In this episode of Boss Leap, Dr. Sylvia Morris and Dr. Angela Walker sit down with Nina Babel, a trailblazing photographer and creative force who turned her lifelong passion into a thriving business. From her early dreams of becoming a dentist to navigating corporate America, Nina’s journey is a powerful testament to trusting your creative instincts. She shares how she rediscovered photography as a form of healing after losing her father and how that grief sparked the birth of her new career. With raw honesty, Nina reveals the struggles of breaking into the male-dominated photography industry as a Black woman, the angels who guided her along the way, and the bold leap of faith that transformed her side hustle into her full-time calling. Whether you’re an aspiring creative or an entrepreneur seeking inspiration, Nina’s story is a masterclass in resilience, self-belief, and the magic of following your artistic voice. Tune in for a conversation that will ignite your passion and remind you—it’s never too late to embrace your true calling.
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Nina Babel: From Loss To Lens – How Grief Sparked A Creative Rebirth
Nina Babel: Global Photographer & Digital Nomad
Welcome to the show. We talk with Nina Babel, a travel photographer, creative, and artist. We’re going to talk about travel and why we travel. Angela, why do you travel?
I would have to answer that it feeds my soul. There’s something about for me, getting on an airplane, getting on a car, just driving or flying off it.
A good road trip.
Just getting up in the air on a plane and seeing the clouds. It just gives me a sense of freedom. I’ve loved to travel since I was a young girl, and we didn’t do a lot of it. When I was young, I remember road trips with my mom in the summer. She was a teacher, and we would travel from Texas to Pennsylvania, where my grandmother.
What was your favorite thing about the road trip?
I loved driving through, and this is bad, like the Smoky Mountains. You could see all the little small towns off the side of the road. I remember just fantasizing about what life was like in some other part of the country. I guess I enjoyed being with my mom.
Certainly, you enjoyed being with your mom.
I did. I’m trying to remember what was so magical about it. Obviously, I was the passenger.
You do in the big back seat laid out. Maybe not a seatbelt.
You remember. No, I think it’s just that I love seeing other places. For me, it just equates to freedom. I would love for our show to travel to different places and give different perspectives.
Preferably a beach.
Anything warm with water would be wonderful. Sunshine and sheds light on what life is like somewhere else. What about you? What does it to you?
I love travel. When you talk about road trips, I remember being with my mom, and we would drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, Highway 1, from Los Angeles up to Monterey. You see the Pacific on the left and the huge mountains, and we would stop because I’m all about the food. Whether you stop at a little farm stand and get some cherries or you stop and have an ice cream. I was there for it all and even some of our girls’ trips. We’ve had spent some time in the car, and I remember us go to Puerto Rico where we drove to have the lechon. That was, which is like this roasted pig, sorry for our vegan and vegetarian friends on a spit and the pig is suckling and it’s just yum.
You didn’t go further when we drove into the jungle where we had no clue where we were and no communication.
That was my idea.
Wandered through the jungle and saw this beautiful waterfall. Those are good times. Beautiful. I love your experiences. I have to throw in my initial route one, or was it Highway 1? Carl and I drove down from Sonoma. We drove over to the highway, and we’re driving down towards San Francisco. We drove through the redwoods. It was so beautiful. Once we got to the highway, the fog rolled in.
The fog is no joke. By 4:00, you need to be off the road because you could just easily drive off.
There are no guards.
No, there are no guardrails.
I’m closest to the edge. My first experience was, but then it cleared up and then it was just magical, but it was a white knuckle experience for a good ten minutes. I was like, “I don’t know if I’m going to do this again.” That sounds beautiful and great memories.
We welcome Nina Babel. Travel photographer will be the next sound that you hear.
I cannot wait.
Welcome back to the show. We have Nina Babel, a photographer, artist, and creative. We’re just going to start our conversation. Nina, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, Angela and Sylvia. It’s good to see you again. Last year, when we met, it was a different scenario. I was shooting you guys for the cover of Georgetown Health Magazine where spring or winter edition, I cannot remember. Nevertheless, I love how that came out.
It was beautiful.
That’s just an amazing experience. Once in a lifetime is very beautiful.
I was proud of that one. I’m just happy to be back in a different sphere.
