Angela Nicholson
Name: Angela Nicholson
Camera: I constantly change because I test cameras to write reviews.
Favourite type of photography: Dogs, wildlife, coastal scenes, long exposures and landscapes
Location: Oxfordshire, UK
Website: angelanicholsonphotographer.com
Instagram: @angenicholson
How did you get into photography?
I loved art at school, but science was seen as the way to go career-wise and I enjoyed it too. I had a couple of simple cameras as a kid, but I didn’t pursue photography because I didn’t know much about it and it was expensive. Later, when I was a student studying Agriculture and Environmental Science at Newcastle University, I sometimes borrowed my Dad’s camera and enjoyed photographing a few things we saw on holiday in the Lake District. Then one Christmas, shortly after my Dad had bought a new camera, my granny gave me some money. I decided to buy a Canon SLR with two lenses. From that moment, I was hooked and took my camera everywhere, photographing everything.
Do you have any photographic qualifications or accolades?
Not long after I got into photography, I took a series of City & Guilds courses at an adult education centre. That led me to get a Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). After that, I decided to do a BA degree (part-time) at the University of Westminster. Thanks to the degree, I am an Associate of the RPS. I am also a Licentiate of the British Institute for Professional Photography (BIPP). I forget precisely how that happened; I think a friend wanted to go for the BIPP Licentiateship, and I thought I might as well put some images in for assessment, too.
What's the first photograph you remember seeing or shooting?
When I was around 9 or 10 years old, there was a summer fair at my school. I spotted an old Kodak Brownie camera for sale for 15p and I bought it. I thought it was an absolute bargain. I went with my Dad to Boots to buy some film and was amazed that I could get colour film for it. I thought they were like TVs, and because it was an old camera, it would only work in black and white. I distinctly remember using it to photograph my grandparents standing in our front garden.
What do you love about photography?
I like that my camera is much better at drawing and painting than I am, it allows me to capture the things that grab my attention. It’s nice to lose myself in the moment while creating images. I also love how a group of people can all be in the same place looking at the same thing and every one of them produces a different image.
Read our Guide to Understanding Camera Sensor Sizes
What do you wish you'd learned about photography earlier?
It took me until the advent of mirrorless cameras to realise that exposure is something you can play with. I remember standing on Saunton Beach in Devon, holding the Fujifilm X-T1 to my eye and seeing in the viewfinder that the scene would be overexposed. As I adjusted the camera settings to ‘correct’ the exposure, I realised that the picture looked much more attractive when it was brighter. It was seeing the image as it would be captured, rather than looking at an exposure scale in an SLR viewfinder, that made the difference to me.
Where is your favourite place for photography?
I am quite easy to please regarding photographic locations, but if I have the choice, I’ll opt for the coast. I love how the tide comes in twice a day, wiping away footprints and smoothing the sand. There’s also wonderful light and beautiful natural colours.
Do you have a favourite photographic technique?
I test cameras and lenses a lot, so I often need to do quite ‘straight’ traditional photography that enables me to investigate their sharpness and look for flaws. But when I shoot for myself, I like to do something different. In 2004, I was handed the first Lensbaby lens to test for Amateur Photographer magazine, and in a short space of time, I went from thinking, ‘What the heck is this?’ to absolutely loving how it allowed me to switch off and just think about being creative. I used it for a load of our behind-the-scenes shots at a trade show and got some curious looks when I used it to photograph the Everglades.
I also enjoy long-exposure photography, especially when water is involved. I like how the scene is transformed and you can never quite predict what you’re going to get.
Read our Guide to Lensbaby Lenses
Can you briefly outline your approach to image processing?
If the images are for a camera or lens review, I usually do minimal processing. I might straighten the horizon or crop a little and occasionally adjust the exposure, but that’s it. If the images are for me, I enjoy processing images and making what some may consider quite dramatic adjustments, but I rarely spend more than a few minutes on an image. It depends on the scene but I like quite bright images with high contrast or micro contrast, low saturation and warm tones, or dark moody images. With black and white photography, I usually go for dark and moody with deep shadows. I often use the Brush tool in the Mask section to dodge and burn parts of the image to get the drama I want. It reminds me of printing in a wet darkroom but with extra flexibility and the option to scale back or reverse your edits.
