Meet Nicole and Reggie Gonzalez | Photographers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole and Reggie Gonzalez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole and Reggie, what do you attribute your success to?
Authenticity. 100 percent. It’s the only way we know how to be. Just by being ourselves, our clients can relax and be themselves as well. When the clients are relaxed, the pictures just come out better than if they were stiff and trying too hard. We’ve had clients tell us about nightmare sessions they’ve had where the photographer is demanding and asking them to do a certain pose they don’t feel comfortable with. We’re more laid back and go with what the session is feeling like. If the client has young children and aren’t cooperating, then we capture some more candid moments. We don’t have to wait for the ‘perfect’ picture. Sometimes the perfect picture is the candid one. We just had a session where a toddler was not cooperating, but we kept shooting as the parents tried to soothe the child and get him to cooperate. Some of those pictures came out so beautiful. We impressed the clients so much because we were able to capture their family dynamic naturally, in candid photos. It was not a conscious decision to be this way and make this effort. Photography is something we love to do, so when we’re out shooting a session, it’s fun for us. And our clients sort of feed off of our vibes, if you will. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve ended a session and the clients remark on how fun that was. We enjoy the entire process, from meeting people to the finished, edited photos.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We specialize in High School Seniors, Couples/Engagements, Newborn, and Boudoir photography. Reggie shoots the Seniors and Couples, and Nicole does the Newborn and Boudoir. The first thing that sets us apart is that there are two of us. We are both there for every outdoor session. What also sets us apart is the way in which we interact with our clients. Like we said earlier, we don’t know how to be anything but authentic and I believe our clients appreciate that. We started in 2019 and were building a good foundation, and then COVID hit. It set us back a little, but we were able to come out of our local shutdown strong and begin rebuilding. We were again building our business back up and started branching off into our specializations but the overwhelming desire to move out to Colorado hit us. And so we did. Now we find ourselves building from the ground up again in the place where we intend to stay forever.
A big challenge that we are still learning to overcome is being able to market ourselves. Social media can be very helpful or the complete opposite, and it’s a huge challenge to learn how to reach our potential clients. We are still learning the in’s and out’s of marketing ourselves, with new spaces in the social media world.
One of the lessons, I would say we’ve learned, are that it isn’t easy to build up, but if it’s something you love doing its worth it. And we love doing this. Another lesson is that you aren’t going to please everyone. We are open and honest with what our work looks like but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, and that’s ok.
The thing we would like people to know about Enchanted Photography is that we’re authentic, genuine, and we really do care about what we do. We’re laid back, but serious about our product When a client comes to a session, they can expect a easy experience. We’re there to help the whole way from what to wear to actual posing or prompts. We’re very empathetic and can tell when someone might begin to feel uncomfortable. In doing that we feel like we connect well with our clients and establish great relationships. A lot of clients feel like family even after our first session.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love the outdoors – the main reason we moved to Colorado – so there are any places we could take them. Let’s start with the obvious… Garden of the Gods. There are so many trails, but the Siamese Twins is our favorite. So many good views. And after that we could stroll the streets of downtown Manitou Springs and grab a bite to eat. Border Burger is a great choice with a large variety of burgers to choose from. Another of our favorite spots is North Cheyenne Cañon Park. There are so many different trails to explore and we find it very peaceful. We can either park at the bottom of the mountain and take Columbine Trail or take the Old Gold Camp road and take the Seven Bridges Trail. Old Gold Camp is just a fun drive anyway.
If we want to travel a little, we can hit the road to our favorite little town – Breckenridge. Visiting the Breckenridge Troll is one of the easiest hikes we could do. If it’s snowing, we can go sledding at Carter Park. We aren’t skiers or snowboarders yet! Afterwards, we can go shopping in downtown. So many great shops. We can stop for some boozy coffee at The Crown or grab a bite at Bangkok Happy Bowl Thai Bistro & Sushi.
One other place we could travel to is Cañon City. The Royal Gorge Bridge is a must, if Nicole can muster the courage again lol. After visiting the bridge, we can take the Royal Gorge Railroad for a breathtaking, scenic ride.
We know of many more places, and yet we know there are many more places that we still haven’t discovered. We really love being in Colorado. This is home to us.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’ve said this before and it’s still true, but we really credit one another for where we are. We push each other to do what we do. We’ve encouraged each other all along the way. Whether it’s trying out new marketing strategies or exploring new techniques, it’s us that motivates one another. We’re almost unique in that we work together on this venture instead of being an individual. That gives us an advantage in that we can bounce ideas off each other and collaborate amongst ourselves.
That’s not to say there aren’t others who deserve credit. Our family has been very supportive. Our kids especially have been supportive, often allowing us to use them as models when we want to try new places or new gear.

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Image Credits
Enchanted Photography