Minnesota photographer aims to inspire confidence through photos (2024)

PINE ISLAND, Minn. — Nicole Mills started taking photos when her daughter was born 14 years ago and now she has found her calling photographing women.

Nicole Mills Photography is a photography business out of Pine Island. Mills has been taking photos for 14 years and has found her calling photographing women and girls.

“When she was born, I knew she was going to be my only one,” said Mills. “I was 40 when I had her. So I had a photograph of every waking moment of her life. My photographs are my memories.”

It took about two years for Mills to become confident in her photography skills. She started out small before eventually moving into a studio. She’s been in her current place for years now and is working on renovating a few things to add more natural lighting. She also wants to landscape her studio's yard area and turn it into an outdoor shooting spot.

“I started shooting out in my garage and moved to my living room then went to the basem*nt in our new house and then I rented my first studio down the street here, the original bank in town,” said Mills. “Then three years after that we bought this place, so now it's been three and a half years since we've been here. I've given up my day job so now this is it.”

Mills has spent the last 14 years fine-tuning her photography and editing skills. She is eager to learn and improve and has found her style that encapsulates a warm and creative undertone to the photo. She loves the creativity she has in her whimsical, almost painting-like photos and loves working with people who are willing to get creative and a little wacky.

Three years ago, Mills began a campaign photographing 40 women over 40. For her, this was a chance to show women how beautiful they are inside and out.

“When a woman loves her portrait so much, all of a sudden that money makes sense to her and that's an investment in herself and it's an heirloom that she's going to hand down to her kids,” she said. “These aren't just digital files that are going to end up in a drawer. I'm a print photographer. I believe in printing your artwork. I tell all the women when I hand them their artwork, whether it be an album or a folio, I say 'This is for you now and it's for them later.'”

Having a nice photo of a loved one can be special. Life can be unpredictable and that is also what makes photography special in her eyes.

“We didn't know it at the time but I took this on my mom’s 75th birthday and she shortly after was diagnosed with Alzheimer's,” said Mills. “Now her physical health has gone down but I'll never have another portrait like this. We jokingly have to openly refer to it as her funeral and it will be because I will never get another portrait like that. So I tell people you never know.”

The 40 over 40 isn’t Mills' original idea. A lot of photographers have done projects and campaigns around the same concept but Mills doesn’t mind. For her, this is an opportunity to remind older women that they are still beautiful no matter their age.

“I had no idea that it would be as popular as it was so I wasn't thinking past the first year but I had ladies that wanted to keep signing up,” said Mills. “I love it because part of the reason why I wanted to focus on girls and women is because my daughter, I wanted to raise her with a positive body image, self-confidence, all the things that I lacked when I was younger.”

She encourages all her models to come in their favorite outfit or a pair of jeans that makes them feel confident and go from there. She has a large collection of big formal gowns for women and children and loves giving someone their glamor moment who might not have this opportunity again.

“This year I added an element for every lady that signed up for the campaign,” said Mills. “They got to nominate a princess for her own little, mini shoot where we schedule five or six in one day. They come in back to back. They get half an hour to choose one gown and then we do a little session and then they get one image complimentary.”

In addition to her large dress collection, Mills also upcycles old dresses. She has refurbished many dresses to create new masterpieces, like ones made of ties or covered in sheet music. She doesn’t make them from scratch but takes old dresses people have donated or she has found and creates a new purpose for them. She also has a large jewelry, shoe and tiara collection for her shoots.

During her time doing the 40 over 40 project, Mills has only had two clients leave the session without loving their photos. The other 118 women over the last three years have fallen in love with their photos and even rebooked with Mills.

“They've been putting their husbands, their careers, their kids and their house first for so long, they don't know how to put themselves first,” said Mills. “It's hard, as an older woman especially, to put yourself first when you have kids.”

Mills is excited to continue this campaign going for as long as women are interested.

“It’s not about feeling beautiful, it’s about seeing their own value," said Mills. “It's not purely about them getting them to see themselves pretty but beauty is so much more than the looks. It's about how you carry yourself and how confident you are and how kind you are. I try to encompass all of those things. I don't want it to just be about pretty photographs.”

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Sara Guymon is a Post Bulletin business reporter. Guymon grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota. She graduated from New Ulm Public High School and went on to attend college at the University of Minnesota Duluth. While at UMD, Guymon pursued a major in journalism and a double minor in photography and international studies. Prior to coming to the Post Bulletin, she worked as a staff writer for the Brainerd Dispatch. There she covered the City of Baxter and business.