Hi, I’m Nick Onken. I am a Creative Alchemist. I help entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, coaches, etc up level their personal brand image through photography.
The media you put out there says everything about who you are and the level that you play at. Are you ready to play in an elevated space? Show up as who is aspirational yet relatable at the same time? My method of photography I call Elevated Realism takes you above the noise and helps your audience connect with you.
What I do very specifically is to capture the greatness in you–to find that light of charisma and authenticity and show it to the world. I’ve been doing it for some time now–for new entrepreneurs and today’s biggest celebrities alike.
Let’s up level your brand aesthetic together.
–Nick
…Identity Alchemy is for you.
“I love the “GQ” style images I get from Onken. He’s one of the best in the world at capturing powerful moments and a lifestyle that is attractive to the masses, and adds a premium quality to my brand. It’s helped me get on some of the biggest main stream press there is, land high paying speaking gigs, and increases the overall quality of my brand, separating my from everyone else in my industry. I highly recommend you get in front of his camera if you can!”
Lewis Howes, New York Times bestselling author of The School of Greatness
“I’m not one to like doing photoshoots, but needed to do one for my Limitless book launch. I love Nick’s high level approach and creative mind. He makes you feel comfortable being in front of the camera. The whole day was fun and easy. And the results were unforgettable.”
-Jim Kwik, NYT bestselling author
“Working with Nick was like working with a friend I’ve known for a lifetime. I’m not the biggest fan of getting my picture taken, but Nick really created a vibe and made me comfortable instantly. He played music, we had some match, we went into deep conversation and he knew just what to do and say to capture me in the most authentic way. It takes someone with great skill and awareness to capture someone’s essence, and that’s what Nick Onken does.”– Rosie Acosta Author, Speaker, Meditation & Mindfulness Teacher
“I worked as a fashion model for 10 years and never felt as comfortable in front of the camera as I did with Nick. Plus, never had pictures turn out as wonderful that reflected my true personality. They were so good, that my publisher wants to use them for my book cover!”
-Sarah Anne Stewart, Holistic Life Coach
“It would be easy to write a testimonial about Nick’s abilities. His mastery of cameras and knowledge of light. Sure, he’s brilliant at all the tech stuff. But that would disregard his real talent. Who he is as a human being. His heart. His playfulness. His kindness. His passion. His incredible style. It’s that combination of qualities that creates the space to allow his subjects to feel seen, held, and loved, so their true personality is the free to come out to play and be captured. Working with Nick is more than anything, pure fun. I can categorically say THE best photos I have of myself were taken by this man.”
Peter Crone – Celebrity Mind Coach
“Shooting with Nick turned out to be exponentially more than just a photography session. As an entrepreneur himself, Nick knows what we were looking to accomplish by refreshing our brand through imagery and acted more as a trusted advisor and invested collaborator that just happens to take incredible photos. Because of his work and visionary approach, my brand got the editorial polish it needed to present out work more professionally while raising out personal brand profiles.”
Jen Batchelor – Founder of Kin Social Tonic
“There is no way I could have predicted what happened after I switched my photos over to the ones I shot with Nick. My friends started saying things like “You’re a celebrity now!” and my Instagram follower count started going nuts. In the past I would one or two requests to be on podcasts each month and now I’m getting hit up every single day! Best of all I feel more confident sending the people I meet to my pages as I know they are going to be blown away by the branding. It’s the best money I’ve spent on my personal brand, probably ever.”
Craig Clemens – Writer Entrepreneur
Working with Nick was one of the best photoshoot experiences I’ve ever had. I felt so confident and beautiful during our time together. He was super open, professional, supportive, and also gently directed me towards poses, expressions, and movements that really allowed me to relax and trust that we were getting the best shots.
By moving forward and co-creating with me with any of the packages, you will be providing education for a child in the developing world for one year.
I’m a big believer in giving back to make the world a better place. I believe that education is the biggest game changer, as I’m sure you’ve experienced in your own entrepreneur journey.
