Irina Nikole turns Passion for Photography into Successful Photography Business
For Irina Nikole, photography is something that just came naturally. Both her father and her grandfather enjoyed doing photography as an enjoyable pastime. As a young girl, Irina watched her father develop images in his dark room, and this process fascinated her. Irina’s father was a pilot and a businessman, and in his free time he loved to take pictures. Out of all of her siblings, Irina was the one who took the most interest in her father’s craft. Her father would buy cameras and film for her to play with, and soon Irina developed a passion for photography.
Irina’s family planned for her to work at her father’s travel company. She went on to study Accounting and Auditing at Kuban State University in Krasnodar, South Russia. Though most Russian people start to learn English in elementary school, Irina taught herself English in her free time. While listening to her Russian-spoken lectures, Irina would take her notes in English, which seemed strange to her classmates. During her fourth year at Kuban State, Irina was given the chance to visit the United States to learn English and to work. The company she worked for assigned her to Panama City Beach, Florida. An unexpected change in plans lead to her boss reassigning Irina to Destin. She cried and begged not be sent to Destin; Irina did not want to have to change her plans. Little did she know, Destin was her destiny. Irina went back to Russia, graduated from Kuban State University with a Bachelor’s degree and then moved to New York. In New York she got married and had her first daughter. Soon after, Irina and her family found themselves living back on the beautiful beaches of the Emerald Coast.
After moving back to Destin, she had her second daughter. She loved to take photos of her two children, capturing precious moments as they grew up. She began taking thousands of pictures, photographing everything around her. It wasn’t long before Irina began doing what she truly loves: photography. Irina’s first photo session was of a single mother with her two boys. Seeing the mother’s reaction to the photos was a gratifying moment for Irina. “Sometimes I look at them, and I’m amazed how good they were” Irina said. It was then that her passion developed into a desire to bless others with the products of her passion.
Then life took an unexpected turn, causing Irina to raise her two children alone. “Life gets tough sometimes,” said Irina, “but I have people and things to be thankful for and appreciate.” She decided to take a leap of faith, so she invested in a professional camera and turned her passion into a business: Irina Nikole Photography. She started taking photos for people to document their most memorable life events: weddings, graduations, engagements, maternity photos, and various styles of personal portraits.
Irina credits her success so far to her faith. “When I found God, I found everything I needed and everything that was missing,” Irina explains. Throughout the hardest of times, Irina has been able to overcome many obstacles. She finds peace in God through involvement at Destiny Worship Center in Miramar Beach, Florida. When she is not at work, Irina enjoys spending time with her daughters, playing outdoors, swimming, traveling, cooking, spending time with friends, and worshipping. She loves to read, write, and learn new languages.
Irina finds joy in photography. She is able to see the happiness she brings to her clients’ faces during and after the photoshoots. Knowing that she is giving them something special to reflect on years after capturing their moments is a true blessing to Irina. Many of her clients exclaim that they never want to leave the Emerald Coast and that she is very lucky to live in such a beautiful place. She agrees!
She says “I think everyone who visits the Emerald Coast and these beautiful beaches should take away with them a few nice photographs, professionally done, from a fun photo session.”
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