I know I'm just adding to the pile of positive remarks about Nicole's work & manner, but it's worth noting. It's the least I could do for what she has given me. Not only is Nicole incredibly skilled with her camera and use of natural and ambient lighting (even on a sort of gray, finicky day like ours was), but she's really gifted with working with cats (and I'm sure dogs, too). We did some of the portraits inside at home, and some outside in the garden near our house. Our cat, Cleo is seldom impressed by conventional toys or noisemakers but Nicole seemed to know exactly how to get him to look interested and cooperate - plus her magical cat toys must've had kitty crack on them -- Cleo loved them way better than anything we've ever gotten him. Also, it's worth saying that Nicole's method was very relaxed and flexible. She never forced Cleo into doing this or that - she let Cleo sort of lead the way, resulting in zero tension despite the unusual circumstances (from Cleo's perspective). Cleo is notoriously un-photogenic, given that he has black fur and always seems to hate it when I point my phone or camera at him. This is one of the reasons I felt it worth it to hire a pro. Cleo is almost 14 years old as I write this review - he's still really active and fun, but he's not getting any younger. I'm so glad I finally bit the bullet and hired Nicole for Cleo's pet portrait. It was worth every cent and she was such a pleasure to work with. I really like her personality and style, and especially the beautiful photos I ended up with. I am ever grateful for her service. read more

Nicole Mlakar Photography - Pet Photography Near Me

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Nicole's photography is unparalleled in it's style and beauty. As a photographer myself, it's the kind of imagery that makes me want to give up shooting pictures altogether, to bag up all my cameras and lenses in a big Hefty sack and dump them into the river. It's that good ... I recently hired Nicole to shoot portraits of my wife and pets (two dogs, Kaya and Shonee) and have to say that I am MORE than impressed with the results. Just last night I was reviewing the digital images when one of the photos really touched me. No exaggeration, my eyes were welling up with tears! There is something so special about her perspective, something so sublime about her style, that there aren't enough adjectives available to properly describe it. Beautiful. Powerful. Captivating. Expressive. Smooth. Engaging. Emotional. Exciting. Playful. Contemplative. Serene. Intriguing. Perceptive. Like the ingredients of a gourmet dish, all of these apply in different proportions, depending on the subject and the scene. I have never been a big fan of framing portraits and mounting them on the wall in my home, but this time, I'm already thinking about which images to get printed and how to frame them. Nicole's photography is art ... read more

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Nicole is a true talent. It is rare to find a photographer who can really catch "those" moments. Some...seem to get there a second too soon, or too late...and while the style is there the soul is not. Whether through gift or practice or (most likely) a combination of both, Nicole's photos again and again capture the most soulful moments of the lives of our most trusted companions. She donates her talents to the Central Texas SPCA, and her efforts have truly helped increase adoptions. Plus, they make the shelter look great, and we run this place out of a coupl'a trailers. Nicole is gifted, generous, and very easy to work with. I recommend her highly. read more

The instant Nicole started off her photo shoot with our two terriers Styles and Hambone I was honestly mesmerized by all the little tricks she used to grab their attention and draw them into the shoot. Judging by the photos we got from her and others from her portfolio that I've seen, she has such an incredible ability to really capture the essence of her subjects' furry little personalities. In the 9 years I've been with Styles I've never really managed to take a photo that genuinely showed her personality and the expressions she makes when we're just hanging out together, and BAM! Nicole does it within minutes of starting her photo shoot! I also hired Nicole to shoot photos of my artwork to use in my portfolio (they were incredible!), and my wife and I have worked with her numerous times when we needed promotional photos for the salon we own together. Nicole is a sweet and easy going, dedicated professional. She's beyond talented, and takes her clientele's needs very seriously. I would HIGHLY recommend her! read more

Nicole took some great pictures of our tribe of pets (3 cats and a dog). She did such a great job we had her come back out to take some great pictures of our newborn. If you have pets, children or just want a good professional photographer to capture special moments - she is your gal. Thanks Nicole! read more

I won a shoot Nicole donated to Austin Pets Alive. I'm a photographer myself and therefore have pretty high standards for who I would want to photograph my family. I was super excited to have Nicole come out and she did not disappoint. Her photography is amazing, seriously, amazing. She not only knows how to work her camera but she has that special something - that innate creative eye that can't be taught. Nicole was very comfortable around my dogs and has a great demeanor. They instantly fell in love with her; you know dogs can sniff out good people. She has all kinds of tricks and treats, and the shoot was super fun. The photos turned out better than I could have imagined, flawless and beautiful. I will definitely call her again and you should too! read more

