Nikki O’Leary

Photography has always held a special place in my heart. From the moment I picked up my mother’s 35mm camera as a child, I knew I never wanted to put it down. As a kid, I photographed everything I saw. I played dress up with my Grandmother’s antique clothing collection. I photographed everyone I knew. I spent years in the dark room watching silver and light turn a blank page into a picture.

While studying photography in Boston, I discovered that a photograph can do so much more than make a picture. It’s a powerful tool for storytelling, one that I fell in love with so deeply. I spent my years in my MFA program telling stories about my ancestry and the sea. I taught, I exhibited art internationally, and then I moved to Chicago.

I spent many years building a wedding and lifestyle photography business. While I wasn’t as passionate about weddings specifically, it was the story that I loved to capture. I built a brand called Thistle and Twine Atelier, centered around soft, quiet photographs, focusing on rustic, vintage inspired weddings, and the like. As the years rolled by, my work evolved, and felt that my brand needed to, as well. I was no longer photographing those soft, quiet moments, but my wedding work began to celebrate dark and moody vibes, with bold pops of colors, and I began to focus on more than just weddings - thus, Oh, the Life! was born. 

I loved the creative branding process so much that I helped a friend with her branding; and then I helped another. I loved the challenge of creating a visual brand, almost as much as I love telling a story with my camera. With Midnight Gold Collective, I’m able to marry those two passions. I’m able to work with other business owners to strengthen their visual brands and create beautiful, story driven content. Through a series of brainstorming sessions, we define their brand identity and conceptualize stories to photograph. Then we create the content, and curate it for social media, so that they can spend time doing what they love best.

Editorial / Commercial / Personal Works at www.nikkioleary.com