When I’m editing for my own pleasure, I aim to create images that I’d like to put on the wall. I’m not looking to recreate exactly what I saw with my eyes, it’s what I see with my head or how I feel about the scene that’s important to me.
I use Adobe Camera Raw (which comes with Adobe Photoshop) for about 99.9% of my processing. I’ve used Lightroom for long periods of time because I felt I should, but I much prefer using Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw. I like to open a file and work on it without needing to import a folder of images and start organising them.
What's your favourite lens?
If I’m going to photograph wildlife, I’ll use a long lens, but my natural inclination is to go for wide lenses like a 35mm or 24mm lens, or wider, on a full-frame camera. A 16-35mm or similar is a favourite. I like shooting subjects close up with a wide lens, so there’s a lot of background for context. I’ll often shoot wide-open so the background information is still there but soft. I’ve not mentioned a specific brand or model because I’m in the lucky position that I’m loaned lots of cameras and lenses to review, so my favourite lens is often the one that I’m holding.
That said, I’m a fan of the Lensbaby Sweet 22 and the Lensbaby Double Glass II or Sweet 35 in the Composer Pro II. The Sweet 22 makes life very simple, the aperture is fixed at f/3.5, there’s a sharp zone in the middle, surrounded by dramatic blur and vignetting. The Double Glass II and Sweet 35 produce a similar effect, but you can control the aperture and, therefore, the degree of the effect. Plus, when either of them is mounted in a Composer Pro II or Spark 2.0 barrel, you can move the sharp zone around the frame.
Read the SheClicks Guide to Lensbaby Lenses
Do you have a favourite accessory?
So many! I like the Peak Design Travel Tripod a lot because it’s so compact and light. Plus it does a good job of keeping my camera still! I have a couple of sets of Urth’s Magnetic Neutral Density Filters that I like because they are quick and easy to use and neutral. Even the 10-stop one doesn’t create a colourcast. Why did it take so long to think of using magnets to mount filters?
Read Our Urth Magnetic ND Selects Filter Kit Plus+ Review
Have you found the perfect camera bag yet?
I think camera bags are like coats; you have to have the right one for each situation. I’m happy with a small light bag until I want to carry a lot of kit and big long lenses. Recently, the Peak Design Outdoor Backpack 25L has been my go-to bag day-to-day. It squishes down quite small, but with the Peak Design Smedium Camera Cube and X-Small Camera Cube inside, it can house quite a bit of camera gear.
Peak Design Outdoor Backpack 25L Review
If you’re carrying a lot of kit, though, you can’t go far wrong with a Shimoda Explore 30 v2 Women’s Series backpack. The straps and back are so comfortable. It and the Shimoda Action 30 v2 Women’s Series won the SheClicks Accessory of the Year Award 2024.
Read our Shimoda Explore 30 v2 Women’s Series Review
Which photographers have influenced or inspired you, and how or why?
Jill Furmanovsky was the first female photographer I became aware of and whose career I followed. She captured the excitement of seeing a band live on stage. Her work with Oasis in the 1990’s is fantastic. I can’t wait to see what she produces when they go on tour in 2025. As you can imagine, I was delighted when she agreed to be a guest on the SheClicks Women in Photography Podcast!
Listen to the Podcast with Jill Furmanovsky
Annie Leibovitz also made a big impression on me. I love her book ‘Women’, it inspired me when I was shooting my honours project ‘Women in Science’ for my degree.
Recently, I listened to the audiobook of Lynsey Addario’s memoir, ‘It’s What I Do’. Lynsey reads it so you get all the emotion of her experiences. It’s the only audiobook I’ve ever listened to all the way through and then immediately listened to again. She has gone to incredible lengths to tell us stories we’d otherwise be unaware of, bringing them to life as only imagery can.