If you are trying to decide on a pet photographer, choose Nicole. Taking photos of pets isn't easy. Nicole has the skills, patience, talent to make the pictures come out fabulous. We used her to take photos last fall of our pups and I couldn't be more pleased. There is no question that I would use her again and again. Your pets personality will shine through in her photos. Adding to her obvious photography skills, Nicole is a consummate professional. She answers all emails promptly. She'll keep you well informed of your order and will hand deliver the larger items. On top of that, the smaller items come packaged in such a way you know you are getting something special. I know there will be another session sometime in my future, no question. read more

Nicole photographed my cats last December, and I'm completely in love with the photos! She did a great job capturing their personalities, and the photos are absolutely beautiful. One of my cats is a little bit crazy, and tends to run away from strangers and/or try to bite them. She did a great job handling his..."unique personality", and I'm so glad I finally have some nice pictures of him. She also designed some customized greeting cards for me using photos of my cats, which were really reasonably priced. I highly recommend Nicole! read more

Updated to add: We hired Nicole to take photographs of our newborn son. I am so glad we did! I love her journalistic style. She came to our house and did the shoot in my son's nursery. We got a few great new family shots, and too many good shots of my son to count. The hardest part of the whole thing was choosing which photo to use on his birth announcement! read more

Our experience with Nicole was amazing from start to finish! Communicating with her was so easy! Nicole's website is wonderful, and her online forms made me feel confident that she would be able to know exactly what to expect when she met my dogs, and that she would be ready to take the exact shots that I was hoping to get. Once she arrived at our house, she was able to settle in with our dogs very quickly. They are both mini schnauzers, and they bark a lot when people come over. She won them over in no time! We all had such a great time with her, and it was definitely the easiest experience I've ever had with any professional photographer! Our smiles were real in every single shot, and the both dogs' personalities shine through. She followed through right to the end with her professionalism and creativity. The photos are absolutely amazing! Nicole's attention to detail shows in every photograph. I can't wait to show them off on my wall! read more

Nicole was such a joy to work with. Photoshoots can be stressful to say the least, and Nicole made the entire process so relaxing and fun. In addition, she is such a pro with pooches and knew all the tricks of the trade to keep my young pup entertained and focused on the cam. I just knew that the photos would turn out great (Nicole's portfolio is gorgeous!!). Not only were they great, they were stunning! Nicole managed to capture many sweet moments between my husband and I and our Frenchie that we will forever cherish. Whether you are looking for a pet photographer, or a human photographer :) Nicole is the best! read more

I met Nicole when she began volunteering her photography services to CTSPCA where I worked at the time. I was absolutely blown away at how beautifully and expressively she caught the dogs and cats personalities and the down to earth way she incorporated pieces of the shelter environment in her compositions. Her work made people sit up and take notice of the shelters website! Personally, Nicole did a shoot of my two black kitties, Yo yo and Jilly. Black cats can be hard to capture, but Nicole composed shots that totally revealed their warmth and quirky character. I am so happy and grateful to have these keepsakes of my girls! read more

My photography session with Nicole was the best present I have ever received! I looked into a lot of photographers in Austin and no one came near capturing the emotions and moments like Nicole does - just check out her blog and you'll see. She was great to work with, really patient with all my questions, and had great insights and advice for picture ideas. She manages to catch the moments between the poses which make for great photos. Her use of natural light and color make the images really pop. I also love how she volunteers her time and skills to the Austin shelters and many benefits that they have. It was so hard to decide which prints to get that I ended up getting one of her photography books (plus some prints too) - she had made so many great photography choices already that I left the layout to her and was amazed. I show that book to anyone who stands still long enough for me to get to them! I am so glad I have this amazing keepsake of my special boy, Pilot. Breaking News! I found out that Dirty Dog Grooming bought one of Nicole's photos of my dog for their new location. He's semi-famous now :) I can't wait to get a picture of my dog with a picture of my dog. read more

I am not certain that I can say enough great things about Nicole without sounding like a true zealot! My husband and I have tried out many pet photographers in the city and were for the most part, pleased with the results but never WOWED......until we invited Nicole to come out. Nicole was extremely informative about her services and prepared us well for the shoot so that we could make great use of her time. The session was relaxed and not at all contrived....just us, hanging with the dogs. I don't know exactly how many shots she took in total but every one we saw, we wanted. She had to help us cull the list because there were so many fantastic shots. She was incredibly easy to work with and amazingly good with the dogs. Her web site and on line viewing of the product made it so convenient for us to review! She also has a great eye for cropping and editing to get the very best from every photo. Nicole is probably not the least expensive in town nor is she the most. She is, however, the most worth it. Dint waste your time or money anywhere else if you are sincere about getting some really phenomenal photos and keepsakes of your pet! read more

I was excited to see all of the excellent photos with Nicole and previous clients, they are so great! The way she captures each pets expression and personality blew me away! I was so excited when my 3, Sophie, Dexter & Addie got our chance at stardom with such a phenomenal pet photographer! I couldn't be more happy! The photos turned out great! Nicole did a great job capturing each of my 3's personality and expressions! I can't wait to get them all framed and ready for display! I can't stop talking about what a great time we had!! read more

