Nina Nelson Photography

07/15/2026

Thank you to everyone who voted for my image in the People's Choice awards. I didn't win BUT....woohoo! I found out this morning that The Arrival won an Honorable Mention in the Fine Arts category of the .awards Color Contest!

Go check out all the winners here:

https://refocus-awards.com/contests/winners/color?entry_level=NON_PROFESSIONAL

(Some people have asked why I didn't enter under the Pro category. Initially I had! But then I read the difference between the two:

"Professional: You are considered a Pro if you sell or publish your work regularly, or if you earn (or have earned) the majority of your income from photography.

Non-Professional: You fall into this tier if photography is simply a hobby, if you don't make a living from it, or if you don't meet the Professional definition."

I don't (yet) sell my work regularly. I've only sold one print.
I've only had my work published in one magazine (in May with the AAP magazine), so I don't publish my work regularly either.

While I do earn money from my commercial biz (Nina Nelson Portraits) that's headshots, branding, seniors, and executives which are not fine art and I'm definitely NOT making a living off it (kinda the opposite), so...when I read the distinctions, I thought, "Well, I'm not going to put my work up against National Geographic photographers if I'm not in their league (yet)!"

So I entered the non-professional. And let me tell you, the non-professionals images all look pretty dang professional to me too, so, jeez, kudos to everyone.)

06/29/2026

Got an email this mornin’! People Choice nominee! In bowling terms, I think that might mean I knocked a lot of pins down. Or maybe I just did it with a lot of panache. Or maybe that my bowling outfit is doing the heavy lifting to make up for my poor bowling skills. Either and any way…eek! Excited. If you want to vote go https://refocus-awards.com/people-vote-award/waiting-7.
Vote away! Vote every day. Voting ends in 13 days.

06/15/2026

Another addition to the Waiting series!

This location taught me a lot:

1. I thought I wanted dramatic light. Found out dramatic light distracted from the thing that drew me to this building in the first place--the sweet, innocent, gingerbread house architecture.

2. I thought I wanted a rural look (gingham dress) because this was originally a hamlet for farmers. Well, the white and red fabric got lost in the whiteness of the building--I needed a fabric that was solid and bold and a bit more dressy.

3. I thought I would stand/sit on the porch. Nope. I was too small in the frame and got lost in the image, I had to come closer to the camera on the walkway.

4. I thought the character would be upset about having to wait...ended up, the story was that she was happy. She was in a beautiful dress feeling pretty, it was a beautiful blue-sky day, and she was happy to be waiting for her beau...perhaps even a little nervous.

Pivot. Pivot. Pivot.

5. The only things that stayed consistent was that I wanted to be off-center in the composition b/c everything else is so symmetrical AND the color scheme...red, yellow, blue, green.

05/24/2026

sculpture and photography show coming up June 21! Thank you for jurying the show and selecting Late Edition to be included!
Man, oh, man, do I feel fortunate to be part of such an amazing local art scene. Honest, to goodness. The quality of jurors and artists alike continue to surprise and delight me.

04/10/2026

My new website is up!! Woo-hoo

I've separated my fine art work from my commercial work and I really hope everyone follows me on both because I will be sad if you don't.

Here's the scoop: Nina Nelson PHOTOGRAPHY will be the fine art stuff (fancy-schmancy) and Nina Nelson PORTRAITS will be my commercial work (also fancy-schmancy, but commercially so). Both still have the acronym of NNP (thanks to my friend, Patricia who suggested that!) so I don't have to change my paperwork!

I'm loving the fine art stuff, guys. It's fun and it feeds my creative soul. I like that it's just me and my muse. I like that I only have to answer to myself. I like that I can try things and fail and not feel horrible about it. I like that I can play. I like that I'm meeting other photographers and gallerists and curators and collectors and artists. I like dressing up and going to exhibitions. I like that Nina Nelson Portraits is my angel investor and is funding Nina Nelson Photography so Nina Nelson Photography doesn't need to make money right away in order to feel validated and worthy. I can do it for the sole reason and enjoying it and creating.

So thank you to the Nina Nelson Portrait people who hire me—because you're funding my art. And everything I do there feeds into what I do for my commercial clients.
Go check it out. did a fantastic job. Go check her out too.

04/03/2026

Huge thanks to Sandrine and for highlighting WOMEN in the #55 magazine. Bowlero was chosen as one of the 25 images to be included and she (and some of her sisters from the Waiting series) will be published in the upcoming magazine. Not only will this be the first time I will see the series together in print format, but some of my heroes were also included in this exhibition so I'm having a bit of a "pinch me" moment.

03/22/2026

03/10/2026

Found out today that 3 of my images were selected as FINALISTS of the annual VOICES competition! 36,000 images entered (that’s A LOT of photos!) across 15 categories. Thank you to all my Click Photo School teachers who’ve helped me get to this point. To .cox , there is a sprinkle of your magic teaching pixie dust in each image.

Bowlero is a “POP OF COLOR” category finalist.

03/10/2026

Found out today that 3 of my images were selected as FINALISTS of the annual VOICES competition! 36,000 images entered (that’s A LOT of photos!) across 15 categories. Thank you to all my Click Photo School teachers who’ve helped me get to this point. To .cox , there is a sprinkle of your magic teaching pixie dust in each image. ❤️

These 2 are finalists in the CHASING LIGHT and ALTER EGO categories.

(The portrait-oriented finalist in next post)!

03/01/2026

Honored to be part of the Topographies of Self Virtual Exhibition! Such a meaningful exhibit. Go check it out online.