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NICOLE HILL • photography education & community

@horizonfound

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photography can take you further than you think
18 yrs & still making a living with a 📸
by @nicolelhill_
so happy you’re here ⬇️

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When I first got started my photos were either too blurry, way underexposed or completely blown out. And I was constantly missing the shot because I wasn’t fully confident in the way I was using my camera.

I wasn’t until I learned that there are only THREE camera settings that actually matter when it comes to creating the types of images we want. (Yes, with all those buttons it all comes down to only three! 🤯)

If you’re not creating the type of photos you want because your exposure is off or your focus isn’t sharp, 9 times out of 10 it’s because one of these three settings is off.

Comment SETTINGS and I’ll send you:
📸 A free 5-minute video showing you how to get started mastering your camera settings in manual mode.
📄 AND I’ll send you my manual mode cheat sheet: it’s the perfect thing to keep in your camera bag so you always know what settings to use. by @horizonfound

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7 months ago

Comment: HARSH SUN and I’ll send you my exact step-by-step process. Because the truth is, we won’t always have access to light modifiers, assistants or lighting tools. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create incredible images in harsh light.

That’s exactly why I created the Harsh Light Consistency System, where I walk you through how I approach harsh, direct sun on every shoot, step by step, so you know exactly what to do when you’re in it!

Comment: HARSH SUN and I’ll send it to you ☀️📸 by @horizonfound

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6 months ago

Happy 6th Birthday Horizon Found. I had no idea how much you’d change my life for the better.

But more importantly on our birthday I need to say, THANK YOU! Thank for being here. For believing in your wild photography dreams. And for letting us be a tiny part of them. We’d be nothing without this community. You give us purpose and you’ll never know how much that means.

Here’s our story… 💛 by @horizonfound

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a year ago

Once you understand HOW light moves you can use light modifiers or the environment to create beautiful light every time you shoot. It’s honestly one of the most exciting things ever.

And if you want to go deeper on this and all things light…

📌 Comment: MNL to add yourself to the waitlist for my full lighting program that opens next week.

Follow along for the rest of the series!
Thank you all for being here. 🥹💛 by @horizonfound

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a month ago

Comment: SETTINGS for my free Camera Settings Cheat Sheet 📸  Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all affect your exposure, but they each change your photo in different ways too. 
Once you start thinking about what you want the photo to look like first, it gets so much easier to know where to start. 
If you have any questions on camera settings just comment below. I’m happy to help! by @horizonfound

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23 days ago

Comment: INTERESTED and I’ll send you the first access waitlist link to the $97 Founding Round of the Meta Ads Course Dustin is making for you! 👀

Also… this is us genuinely figuring out if Dustin should finish this thing.

So if enough photographers want it, he’s doing it. If not, I’m letting the man rest. 😂 (mayyyyybe I mean we do have twin toddlers so how much rest can one really get?!)

I can’t wait to see how this puts your work in front of the right people and brings more clients into your world. by @horizonfound

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20 days ago

if you want the full process, comment “MNL” and i’ll send it your way so you can actually apply this 📸👀

step 1: learn to actually SEE light

most photographers can tell when light looks good… but they don’t necessarily know why it looks good or what to do when it doesn’t.

i’d learn to notice:
• direction
• quality
• color
• contrast
• what it’s doing to skin + background

goal: understand WHY your photo looks the way it does
stop looking for “good light” and start understanding the light that’s actually there

step 2: learn what to DO with the light

before i bought another piece of gear, i’d get really good at changing the photo with simple choices.

• move your subject
• move yourself
• change your shooting direction
• turn toward or away from the light
• learn when to use the light exactly as it is
• learn when bouncing, diffusing or modifying it would actually help

then i’d practice doing this in completely different light:

backlight, open shade, direct sun, overcast, indoor light, dappled light

because knowing what to do in one pretty lighting situation isn’t enough.

goal: look at the light you have and know what your options are based on what you’re trying to create

step 3: editing

yep. this is where most photographers start 😅

presets. lightroom tutorials. editing endlessly because the photo still doesn’t feel quite right.

editing matters, but it can only work with the photo you already created.

it can’t go back and change:
• where the light was coming from
• where you put your subject
• the direction you photographed them from
• what the light was doing to their skin

goal: use editing to FINISH the image instead of asking it to create what wasn’t there to begin with

most photographers are trying to make their photography better starting at step 3.

if i only had 3 months? ☀️ i’d spend that time focusing on LIGHT.

because some of the biggest changes you can make to your photography happen before you ever open Lightroom.

and this is just a small glimpse into what i teach inside Mastering Natural Light. by @horizonfound

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a month ago

👉 I post 10 trial reels a day

👉 I look for the actual bottleneck + audit my work
 👉 I review my analytics, see what brought in the most inquiries then create 10 new pieces of content around that same shoot

👉 I collaborate with someone who already has the audience I want to reach  👉 I ask myself what someone would need to believe before they book me, and create images that shift that belief.

👉 I only show work that speaks to a specific client   👉 I create a post that is easy for someone to share to their audience 
👉 I remember that reach is not just going viral. Sometimes it is one right person showing your work to ten right people.

👉 I don’t make it mean I’m failing, after nearly 20 years I know it’s just part of the process. Because when your calendar is quiet, it is so easy to turn it into proof that you’re not good enough.

But zero bookings (right now) does not mean zero potential. Most of the time, it just means the work needs to be seen by more of the right people, more often, with more clarity.

If you have any questions just let me know! And follow if you’d like more content like this. 💛 by @horizonfound

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3 months ago

Your daily reminders. Which one resonates the most? by @horizonfound

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3 months ago

Comment MNL and I’ll send you the waitlist link. Everyone on the waitlist gets $100 off when doors open TOMORROW!
 The amazing thing about modifiers is that you don’t need to use every one on every shoot.
You just need to know what to reach for when the situation calls for it.

Having the knowledge gives you control, and control gives you the confidence to show up knowing you can handle anything.

And when photography is your job, there is so much security in that. Our clients deserve it, and so do we.

I can’t wait to teach you everything I know about light!

If you have any questions drop them below. 🤍 by @horizonfound

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a month ago

They have the most beautiful eyes and I think about this a lot when I look at them.

We went through so much to get here. And as hard as some of those chapters were, I wouldn’t change a thing about where they led us, I couldn’t imagine life without these two.

There are so many things in life we’ll never be able to explain. Things that make you stop and wonder what it all means and how any of this works.

Life can be really, really hard. But it can also surprise you. Things can turn around in ways you never saw coming.

And somehow, their eyes have become a reminder of that for me.

To trust that maybe things have a way of unfolding exactly as they’re supposed to, even when we can’t understand it yet.

So if you’re in a chapter that feels impossibly hard, know it won’t always feel this way, you never know what little miracles life has in store for you. by @horizonfound

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21 days ago

I could talk about light forever. 😂 My goal with this series is to help you understand what light is actually doing so you can walk into a shoot, look around, and know what to do instead of just hoping the light works out.

And if you watched this and were like okay wait I want to go deeper…

📌 Comment: MNL to add yourself to the waitlist for my full lighting program that opens next week.

Follow along for the rest of the series! Thank you all for being here. 🥹💛 by @horizonfound

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a month ago