Nicole Mlakar Photography Blog bio picture
  • Welcome to my blog!

    Hello and welcome to the Nicole Mlakar Photography blog. I am Nicole Mlakar-Livingston and I am a lifestyle photographer in Austin, Texas. I specialize in on-location portrait photography of pets and their people. You will find the latest news and recent photo sessions on this blog.

    When you are ready for more information on how to book a session, there is a link to my website in the menu above.

    Have fun, browse around and be sure to leave comments if you like what you see. My pet clients love their comments. It makes them purrrr and howl with delight! ;)

Paisley pup } Dallas, Austin, Texas Pet Photographer

My last client from my Dallas travel sessions was a sweet little pup that goes by the name of Paisley. I hadn’t heard that name before so I was of course excited to meet the little doll that bared this sweet name. Paisley did not disappoint. She was a dainty, wirey haired bundle of fun with the sweetest little floral collar I had ever seen. Paisley was very happy to see me too and I just knew we would get along swimmingly. That is until I pulled out my camera or my “gigantic black box of doom” as I imagined Paisley must have thought. I wasn’t worried though. Given time, treats and lots of love Paisley was on board and we had a fine time. Paisley’s beautiful mom, Jennifer, and adorable dad, Andrew, joined in the fun and I absolutely love the end result. The lighting was magical that day and I am so happy that I had the opportunity to photograph this lovely family. Thank you Paisley, Jennifer and Andrew for a wonderful shoot.

johnwaire | photo - i love paisley’s expression in #4 :) great job as always nicole.

nick - Glad to hear he warmed up in the end :) Lovely shots!

sarah - beautiful! and the colors are amazing!

Portfolio building portrait special } Ausin, TX Portrait Photographer

I’ve been toying with the idea of adding back people portraits to my business. Yes, I said “back.” Some of you may not realize that I actually started my photography business offering both family portraits and pet portraits. I decided to take my “people only” site off-line so I could focus on my true passion… pets and their people. In the past year I’ve taken on a few non-pet clients and I honestly forgot how much I enjoyed photographing families, especially babies and children. I’m not totally sure about re-opening this part of my business just yet but I thought further exploring the idea makes sense for me right now. So, I have decided to offer a special and limited time portfolio building session to anyone interested in a child or family session. For all the pet lovers reading this post, please know that pet photography is still my first love.;-)

Here are the details on this special offer:

  • On-location session for children (ages 10 and younger) and their parents only.
  • The session includes up to 4 people – additional people can be added at $50 per person.
  • The session will last up to 3 hours and include up to 2 locations
  • You receive 30-35 fully edited images in both black/white and color.
  • One 8×10 print of your choice is included.
  • All images will be provided in high-res on a disc with printing rights.
  • Session may be scheduled in October of 2009 or January of 2010.

Please contact me for pricing and to schedule your session today!

What if I told you… } Austin, Texas Family Photographer

What if I told you that I might be opening up Nicole Mlakar Photography services to photograph more than just pets and their people? What if I told you that I would be photographing babies and kids and their parents… oh my! What if I told you that I would be discounting these sessions at a very special rate for a limited time and you would receive all the high-resolution files on disc? You with me? What would you say to that?

TC - YES!YES!YES! Love your photography with pets and know your human family photography will be just as excellent!!

claire - i’d say it’s exciting!
can’t wait to see your new direction on the blog :)

Di Leventhal - you definitely should Nicole, why limit your talents pet photography! Your work is gorgeous and you will do very well, regards from Diana at K9 Photography, Gold Coast

Elizabeth - I’d be very interested, and especially for a maternity session!

DVMsWife - I say go for it! You are so talented!

Daisy and Lucas } Dallas, TX Pet Photographer

Daisy and Lucas were two awesome pups from my Dallas travel sessions. Daisy is the light colored Shih-Poo that belongs to Esther and Lucas is the darker colored Shih-Poo that belongs to Alice. Luckily Esther and Alice are really good friends because it would be impossible to keep these two apart for long. Where Daisy goes Lucas follows and whatever Lucas is doing, well… you get the picture. They are pretty much inseparable and they are just oh so cute together. Thank you Esther, Alice, Daisy and Lucas for a wonderful shoot!

Wendy - I love that last one of them on either side of the bench. Cuteness!

Wrigley Schnauzer - Great pictures Nicole! High paw!

Ruth - Adorable! Such happy little munchkins!!

Hollis and her furry family } Dallas, TX Pet Photographer

This is the second in a series of four sessions I had in Dallas not too long ago. I met Hollis on Twitter and over several months found out that she is a huge animal advocate and she has quite the furry family. She posted a photo of her 15 yr old kitty, Sweetums, and I knew from that moment that we needed to get together for a shoot. I’d been wanting to photograph a Himalayan for some time so I was really excited about meeting Sweetums. Hollis also has two rescue Greyhounds, Clive and Maggie. Clive is a massive big teddy bear and Maggie is a very gentle and sweet girl. Maggie’s motherly instincts and nurturing spirit led Hollis to her fourth pet, a kitty named Little Bit. Maggie discovered Little Bit on a walk with Hollis. There was a spot on the walk that Maggie would not leave alone and Hollis didn’t see anything but what she thought was a dirty oily rag. That dirty oily rag turned out to be a little kitten that was on the brink of death. Hollis took the kitten home and with the help of Maggie nursed her back to health. To this day, Maggie and Little Bit are like mother and daughter. Adorable, I know!

We started our shoot at Bishop Arts District and then headed home for indoor shots with the kitties. It was a fabulous shoot and Hollis made my job a total dream because well… she’s got some experience in modeling and she’s gorgeous! Thank you to Hollis, Clive, Maggie, Sweetums and Little Bit for a really wonderful shoot.

This is Clive “rooing.” Which Greyhound lovers know is a magical Greyhound howling/singing. You can see Clive in action here.

claire - i love this session!!

Jill Beninato - That one cat has the craziest eyes I have ever seen…very cool. Love the shots.

sarah - nicole, these are fabulous! and i LOVE that girl’s style! her skirt, her house… love it.