Nicole grew up on the south shore of Long Island in the Village of Babylon. When she wasn’t playing lacrosse in high school, she was taking photography classes and would often spend her lunch breaks hiding in the darkroom. Nicole's high school photography teacher encouraged her to go to college for photography but she opted not to in fear of becoming a starving artist.

Nicole left Long Island to study International Business in both Boston and Madrid, Spain. After university, which coincided with the dot.com-bust, she attempted a traditional career in Corporate America but finally relented and began to revisit her love for photography. In 2006, she was accepted to the School of the International Center of Photography (ICP) and mustered up the courage to quit her job. While at ICP, she developed her personal vision, worked as the Managing Editor for the school’s student catalogue Shift, and interned with James Nachtway. Currently, Nicole works as a Photographer and Photo Editor for AOL. She is based out of NYC and is available for freelance opportunities. In addition to English, Nicole speaks Castilian Spanish fluently and is perfecting her Turkish.