There are many other photographers I want to mention, but I will follow the rules and only name three.
Please recommend 2 or 3 female photographers to follow on Instagram.
In alphabetical order, Ami Vitale @amivitale, Brooke Shaden @brookeshaden and Lynsey Addario@lynseyaddario. Again, I could suggest so many more - including all the amazing photographers who have guested on our podcast and plenty of SheClickers.
Is there a camera, lens or accessory that you don't have yet but you'd like to buy at some point?
I check the price of a good 50-60% of the cameras and lenses that I test and think about buying them. And then the next camera or lens comes in for testing…
Is there a genre of photography that you love but that you haven't tried yet?
I like the 50:50 above and below water style of imagery. Sometimes for wildlife photography but often for seascapes or watersports. I’d also like to do more surfing photography, but from in the water rather than standing on the shore. Actually, maybe I need to add ‘underwater housing’ to my last answer.
What's your proudest photographic moment?
Just thinking about how to say this puts a lump in my throat. SheClicks has brought me so many proud moments. I feel proud every time I look at the SheClicks online gallery, when we have an exhibition, or when someone wins a competition or creates an image they have been trying to capture for ages.
I’ve wanted us to have a charity print sale for ages, and I’m very proud that we managed to do that in 2024, raising over £1000 for the Disabled Photographers’ Society.
I’m also proud to have helped some people find new friends through SheClicks. I’m happy to say, I’ve also made some fabulous friends that I chat to on most days.
If you could have one superpower that could help you with photography, what would it be?
Keywording. Dull, but useful. I want the ability to keyword every image on any storage device simply by laying my hand on it for a second. I’d start with my images, and then I’d offer my services to other photographers.
Your favourite baked goods are?
My default is a chocolate brownie, but I don’t like the ones that are almost raw on the inside. Louise Everard holds the SheClicks Star Baker Award for brownies, a perfect blend of fresh-from-the-oven crumbliness on the outside and the right amount of gooiness on the inside. I also need to give a special shout-out to Tina Hogg (AKA Mrs Kipling) for her amazing cupcakes with SheClicks logos! She definitely wins cupcake week.
Despite my love of chocolate brownies, if ginger cake is available, I usually go for that because you don’t see ginger cake very often, and I’m a fan. However, I also love almond slices. The really good news here is that the bakers at the Pheasantry Cafe in Bushy Park know a thing or two about making them. They are excellent and they trump the brownies.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in Oxfordshire near Henley-on-Thames with my partner and our rather demanding (somewhat pampered) border terrier. After graduating from Newcastle University, I worked for Thames Water briefly before joining the National Rivers Authority, which later became the Environment Agency. I played a role in monitoring river water quality, investigating pollution incidents and prosecuting polluters (we did that then). However, in 2004, after completing my photography degree, I got a job as a Technical Writer for Amateur Photographer Magazine and started writing reviews of all sorts of photographic equipment. After a while, I was promoted to Technical Editor and I worked on the magazine and website for a few years. In 2010, I was offered a job as the Head of Testing for the photography portfolio (Digital Camera, Professional Photography, NPhoto, PhotoPlus, Photography Week, Practical Photoshop, Digital Camera World and TechRadar) at Future Publishing. However, in 2016, I left Future to set up a website called Camera Jabber, and in 2018, I started a Facebook Group called ‘SheClicks’. A year later, I added this website.
Although I still write reviews for a few publications, SheClicks is now my main focus and I have left Camera Jabber. I believe passionately that there should be a greater representation in photography and the photographic industry. I also remember what it was like to be a novice photographer and be confused by all the strange numbers. I want to help people understand their cameras so they can create the images they want and express themselves photographically. I love the huge range of photographic genres and styles that I see in SheClicks every day.
When I’m not taking photographs or working on SheClicks, I like to go for walks with our dog or lift weights at the gym. I’m an outdoorsy person, and I enjoy surfing and skiing, but as we live in Oxfordshire, we don’t do either very frequently.
