your special day. I couldn't recommend here enough.

I don't have enough good things to say about Nicole! She captured everything I could have hoped for and more. When I got my photos back it was as if I got to live my special day all 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.

Nicole was so wonderful to work with. To start, she met with us one on one to make sure she was a good fit for us. We got to talk about what we wanted, pricing, style, poses, etc. 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!

I loved working with Nicole, she was very organized and professional. We were unable to meet beforehand, and only through phone calls Nicole was so warm and comforting that we felt 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!

I was doing research on best photographers in the St. Joseph area and came across Nicole Bates Photography, and she did not disappoint! It was a beautiful day, our wedding was on 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!

Nicole made our wedding SO special! She not only captured our day perfectly, but helped keep our whole day organized and running smoothly. She is also a friend to us, so it was very 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!

Nicole did an amazing job. She was a rockstar for us on our big day, capturing ALL of our precious moments. Her artistic talents show through the colors, vibrance, and “essence of 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

Nicole was fabulous to work with and our photos are AMAZING!! Nicole captured all of the special moments in our photo gallery that will allow us to relive our wedding day forever!! 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!!!

Nicole was SUCH a pleasure to work with. It was so important to me that we found a photographer who was familiar with our venue, and she went above and beyond the week of our wedding 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!

detailed and professional, great job

Nicole’s pictures are absolutely amazing, she will capture the spirit of your day through photographs. We have gotten so many compliments on our pictures because of how natural and 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!

Being a Covid Bride was hard. From the very beginning (before Covid) Nicole was attentive and very approachable whether it was email or texting. As things started to go downhill with 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.

I do not know where to begin giving praise to how incredible Nicole is. She was attentive, caring, kind, fun and so easy to get along with. My husband and I met her in July 2019 when 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.

Nicole was an absolute joy to work with! Professional, compassionate and bubbly in personality, Nicole listened to my wishes and added her own creative touch to the photos. She was 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.

Nicole is the perfect balance of being professional and making you feel very comfortable at the same time! She photographed our wedding in March 2019 and since then for family pictures. We absolutely adore her and her work! We can’t recommend her enough!!

Nicole is amazing to work with. We could not be more thrilled with the absolute perfection of our engagement and wedding photos. We had a winter wedding and knew the weather may cause 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.

Nicole was our first choice for our wedding. She is caring, professional, and captures amazing photos. She worked with us to build the package that fit our wedding needs. She captured 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.

My husband and I asked Nicole, somewhat last-minute, to photograph our (Friday) wedding back in July 2018. Our original photographer, a friend, had a life change that required he move 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.

Nicole was able to turn the most rainy chaotic day into a day we will remember forever! Our timeline went right out the window, and it didn’t phase her a bit! Based on the photos she gave us, you would have never knows what a mess the day was actually! She captured the most timeless, beautiful moments of the day, and I still tear up looking back at these albums! Not only did she capture our wedding, but also every milestone in between! I’ve had the pleasure of having Nicole become a part of our family, capturing engagement photos, newborn photos, family shoots, holiday card photos and a pregnancy boudoir shoot! She makes you feel so comfortable in front of the camera, and that’s a huge trait to have as a photographer! I recommend Nicole 1000%

We hired Nicole for our engagement photos then for our wedding in Chicago. Nicole is very organized, detailed oriented and very easy to work with. The photos turned out PHENOMENAL!! Everyone we showed our photos to said it was magazine quality. I can’t recommend her enough!!

We had Nicole do our photos for our wedding in 2017 and I honestly could not have asked for better photos from the wedding (or a better photographer), she did a fantastic job. Our wedding was a blast and I have nothing but good memories from that day so I love looking back at all of the photos that Nicole took. She gave us every photo from that day, which is awesome because I'm a fan of candid shots as well. Every time I look at our photos, I'm amazed at how Nicole was able to capture the joy, love and spirit of the whole event. She truly blew me away and I am so thankful that she was able to do our wedding. Book her now, you won't regret it!

Nicole was a great photographer and was able to capture some great moments that we will have forever. Easy to work with and very nice!

We worked with Nicole for our wedding in 2017 and couldn’t have asked for anything better. From engagement photos to the wedding day, she made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera. Her professionalism and awesome personality goes unmatched. She is great at listening to exactly what you are looking for, whether that’s on the wedding day or after with a growing family. You can’t go wrong with Nicole!

Nicole was an absolute asset to our big day. It was a blizzard and with the wind chill, temps were in the minus digits, though it never faxed her! We still managed an outdoor shoot by the lake and the pictures are something we will treasure for a lifetime. She is professional, personable, and highly knowledgeable in her field. You won’t regret choosing her to capture your best moments in life. She has continued to do shoots for our family including maternity, baby and family shoots. We love her!

Highly recommend Nicole Bates! She did our engagement & wedding pictures as well as a family photo shoot. She is so fun and easy to work with. And her work speaks for itself!

We worked with Nicole for our Engagement and Wedding photos! We loved working with her. She’s very laid back and flexible. Full of great ideas on shooting locations and has a unique/amazing style. Would recommend her for any of your photography needs!

We used Nicole in 2017 for engagement and wedding photos. She was AMAZING. She's super easy to communicate with, flexible, willing to be adventurous, etc. My husband and I are both super awkward when it comes to posing for pictures and she somehow made our big day look like it was right out of a magazine. She's relaxed and calming, creative, professional, and just so cool. She's so timely with her work and getting the photos ready for viewing. We have continued to use her over the last few years as our family has grown and she never ceases to amaze us. You cannot go wrong with her!