We’re going to get right into this, but I just preface so proud of you. I remember speaking to you about how your whole career, your trajectory. It just feels like it’s blown up even since I’ve met you. You are definitely a boss leap woman. We want our audience to know all about you. We’re just going to start with some of the basics that we like to share with our audience and how you grew up. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Nina’s Creative Foundation And Early Influences
When I was growing up, I even had a handwritten note. I don’t even know. I’m going to send it to you, but you won’t get it in time for the podcast lunch. I’ll send it to you. It’s interesting because back then I wanted to be a dentist growing up. This was a little girl. I went from that to a fire woman. I think that creative juice started from a young. My mom always put us in, I guess, extracurricular activities. I think that gave me really the foundation. Not only that, we always went to museums.
Always were in the library. We were always feeding that creative soul, me and my brother. I wanted to be an architect. That was the first mission. I was taking drafting in high school, and I always enjoyed the arc. That was the other influence, architectural magazines. My mom would get that delivered to the house, and I’d be like, “Amazing homes.” Physics class. I never could get past physics class in high school. I had the worst teacher. I thought to myself, “I cannot take this in college.” My strongest suit in high school was never math.
I was just afraid, “This is not going to work. Let me shift to interior design.” My art teacher was like, “By the time you grow up, computers are going to be doing everything.” I got nervous because I just was like, “What? I’m not going to have any artistic input?” I’m being notes to my dad, all this creative stuff I was doing my whole life. At this point, I was probably 17 or 18 and about to graduate. I said to him, “I’m going to take a year off, and I’m going to be a makeup artist.” He was like, “Absolutely not. You are going to school to study business, and you work in industrial engineering.”
I had no idea what that was at the time. I was like, so really that was from that point to four years ago, I felt like I was a round square pig and around whole like just existing career wise. Even though I did want to have a career in corporate and stuff, that’s not the route I wanted. Even when I was in college and I was taking classes and stuff, I struggled. I really did. Even though I was taking business, I really didn’t feel like that was where I was supposed to be.
I was just checking the boxes from college to four years ago. After college, I remember my first interview, I didn’t know what I studied business administration kept it general. I interviewed for a project manager position and with NCR, who at the time was big with ATMs and cash registers. That’s what they’re known for. It’s everywhere. I stalked the guy that interviewed me. I was young and hungry, and he ended up giving me the job, but it was all a waiting game. He said, “We’re making decisions in 2 or 3 weeks.”
I think he said he was going to hire me. I kept calling him. “Are you ready to hire me?” I don’t have those balls. I wish I had those balls like I did when I was younger. I was calling him, and I got the job. That whole career was, I think, the foundation. That’s just a lesson to show that everything in its due time. It wasn’t wasted time, and I used to label it that way. It gave me the foundation in terms of business, social skills, and hard skills, like how to put a presentation together.
Just that corporate speak and knowledge that I use today as an entrepreneur, which a lot of creatives do lack because they’re creatives or they’re introverted. I was in IT for a long time. I struggled, too, because I’m not technical. I didn’t have that background. A lot of it I had to learn on the fly or just from project to project, or I had a team that always just shepherded me along the way. I’ll say this, and I always credit one of my good friends, probably about at least eight years ago. She was my hairstylist. I didn’t grow up with her, but we had that relationship.
They’re the best counselors.
That’s an intimate relationship, the hairstylist.
She told me at the time in the chair, she goes, “You’re wasting your life.” I just looked at her like, “What do you mean?” You don’t know me like that. She said, “The little bit that I’ve seen of what you post on Instagram with your pictures, even just from your iPhone, I feel like that’s where you should be focusing.” I looked at her like, because she didn’t know I picked up a camera at thirteen years old. My mom always had a camera in her hand, and just through osmosis, I figured, “Let me do that too.” I’m completely self-taught, never had any college.
What were some of your early photographs of? What did you photograph when you were in your teens?
When you're connected or have relationships with the right people, they look out for you. However, certain sectors, like the fashion industry, are always guarded, with people who won't tell you everything. Share on XA lot of it was either travel or my friends. I threw out a garbage bag of film photographs, like people that I don’t even talk to or see, but literally a garbage bag of photos I had taken. I kept some, but it was all film. You roll the camera back in the day was horrible.
A 35 millimeter film. You drop it in.
It was mostly people like friends and like what we were doing, whether it was a get together, a partying, a birthday. When I traveled for work, the same job that I referred to earlier, my first job with NCR. My boss told me at the time, “You’re going to Europe for a month.” That had to be 1998. At that point, I picked up my camera and got reacquainted with it. I was taking a lot of like building pictures, scenery, Italy. Just places I’ve never been. I don’t know, it just came natural.
