About Nichole Van
I've often felt that I'm a teacher by trade and a photographer almost by accident. My first passion has always been teaching. My workshops are a combination of my passions: teaching, art, and photography.
My journey to this place my life is an interesting one. I was an instructor at Brigham Young University for about 10 years, teaching advanced English courses. During that time, I received several awards for my teaching and actually helped supervise other instructors. Additionally, I was part of a team that won a national award and grant from the Pew Foundation for curriculum development. Teaching has been a huge part of my life and nearly all my professional training and experience has been in instructing others.
In addition to my teaching experience, I have an extensive background in the arts, with undergraduate degrees in Humanities and Art History. My background in fine art really drives my love of photography. It also gives me a rich archive of inspiration and strong knowledge of classical composition to draw from.
After being a hobbyist photographer for 12 years, I decided in 2006 to make the switch to being a professional photographer. Since that time, my business has exploded and I feel fed as an artist as never before. I was so honored to receive WPPI's prestigious 8x10 International Portrait of the Year award in 2007, as well as placing first, second and third in several international competitions and winning over 39 international accolades for my work. My work was featured on the cover of Rangefinder magazine in August 2009 and in Professional Photographer in March 2010, as well as numerous local and online publications. I was also honored in January 2011 as a top ten finalist in Professional Photographers of America's (PPA) International Grand Imaging Awards in the wedding category. In addition to my own workshops, I provide instruction to other professional photographers and have presented classes at WPPI's international convention, as well as IPPA. I currently hold an Accolade of Outstanding Photographic Achievement from WPPI.