Nicole is such a talented photographer! Her photos of pets always capture their personalities, which is not an easy task! I love her blog posts and how much detail she spends on each and every one of them. It doesn't get better than this if you are looking for someone to photograph your pets! read more

Loved Nicole's photos of our two dogs! We have two very energetic dogs and Nicole was amazingly patient throughout the whole shoot. I have to say I was worried after our photo session that our pictures might not be as good as the ones on her website of all those seemingly well behaved and photogenic pups.... However, when I looked at our album I was so impressed! She really captured exactly what I wanted- no posed stiff family portrait pictures, but us in real life with our pups. Love the way our pictures turned out...now if I could find places to put all of them- there are just so many favorites! read more

Nicole was a pleasure to be with and easy to work with. Her photos are top notch and she has the ability to capture artistic shots even with animals involved. She also has a nice selection of canvases and books that are a great way to commemorate your photos. Overall, quality work! read more

Nichole is wonderful! She spends time before the shoot giving you information and finding out what you are looking for, arrives ready to go, and is very patient and postitive. We got GREAT shots. Nichole knows how to work with the dogs. They relaxed and realized this was special, and we got great shots of them. Nichole made me look great, we got all the shots we wanted. She tooks lots and lots of pictures, we had plenty to choose from. Nichole gave us a memory and momentos we will treasure forever. Her photos are a wonderful, clear, and romatic style. We will use her again. read more

It is no surprise that Nicole was voted "Best Pet Photographer" for 2009 by Austin's Pet Directory and I'm sure she'll sweep the ballots once again this year! Noah and my session with Nicole was one of the most fun, sweet times that will serve as a sweet memory I have for years to come and I have amazing pictures as documentation. After researching several pet photographers throughout the Austin area, Nicole's portfolio was the only one I found to be fun, personal and professional. No one else's work compared and I wanted the best for Noah! It is obvious that she is passionate about her work and I really admired her advocacy for animal rescue. In filling out the "getting to know your pet" form, Nicole genuinely wants to learn about your pet so that she can best capture their personality which I think adds so much credibility and made me more comfortable knowing that she really sought out Noah's uniqueness. Another thing, she is so gracious and generous to work with. I had some special circumstances time-wise and needed prints rather quickly. Nicole was more than happy to oblige! Noah loved her; he started to "work it" and really hammed it up to, I think, impress his new friend. She is a dream to work with and you won't regret your choice...we are talking about the best here! read more

I have loved Nicole's photography for years. When she started taking photographs of pets I jumped at the chance to have my Saffy photographed. I love the photos Nicole took - some outdoorsy, some silly, and some sweet. She captured the many moods of my pup. I would definitely recommend her service. She is easy to work with and has that funky cool yet sophisticated vibe. read more

Nicole recently shot my buddies - Charlie and Kate - the photos are beautiful. Nicole is so easy to work with and has a gentle and easy presence around people and dogs, which really shows in her beautiful photos. I highly recommend Nicole and her work. read more

I worked with Nicole last May (2010) and she was a dream! I'm just now getting around to writing a review but better late than never! I have kept up with her on facebook and it has been such a joy to recognize friends dogs on her facebook page and in her blog (that she so lovingly writes after each shoot). She captured my little one so well that we've asked to do another shoot sometime next year. I can't wait to work with her again - she was/is so fabulous! Every shoot shows each dogs personality so genuinely it's hard to believe each pet isn't her own. I love seeing all her blog posts because you can feel the energy of each shoot and really see the personality of each dog in every picture. Anyone can take a picture but Nicole doesn't take a picture she captures a moment. It's hard to understand, until you have worked with her, just how amazing she is and how wonderful she is. If you haven't worked with her yet, you certainly need to! My little min pin loves her and so do I! My sister is doing a shoot with her next month and I can't wait to see the images! read more

I loved the photos Nicole took of my three animals. I was afraid they would be camera shy, but she has a calm nature to her that my pets were drawn to. When it came time to choose which photos I liked best, it was a difficult decision since there were so many great ones to choose from. I would definitely recommend using Nicole for your pet portraits. read more

Nicole was recommended to me by Dogadillo in Austin. I needed photos of my 2 dogs for my business' van "wrap". Nicole was so professional but laid back that she made it seem too easy. I was worried when she left - will these photos be good? My beagle has ADD and cannot hold a pose for more than 1/2 a second. My hound dog is calm but he is so calm it's hard to get his personality in a photo. I could not believe how great the photos turned out - i am not only using them on my van wrap but also on my website (new one under construction) and facebook pages. Nicole is amazing - she has more talent than any photographer i've ever worked with and she knows doggies! It's amazing! Love her! read more