PROPHETSTOWN — For many of us, the older we get, the more meaningful photos of our youth become.

Pictures are reminders of who we were, and looking back at them, who we would become. They stop time in its tracks when it feels like it’s rushing past, letting us hold on to memories that we don’t want to slip through our fingers. They’re the moments that become more precious with the passage of time — and Nicole Olinger loves to capture those precious moments.

Olinger operates a downtown Prophetstown studio, Nicole Olinger Photography, specializing in high school senior photos, sports photos of all sorts, and photos for school activities.

Her desire to help others chronicle life-shaping events was born from one of her own: the loss of her mother, Bonnie Smith.

After Smith’s unexpected passing in 2013, Olinger found herself drawn to photography as a way to cope, reflect, and slow the passing of time. What started as a personal outlet soon became something more intentional, and eventually, a career that has now stretched across 13 years.

“When my mom passed, I kind of used it as therapy for myself, where I just delved into learning as much as I could about photography to keep my mind off of things,” Olinger said. “Before my mom passed, I wanted to get a nice camera and learn stuff, but I had little kids and didn’t want to spend the money on myself with a camera and stuff like that. Once my mom was gone, I thought, you only live once, and I’ll spend a little money and learn something that I want to learn.”

In some ways, photography has always been part of her wiring. Olinger grew up in Tampico, and she gravitated toward health occupations classes in high school. She found herself fascinated by medical imaging, a field that captures pictures of the inside of the human body, often developed in dark rooms that no longer exist in today’s digital domains.

Olinger worked as a radiologic technologist at Genesis Health Systems in Silvis, balancing hospital shifts with time behind the camera. It wasn’t until 2024 that she made the leap to full-time photography. She is assisted in her studio by assistant photographer Kayleigh Neill and office manager Brooklynn Neill, twin sisters who help keep the business moving while Olinger focuses on the creative work.

Having originally started out doing a little bit of everything, including family photography, she gradually narrowed her focus, eventually centering her business on schools, sports and seniors and dance photos. The youthful energy of her subjects helps things fresh, she said.

“I like sports because it’s fun,” Olinger said. “Your general fall picture is sit, smile, sit, smile, sit, smile. With the sports stuff, you get to be more active and creative. I do both traditional sports and composite sports, where you can composite them onto different backdrops.”

That creativity extends beyond the static poses. Olinger photographs dancers and gymnasts in motion, and she occasionally attends games or school events in Prophetstown, Erie and Fulton to capture action shots when schools request it. Her images range from classic portraits meant for frames and scrapbooks to high-energy visuals now commonly used as social media graphics on Facebook and X announcing upcoming games or celebrating achievements.

While the output may look seamless, Olinger points out that there’s a lot of unseen work behind every finished photo, such as editing and compositing images. That’s where her experience helps, acquired not only on the job but in classes. Olinger attends two to three photography seminars each year, including ShutterFest in St. Louis and recent training in Destin, Florida, focused on senior and sports photography.

“A lot of it is just experience, years of practice and getting good at things, keeping up with the times and learning about what’s new and upcoming,” Olinger said. “I go to a lot of seminars where I can meet with a lot of photographers, learn what’s new in the industry and learn the technologies that are changing. That’s a big thing, to stay relevant and current with the times and technology.”

Senior portraits, in particular, receive a personalized approach. Each session is built around who that student is — their interests, their personality, their comfort level in front of the camera. Some seniors arrive with clear ideas, while others need help loosening up and figuring out how they want to be remembered.

Engaging in conversations and giving seniors the gradual confidence can be as important as the final images.

“The senior session is individualized on the person, and we really try to get to know the senior before the session so that it really showcases who they are and what they like,” Olinger said. “The senior portraits are all going to be different because their interests and personalities are so different.”

Clients view and order their images through an online system, selecting only the photos that resonate most. Other options are also available, for those who want more than just a copy of the photo, such as bound scrapbooks, metal prints, acrylic blocks and other formats.

Perspective plays a role, too. Olinger’s children, Gavin and Avery, are now adults, which has reshaped how she views time — and she’s not alone.

“Your mom wants to capture these memories,” Olinger said. “For her, they’ve put you through the 12 years of schooling and gotten you to this point, and it’s a big deal for not just you, but for them, too. Watching them grow up through the years and capturing every moment of their lives has really made me realize how fleeting memories can be. They’re little for so little of time, and then they become adults. It goes so fast.”

Nicole Olinger Photography’s studio is located at 314 Washington St. in Prophetstown. Find it on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok; go to nicoleolingerphotography.com, or call 815-499-6952 to book appointments or for more information.