I don’t know how to explain it, whether it was the lighting, whether I just see things and I would just take pictures of it in anticipation of whatever the subject was or the background. I would say that it reacquainted me with my camera again because I was told I could not be creative in the household. I just kept using it, but it was more a hobbyist. I never really knew how to operate it intimately. That’s when my dad passed, and that was 2014. That’s when I really dealt with the grieving process. I was like, where there’s death, there’s birth. It was the birth of my new career, my new life, my new beginnings, my moral compass. It was just that I found myself again. It was through my photography that helped me through the grieving process.
I’m hearing so much, and what a fascinating story because I think a lot of us have been through and I can identify just with my own girls in terms of the creative, but being told that they should do something that’s more concrete and give them. I think you were headed toward how you ended up. Photography was always a hobby for you, but you didn’t actually have the intimate training in terms with your camera. Tell us how that came about.
The Turning Point: Photography As A Healing Path
At that point, when I decided this was my new direction and it would be a side hustle, I reached out to two male photographers. One that had taken my pictures. I said to him, “I’m thinking about taking this further. Can I apprentice under you?” He was like, “Yeah, come anytime you want.” I went to his studio. A friend of mine, it went to Howard, and he’s actually a filmmaker. He sat me down. I wish I had brought my camera down. I have it right here. He literally showed me the camera, opened up the sensor, and explained to me the different parts of the camera and how it works. No one had done that before. Mind you, the cameras I had before didn’t have lenses. It was just on all, just one.
All in one.
I never had to take off the lens and change it or see what the sensor was. He explained to me just all the dials. I had another individual where I worked in IT. I don’t know. That was another angel. I was walking. He worked in the video department, the audio-visual department of the bank.
The AV guy?
Yes. They had a camera set up, and I think they were about to do an interview, but he motioned me to come, and I don’t know if I told him what I was doing, but he was like, “This is the camera. You need to get, and you’re going to sit down with me right now.” I was like, “I got to go to work. I’m late.” He was like, “No, you’re going to sit down with me right now.” He sat down with me for two hours to show me the camera.
At that point, Sony was the pioneer of this mirrorless camera, and no other camera brands had this though. To him, he wanted me to make sure that whatever camera I buy, it’s this one, especially if I’m going into the industry. He wanted to make sure that, I call it you cry once because it’s expensive. Just don’t go the cheap route. Just cry once, get it over with. He’s like, this is the brand you need to get.
He sat down and showed me how detailed the camera was, the output is showing me his work. I never really saw him again, or I don’t even remember his name to circle back with him. Again, he was an angel, another one. The two apprentices, the one guy in the studio, was just throwing out buzzwords and asking me like, “Do you know what this means or do you not?” That was helpful. I would say after the second or third visit, we both agreed that he was like, you’ll be fine. He just kept saying, “You’ll be fine. Just go out and start. Just go on and start.”
“You got to do it.”
He didn’t feel like I needed a lot of work.
You had it.
I think he saw what I had. The other one was the same. He was like, “You’ll be fine. Just focus on portraits for now. Like, people start there and then figure out what you like, and you’ll be fine.” He said the same thing. You’ll be fine. On the flip side, I had haters too who were just like, “That’s just the ghetto, that piece of work.” The sad thing is it’s from our people, some of them. The industry before George Floyd was more gated, with a lot of gatekeepers. It was heavier on the gatekeeper side. After George Floyd, it leveled out. It’s back to where it was.
The door opened, and is the door closing now?
No, I think when you’re connected or you have relationships with the right people, they look out for you. In certain sex, like certain like the fashion industry would always be guarded. There are always people who will not tell you everything.
Why live your life like that—letting your beautiful skill and gift collect dust? This is what you should be doing. Cut the cord, take that leap of faith—choose faith over fear. You've been programmed and brainwashed for so long. Share on XIs that in terms of being, I’m trying to understand as a woman, as a woman of color, or just all the others?
There’s a video. I don’t know if I have it on this phone, but it’s a well-known influencer. I did something for Snapchat, and she was one of the speakers. She’s Black too, but I have it on video. I just haven’t posted it yet, but she was like, “Wait a minute. I do these all the time, and I never see a Black female photographer.” She goes, “This is a big deal.” I said, “I’m here. Probably haven’t seen me, but I’m here. I’m around.” Even when models see you, they’re so happy, especially if they’re models of color. They’re like, “Someone who knows how to light me, how to shoot me, knows my skin tone. It’s not a guessing game.”
We were super excited to see you with Georgetown set this up because we didn’t know how it was. This was our first photo shoot. We wanted to make certain that we were going to look great. I immediately relaxed after we Googled you. I’m like, “Oh my God.” I understand, yes.
