Hey! I'm Nicola


Here's a bit about me . . .


I live with my well behaved silver-tabby cat Frida, in Stoke Newington, East London, husband and (not quite so well behaved) teenage girls.


I'm obsessed with cooking Indian home-style dishes (ever since I travelled around the country by train during a long-ago gap year). I discovered the joys of dying my own hair and cycling around Hackney Marshes and along the River Lea during the recent Covid lockdowns. I practise yoga at least once a week and love trying out new eateries in Stoke Newington and nearby Dalston.


I'm a cup-half-full kind of gal and very grateful I get to do such a creative job, always meeting new people.

And a bit more . . .


  • I'm terrified of wasps and make others laugh in hysterics as I dance around in pub gardens trying to avoid them.
  • A rhubarb G&T is my favourite tipple (forget the crumble).
  • I procrastinate like crazy but apparently it helps you make better decisions.
  • Having a strong sense of colour, I spent my entire childhood sorting giant packs of felt-tip pens into rainbow-coloured order.
  • Drawing the Peanuts cartoon characters, especially Snoopy, was a childhood obsession.
  • My superpower is I'm a very good problem solver, and I enjoy fixing many things from jewellery to IT issues.


Photographer and her daughter

My eldest daughter and I on holiday in 2021

Nicola Hippisley with pink hair

Me with Pink hair

The photographer's cat

My cat, Frida

The history bit . . .


I started my own portrait photography business 20 years ago. I introduced weddings ten years later and have since shot more than 50. 


I grew up in Bedfordshire but studied "up north" at Newcastle College University Centre – to better explore my parents' Yorkshire and Scottish roots (and of course it was cheaper, more beer money). I graduated with a BA (Hons) Photography.


After university, I moved to London and freelanced as a commercial assistant photographer in fashion, food, product and location photography.


It was going really well and I worked with some very talented photographers but then came marriage and children, and with work days and hours so unpredictable and hard to fit around childcare, I switched to photographing local families, and weddings.


I'm so glad I did, because I love meeting all the interesting people in my local area.

Our daughters in 2010

My family in 2020

COVID-SECURE PRACTICE

The studio will be cleaned before and after each client and all door handles, tables and items you are likely to contact with will be cleaned with antibacterial solution and I will provide and use hand sanitizer. Masks are no longer a government requirement, but I'm happy to wear one if requested.

If you have been in contact with anyone with a cough or fever, or if you feel unwell (even mildly) before your session, please contact me as soon as possible to reschedule. If you become unwell within seven days after your session, please let me know immediately, even if you feel it is only mild.

Thank you for helping me keep my studio a clean and safe environment for myself and all of my clients.