Many children don’t have access to education, and I’ve been a huge supporter of my favorite charity, Pencils of Promise. Building physical school structures is highly important, but developing the quality of the education is just as important. Our goal this year is to support 100 kids in quality education which includes contributing to the school build fund, the sanitation program, teacher support and also bring digital table learning to the rural villages of Laos, Guatemala, and Ghana.
Learn more here: pencilsofpromise.org
I’ve been working with Pencils of Promise for almost ten years now donating thousands of dollars of have been a part of this amazing organization and am excited to co-create more education for children with you. With every package commissioned, we commit to serving one child in education for a year.
If you feel compelled to donate more to the cause, you can do so directly on our fundraise page here: fundraise.pencilsofpromise.org/nickonken
My photoshoot experience is for people like you–entrepreneurs, creators and influencers – who are interested in taking their personal brand to the next level.
(sessions are limited and available on a first come, first served basis)
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
+ Brand story assessment
+ Creative Call to answer any questions, connecting and production
+ Personal styling consult with me, advice from myself or a stylist ***
+ Up to 8 looks
+ Up to 8 hours of shooting
+ Up to 125 Final Select Retouched Images
+ BONUS: FINAL selects come with LIFETIME usage, a value of $2,500 per year Unlimited Press, Web Branding & Social Media Use
This package is perfect for a full press package: from book cover or album cover, podcast graphics, to press images, magazine cover images, website banners and images, content for social media marketing and advertising campaigns. Full rebrand / major brand elevation.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
+ Brand story assessment
+ Creative Call to answer any questions, connecting and production
+ Personal styling consult with me, advice from myself or a stylist ***
+ Up to 4 looks
+ Up to 4 hours of shooting
+ Up to 50 Final Select Retouched Images
+ BONUS: FINAL selects come with LIFETIME usage, a value of $2,500 per year Unlimited Press, Web Branding & Social Media Use
This package is perfect for a full press package: from book cover or album cover, podcast graphics, to press images, magazine cover images, website banners and images, content for social media marketing and advertising campaigns. Full rebrand / major brand elevation.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
+ Brand story assessment
+ Creative Call to answer any questions, connecting and production
+ Personal styling consult with me, advice from myself or a stylist ***
+ Up to 2 looks
+ Up to 2 hours of shooting
+ Up to 25 Final Select Retouched Images
+ BONUS: FINAL selects come with LIFETIME usage, a value of $2,500 per year Unlimited Press, Web Branding & Social Media Use
This package is perfect for a full press package: from book cover or album cover, podcast graphics, to press images, magazine cover images, website banners and images, content for social media marketing and advertising campaigns. Full rebrand / major brand elevation.
Since every shoot is specific to each person and completely different, production services (securing locations, props, styling, etc is not included in these packages, but is available upon request for additional estimate) are optional. These elements will be developed through the creative call process. Most of the time, clients already have these things in their world but can also be procured.
STUDIO: Depending on shoot city, studio costs may be additional to take your shoot into a studio and get that type of imagery. Studio requires the rental of a studio space, special lighting equipment, and more assistance with the complicated equipment.
GLAM TEAM: Hair, Makeup and wardrobe styling is definitely recommended, however many clients chose to do their own.
Since location is a big part of your story, we can decide which city or location best tells your story through the creative process. Typically I’ve found it best to do the shoot in your world, your location.
Packages are for Local shooting in New York City. Los Angeles bookings are considered local if Nick has a trip already planned there. Travel costs for LA will incur if you need your shoot done by a specific date. Any locations outside of those cities will incur travel expenses.
The minimum package for any travel shoots(outside of New York City) is The Authority Package. For any travel shoots where the Authority package is booked, an additional $1500 travel fee will apply as travel shoots typically add two extra days of travel time.
If you want to dive further down the rabbit hole of Nick Onken, here are a few links to learn more:
Commercial photography portfolio: photographsbynickonken.com
Podcast on creative entrepreneurship: onkenradio.com
Instagram for some visual updates: @nickonken & @photographsbynickonken