There is that relief. I was explaining to my girlfriend, and I said, “I’ve had some Black celebrities, male, and I think who are just some really cheerleaders.” Timberland is one example. I’ve had some others where they’re just make life difficult.
Misogyny is real. Can we go back a little bit? What advice would you give your younger self?
Career Reflection And Missed Opportunities
Going back to the makeup artist, number one. I remember going to, so I grew up in Toronto, and MAC was founded in Toronto.
I didn’t know that.
Before L’Oreal bought them out or whoever, I think L’Oreal bought them out or whoever the next or what. It’s one of the big cosmetic companies that bought them many years later. I remember in high school going to the counter, or maybe I applied to be an apprentice, like a makeup artist, and that was going to be my part-time job.
I have a habit of not listening to my parents, even when I say one thing, I would always do the other. This was one where I obeyed, and I said, “I will not.” When he said no, I was like, “I’m going to go to Mac anyway and learn how to be a makeup artist and do this on the side.” I didn’t. I think about that all the time, especially now that I’m in the industry, because there’s a lot of makeup artist jobs that I see, and I’m like, “I could have been one of them.”
Even as a photographer, I could have doubled up and done your makeup and photographed you as well. That’s one. The other two I didn’t research. I think when it comes to college, I didn’t know about the whole look. I looked at the liberal arts area of college. I always thought those people were weird, and I discounted them, but not realizing I should have minored in photography.
You’re creative. Why would you discount liberal arts?
Back then, I got snotty about what my dad put in my head.
It’s how you’re led.
It’s like, “Okay.” I belittled that. I went into business, and I worked in corporate, so I never gave it that respect again. Funny how things happen full circle. I wish I had studied film and photography. I really wish that I had that exposure. I think that, at the time growing up, I wasn’t familiar with how to use that degree. Now, there are so many avenues to take that.
You’d be a different person because there would have been boxes that you perhaps would have been placed in because you had that additional knowledge, and your trajectory would be different.
I always say I wish I could have, would have, should have. For me, the makeup artist part really sticks more than the college choice. Even when I look at jobs or apply to jobs, I always see the makeup artist, and it just hits home like that was something I really wanted to do. I used to practice on my friends. It’s never too late.
I was just about to interject, Nina, because you are definitely younger than we are and already seeing the trajectory of you following your passion and just living in your purpose. It’s never too late. I went in identifying those areas because you want to continue to grow and learn. You are wildly successful as a photographer, but just continue to identify what you’re passionate about and don’t close any doors. Don’t shut the door before you’re even able to turn the handle.
I think that’s why I only regret that resonates with me.
You always have to constantly update your website, network, and show people who you are. Share on XI’ve heard about the role, your mom introducing a lot of creative aspects with you growing up and your dad, which I think a classic dad role of giving you that pragmatic, “You’ve got to learn. Earn a living. I want to make sure that you’re good when I’m not here.” That ideology. Can you tell us about who you feel are the important people in your life? I’ve heard about you talk about the angels along the way, particularly with your leading you to photography. Anyone else that you feel played an important role?
Support System And Pivotal Life Change
My boyfriend. He was telling me for years to abandon the corporate. He saw how frustrated I was or just he saw, he felt that I was not enjoying what I was doing. It was like, “Why live your life like that when you have this beautiful skill and gift that you’re letting collect dust? This is what you should be doing. Cut the cord.” That’s that leap of faith, that faith over fear. You’re programmed for so long and brainwashed.
Look, now that I’m on the outside and I watch people in corporate, I was like, “I was one of those. I just cringe because it’s like, “I drank that Kool-Aid for so long.” He was getting angry at me for not listening. COVID came, and like everybody else, everybody went through their own version of their correction. Mine was coming to terms with, like, when my dad passed, I decided to pursue photography. I was only doing it as a side hustle.
Now, I have to take it a step further. During that time, I was working and buying equipment when I could afford it because I knew there would be a point in time when dropping $2,000 to $3,000 a pop would be challenging when I’m trying to earn a living. I made sure I was stocking up in my last year of corporate life on everything that I would need. Thank God I had that foresight. He was very instrumental in pushing me forward. To this day, always just being a bug in my ear, being real about being just a hundred percent when I don’t want to hear it sometimes.
Those people.
It’s good to have those people in your life.
Just that source of encouragement that I can do it, and I’m qualified to do it. Scenarios where he might break it down. “You didn’t get it because you’re Black.” Even though I might not want to hear it. It is a reality sometimes, especially living in Florida and being around men. It’s a male-dominated industry. It’s not common to see someone like me.
