Random Excellence: Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai

If you happen to live in Denver and have a family, you're in luck, because you have a terrific kid portraitist nearby. Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai is a commercial portraitist whose website is divided into "Short People," "Tall People," and "Eyes." A nice list of categories/priorities.

It's quite possible that we have an especial appreciation for photographers who are particularly good at the types of work we ourselves have done, but, professional admiration aside, I think it should be obvious to anyone that Cheryl has a real feel for kids. A visit to her website is a virtual lesson in "How It Oughta Be Done." If that's not enough for you, she teaches workshops, too.

So what if you don't live in Denver? You can pay her to travel, but here's a tip—if three clients hire her from any non-Denver location, she'll travel for free. 

Mike

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Comments

[Sean]

The shot of the three girls above reminds me a little of Nicholas Nixon's shots of his wife and her sisters. There are others too that have shades of Nixon about them.

“Aesthetics is a distrusted discipline in the studio because it seems inevitably to lead away from the works of art produced there"

Robert Adams

[Gijs Langelaan]

Mike,

There is nothing random about this excellence. Each photograph on her site is essentially perfect. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

regards

Gijs

[Clayton Lofgren]

I have better equipment. Must be that those Denver kids are easier to work with.

[Steve Smith]

And of special note for us dinosaurs, it's all done on film.

[Bill Corbett]

Nice. Very nice. One thing I get out of this,(not taking anything at all away from her very excellent work)is wondering just how many shots I've taken over the years that I now probably can't find or didn't keep, that would speak to me as well.

Thanks Mike.

Bill Corbett

[Chris Klug]

I have been a fan of Cheryl's since I discovered her site. Her sensitivity and choice making are excellent examples of great photography, IMHO.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Congrats, Cheryl! Well deserved.

[Sam G.]

It is disappointing that the field of baby and child photography has become such a schlocky mire filled with images of, how does she put it, "babies stuffed in cabbages" and other such fantasy. Especially when the subject matter, our families, are the dearest things that many of us will ever have during our lifetime. It seems inappropriate to reduce our memories of them to elaborate games of dress up. Thanks to Nicolai for giving us some genuinely beautiful photographs and reminding us that it is the photographer and not the genre that ultimately determine quality of the work.

[Chuck Kimmerle]

These portrait photogs have become a dime a dozen in the past few years thanks to digital, and most of them are indistinguishable from the others. It's great to see a young photographer rise above that din with the vision to make the ordinary, extraordinary.

[Hans der Hase]

Wow. Very cool portraits.

How does she manage to get all those great catchlights in the eyes?

[John Camp]

"How does she manage to get all those great catchlights in the eyes? -- Hans der Has"

Probably Adobe Catchlite 2.3; don't forget to download the upgrades. (Just kidding.)

She really is a find, and I love that cowboy stuff. Good as her individual portraits are, I really like the multiple portraits better -- she always seems to catch some kind of relationship between the subjects.

[Archer Sully]

She has the best advice for photographers I've ever seen.

[Brian Mosley]

Unbelievable! such an incredible talent - I'm with Gijs, every image is perfect.

Congratulations Cheryl, well deserved recognition...

Kind Regards

Brian

[Wilson Gates]

How on earth can a photo of a dog sniffing a girl's armpit be "random excellence?"

[David]

I very much like her philosophy and style. For more insights read her blog: PhotoDino

[almostinfamous]

@ Wilson Gates - i thought so too, but the body of work contained in the website just floored me. the dog photo fits in so well, and should make you smile. the humour is so consistent and the style so well-established that each image really is perfect.

[Hugh Alison]

'How on earth can a photo of a dog sniffing a girl's armpit be "random excellence?"'

I think it was Louis Armstrong who said "If you has to ask, you ain't ever gonna know"

[Roger Bradbury]

(Sigh)

Wonderful and inspiring.

(Sigh)

[Spyro]

OMG OMG OMG I can see topless underage girls on a public website, quick, call the cops!

[David Ralph]

She's lead singer in a pretty good bar band too. (MP3s on a linked site.) This lady not only does extremely good portrait work, but she seems to be having a pretty good time living life generally. She's an example of what is possible in joy of life that seems so hard to implement for many of us when we/I feel so locked into our own situations. Thanks for the link, Mike.

[Dennis]

Thanks for the link Mike - this was a very enjoyable site to visit. Makes me think I need to do more b&w ! My biggest problem with digital is that everything is color and once I shoot it in color and see it in color, it's hard to throw away the color. And once I do, I look at the b/w with the color image still in my mind. Any advice anyone ? Maybe I should try a batch conversion and go back and look at the b/w's later ? I'm half-tempted to get a m43 camera and treat it as a dedicated b/w camera - pretend I have b/w film in it all the time.

[Helcio J. Tagliolatto]

Thanks Mike. Excellent photographs, but what have made my day is her clear statement about her work. She has no fear: Clients, don’t ask me for banality nor futility! In these days of "the client is the king", what a brave woman.

[Rod S.]

Thanks for the inspiring link, Mike. Cheryl makes glorious photos, and, yes, from film, no less. On the link below, Cheryl notes that one of her cameras is a 1938 Speed Graphic.
http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00QEhG

[Mike Johnston]

Rod,
That's a nice thread over there. And there's something special about those Isolette photos, isn't there? I had a wonderful Isolette that I had to sell because I couldn't figure out how to get a diopter on it without vandalizing it. Lovely old camera.

Mike

[Rod S.]

Mike,
Yes, the Isolette photos have an interesting look, too.

I detect a certain wistfulness in your voice there, Mike. (Clairvoyant mode on: I see a new darkroom in your future!) :)

Rod

[Christian]

I don't really shoot portraits or people, but Cheryl is now one of two portrait(ish) photographers whose sites I have bookmarked. If I could shoot any subject at all with the command of light/exposure and composition as she does I would count myself as very accomplished indeed. (The reason I said portrait-ish is because the other is a UK wedding photographer: Jeff Ascough.

My hat's off to Cheryl - she is amazing!

[Christopher A. Walrath]

Way to go, CJ.

[Patti Hinton]

I love TOP and this post is one of many reasons why. As an amateur who has recently taken your Leica challenge after a couple years of digital photography, Cheryl's advice to aspiring photographers was right up there with your advice in my books. I'm now teaching myself to shoot film with an M3.
Cheryl's work is perfection and her philosophy is bang on. I love her approach and her attitude towards "plastic surgery by photoshop". I laughed out loud. She's someone I can really aspire to. Thanks for this gift.