When Voyage Dallas Asked Me to Tell My Story
A little while back, I had the honor of being featured in Voyage Dallas, an online publication that spotlights local creatives and entrepreneurs across the DFW area. They asked me to share my story, my struggles, and what drive the heart behind By Hailey Nicole. I don’t take moments like this lightly, so I wanted to bring it here too and expand on a few things that felt worth saying a little more fully.
Where it all started:
I grew up in Southern California in a family that loved to travel, and I inherited my mom’s old Canon 300D long before I ever thought about making photography a career. Since middle school, I had been convinced I’d work in healthcare. It took a lot of prayer, some serious soul-searching, and an incredible mentor to redirect me toward what I actually loved. The Lord opened doors I hadn’t even thought to knock on, and by 2021 I was photographing weddings full time.
In January of 2022, I packed up and moved to Dallas. I won’t pretend the transition was seamless; the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is massive, and finding my footing both personally and professionally took a long time. But I’ve always believed two things can be true at once, and so even in the middle of the uncertainty, I was also living fully - photographing weddings across the country and internationally, learning more about myself, and growing in life and faith with every flight I took.
Everything I absorbed through those years of travel, like an eye for the quiet moments, a peace I can bring my couples when things go sideways, and a deeper love for documenting people, all live in the way I work now. And underneath all of it, John 10:10 has become the anchor. A reminder to pursue a life well-lived for God’s glory, and to photograph the abundance of joy, connection, and sacred moments we were created for.
To read more on the heart behind By Hailey Nicole, read: Why I Photograph Weddings the Way I Do - and the verse behind it all.
The part I almost didn’t share:
2024 was hard. I was navigating significant personal heartache while also running one of my busiest years in business, and it led to burnout I couldn’t ignore. For the first time, picking up my camera started to feel like work rather than calling. I knew I wasn’t showing up at my best, and that was something I refused to accept.
With that, I made the decision to step back. I limited my bookings significantly, went quiet on social media, and spent a large portion of 2025 only working with the clients I truly connected with. I filled the rest of my time with church, community, cooking, reading, and moving my body. Slowly, my sense of purpose came back not just restored, but entirely refined.
I share this not for sympathy, but because I think it matters. It’s honest. The photographers who show up most fully for their couples are the ones who protect their own capacity to do so. Boundaries aren’t simply a business strategy, but an act of integrity toward the people who trust you with their most important days and memories.
What I’m most proud of:
Not a specific gallery or styled shoot or feature, but the heart behind the work, both in what’s expected and what’s above and beyond.
The ability to walk into any lighting condition, venue, or moment and know how to photograph it in a way that lasts. Being able to pivot when timelines don’t go according to plan. The documentation of a day is always the foundation. And yet, it goes even further than that. Showing up on a wedding day and steaming a dress, fixing a bustle, and making sure my couple’s space and memories are protected on all fronts. Tearing up at least once at every wedding day because I genuinely cannot help it. Delivering a gallery and knowing it captured something true, and watching my couples feel that too.
Photography may be the calling, but everything else is the privilege.
That’s what By Hailey Nicole is built on, and it’s what I intend to keep building.
You can read the full Voyage Dallas feature here.