Nichole is so fun and professional! She jumped on board to provide video footage of our elopement last minute. She was able to accommodate our plans with short notice but never made us feel less than her most important clients. She arrived one time with her second shooter, Nick and they both were fantastic. We almost forgot they were there capturing all the special moments of our elopement! Nichole sent the video footage within three weeks of our wedding and it's so beautiful and magical. She really knew how to capture the mood of our event. We are so pleased to have had Nichole and Nick a part of our special day. Thank you for everything Nichole! Jesse & Michelle read more

We really couldn't have asked for more for our wedding photography. Nichole and Nick made the entire process easy, fun, and comfortable (taking pictures with strangers can be weird!). They went so above and beyond to help make the day perfect and then exceeded even those expectations - they really made our wedding complete, and allow us to look back fondly on the day! read more

Just incredible. Nichole and her team came to shoot my wedding 2 weeks ago and guess what? I had photos to share online within 4 hours of my wedding ending. Just as I was celebrating back at the hotel with my husband and we were talking over champagne about how amazing the wedding was, I got an email from Nichole with a quick preview packet of about 20 photos and a mini wedding video montage from just hours before. It was amazing! This helped with two things: 1) I got to see my wedding photos so fast and keep reliving the best day of my life 2) I got to post and share those photos online. I know it seems like a silly thing to really NEED or want to do, but this allowed for friends and family online who couldn't attend to have almost live updates of the wedding. This was also special because it alleviated the need for friends/family who did attend the wedding to post their own photos. Everyone has the best intentions in sharing photos of events online, but sometimes those photos are dark or blurry or they might not catch you in the best light. Having Nichole provide photos right away meant that I could get professional photos ASAP to share that I was proud of and that I felt really captured the wedding. More about Skeleton Key: -They're insanely affordable and depending on your needs or specific requests, you can almost always customize a photo package or ask for a change in pricing quotes based on your needs. For example, my husband and I weren't going to do a 'first-look' session because we were going traditional and he wasn't going to see me until I walked down the aisle. SKS allowed us to adjust our photo package based on not wanting to do this style of shoot. -They were also really flexible about arranging a last minute, pre-wedding shoot. This provided us with an opportunity to meet the photographers and have them get to know us as a couple before the big day. And while for many people the price and certainly the quality of the photos is most important, what I ended up loving most about SKS is their customer service. We got the BEST price and the BEST photos, I know it.... But what I think sets them out even farther ahead of the pack is simply how kind and generous they are. Nichole, our head photographer is married herself and has also attended many, many weddings. I found her to be a supremely warm and sweet person and all of her wedding experience made her an even better photographer because when she wasn't capturing amazing candid moments, she was offering to assist with things. She truly went above and beyond and I recall a few times seeing her pitch in with carrying things or showing other vendors where the kitchen was or opening the door for someone who had a big load in their arms, etc. It was nuts! She is so great at her job that she ends up doing two jobs at once. She captures all the right moments on camera and then finds time to help with set up and advice and basically anything you might need. I almost felt bad because she stepped in almost like a day-of-coordinator! But that's just who she is. She knows how important your wedding day is and more than just a photographer, she becomes your friend. In fact - that's how she actually came to be my photographer. I first met her 2 years ago when she photographed a wedding that I was a bridesmaid for. We shared a ferry together back from Bainbridge to Seattle and chatted and got to know one another. And during that wedding earlier in the day she was assisting me with getting the bride strapped into her corset-style dress. She set up gorgeous shots to make it look like I was helping with getting my friend into her dress, but in reality I had no idea what I was doing so Nichole kindly took some set-up photos and then put her camera down and actually strapped my friend into her corset. She's a total pro and she did it better than I could have! She makes great conversation and knows exactly when to be a fly on the wall or when to join a conversation or when to offer advice or encouragement. She is quick to run and grab tissues, to calm crying kids, and to really become a friend. I'm so impressed by her as a person and even more impressed that someone so kind and so genuine could be so talented at taking photos. She really does it all and I'd get married again (to my same husband, of course!) just to have her take our pictures. I literally couldn't imagine recommending another photographer in her stead - she's the best. She really is. read more

Nichole is amazing!! I had a small budget and big dreams for our adoption/family photo shoot and she meet both. I told her the background/theme I wanted and she picked the perfect location. I have 5 kids, some with special needs, and I was nervous about how they would act at the shoot but Nichole was incredibly friendly with them and they warmed up immediately. She made the shoot a fun experience for them and not a chore. And finally the pictures came out amazing!!! Perfect shots of the kids individually and as a group. She did an awesome job of catching every facet of their personalities. Can't wait for her to take our pictures again next year read more

If you want boring photos of fake smiles and posed wedding guests, look elsewhere. Nichole has an amazing eye and her team will capture the energy and emotion of your wedding. It rained and stormed on our big day however Nichole was not concerned, calmly, easily and quickly modifying our shoot to get great photos. They caught every important shot of our ceremony, yet I never felt their presence. Nichole went way beyond just taking pictures. Throughout our shoot, she managed friends and family members to take all the pressure off of us. We had a near disaster when the bakery didn't deliver as planned until Nichole offered to pick it up on her way! We cannot recommend them highly enough. read more

Nichole is amazing! She shot our wedding, and she did a fantastic job. She was flexible and accommodating, while also giving us phenomenal photos. She calmed my nerves, made me feel comfortable, and expertly handled our occasionally unruly bridal party. I would recommend her in a heartbeat! read more

Nichole and Nick were phenomenal! Not only did our photos turn out AMAZING (I mean absolutely stunning!) but they were also great to work with. When we were looking for photographers, we kept running into the issue of them being way over budget and limiting the number of hours they would shoot for. A friend recommended Skeleton Key Studios and I am so glad she did! When we first met Nichole and Nick, we found out how much fun they are and that they really love what they do. They were also great with working with the budget we had. The day of the wedding they were very much on top of things yet easy going which really helped relax everyone especially when we were trying to get all the photos done before the ceremony. They also give you a sneak peek of photos the day of/morning after which is a lot of fun to see. Nichole and Nick are fantastic photographers/videographers and two of the sweetest people. I highly recommend them!!! read more

Nichole Blair Sams with Skeleton Key Studios was our photographer for our July 2014 wedding and I have nothing but great things to say about her. I came across Skeleton Key Studios because I searched high and low for quite some time for a photographer who didn't automatically tack on thousands of dollars just because the event was a wedding... and that was her philosophy 100%. Nichole is super cool, very nice, and an excellent photographer- can do portraits, candids, more artsy stuff... whatever you like. She made a point to meet with us beforehand to get a sense of what type of photography we wanted and get a sense of who we were as a couple. She was willing to work with us on a tight budget and ultimately gave us 2 CDs with a total of 850 photos of all the best shots of our wedding and reception. She does her own developing so that she made some of the photos black and white, some color, a few with dreamy effects, etc. I also love that she captured elements and scenes of our wedding day that I hadn't even noticed at the time, and did so with a beautiful, artistic eye. Nichole got along great with everyone at the wedding and really catered her work that day to exactly what we had told her we wanted. I have recommended her highly to several friends who are getting married this summer. I am so glad that I found Skeleton Key Studios! I loved working with Nicole and will likely use her again for photographing other life events in the future. (I am happy to be contacted as a reference also- just ask Nichole for my contact info.) -Grace read more