It’s interesting that it’s a male-dominated industry where we encounter so many creative women every day. That’s interesting. We’re glad that you have broken in, and you’re flying high in that vein. Can you tell us what it’s been like being an entrepreneur? What has that, what lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
You got to eat what you kill, and every day you got to hunt. Unless you’re working, but I always try to keep a wandering eye for work because I want to fill my calendar. I want to be booked and busy. I want to keep my website updated because when I ask people how they find me, 90% of the time, it’s through my website.
Your website is absolutely gorgeous.
Thanks. I have to update it. That’s the other thing you always have to constantly update. Networking, showing people who you are. I always like to socialize with other entrepreneurs because we both are all struggling with the same things. If it was up to me, I would sit here all day and have no interaction. I need to have playdates. I need to have self-care because, truth be told, I haven’t even done a pedicure in six months plus.
That’s all right.
I haven’t done a massage. I don’t prioritize me as an entrepreneur. I love what I do, and I do what I love. I would do this nonstop without a break. There’s good and bad to that, but there’s the financial side. There’s a lot to learn there, from hiring a tax person or a bookkeeper, business accounts, doing your annual filings to independent grants, and applying. There’s a lot to learn.
Can we switch a little bit, and can you talk about your creative process? How do you create a visual narrative?
Funny, I like to connect. There are different types of clients that I have. There’s like people who reach out to me for like last week. We’re 30 years of marriage, and we want to tell the world. This narrative is going to be different. This could be a half-day adventure, and they want me to plan it. It starts with a mood board. Let me hear your story.
I want to hear your evolution, your Genesis, who you are, how you grew up, how you met your wife. How you guys are as a couple? Want to understand the interaction that you have and what you love to do. It’s the same with my business clients. What’s the vision you have? How do you want people to see you online? Is this a big reveal? Is this a refresh?
Is this a coming out? Do you want people to see you in a different light? It all starts with a conversation. I would tell people that it’s a relationship with me. It doesn’t end. We’re going to be not only business partners, but we’re going to be friends. If you need me for anything, a conversation just to say, “I’m in town. I want it to be like that. I just don’t want it to end.” It starts with a conversation. I created it like a mood board.
I put together sample poses of how you want to be seen, and I always want to take you out of your comfort zone as well. I wouldn’t stage that. That’s something I would do on the fly just to give you confidence. A lot of times when I shoot people, I feel like I’m shooting myself, too. Even though your personality is different to mine, there’s a little bit of Nina in those shots that you see of people.
That’s a secret sauce, I would argue.
I also obviously put together a proposal for a high-end client. They want to see like past work. They want to see my capability statement, what I’ve done, who my past clients were, and the inspiration behind my work. There are different categories of how my creative process the workflow of it. When I’m bidding on work, too, that’s different. They just want to see your portfolio. You give a little pitch. I have cold pitches, too.
I just sent twenty out last week. This is what I do. I see her having conferences coming up in May. I’d love to be part of that. This is the value I would add. As an entrepreneur and as a creative, these are the things you have to do on a weekly basis in order to thrive and grow. I didn’t know that at the beginning, I would sit back and wait for those. I found you on the Internet, and I got comfortable, and that’s what you cannot be as comfortable ever.
Good lessons. You have people like us who, I think from my understanding, Georgetown found you because they were seeking, knowing that we were women of color, a photographer who could actually do a good job with five women. You get this blank slate that we’re like, “We don’t know. I don’t know.” You just created this magic and made us feel literally like just majestic. It was such a beautiful experience. Clearly, regardless of what people tell you, if they come in with a vision, then it sounds like you can run with it. If you come in, like us, with blind folders on, then you can create from that as well. What a gift you have.
It’s an energy thing, too. It’s a third-eye thing. I’m trying to think if there’s anybody that I shot. There’s probably a handful of people I’ve shot and I didn’t have a connection with, but I had to do the work, but it doesn’t happen often. I almost feel like if I feel that energy as part of the vetting process, as we’re talking, or even email, then I’m like, no.
I’m just going to ask about that.
There’s one coming up that I’m giving the benefit of the doubt, but they’re a little on needy side. We’ll see.
Misconceptions About Photography
What do you wish that people understood about photography?
One thing, I hate it when people say, “You just take pictures.”
It is more than a photo. Tell me, what does that bring up for you?
I get angry. I put people in their place one time to say, “No, it’s not like I just show up and take pictures. You have to have not only the technical skill and like creative mind, but it’s process.” Especially if you’re working a big corporate shoot, if you’re working a huge event, there is a production team. You could be one of many, and your role is crucial, like everybody else’s. If you drop the ball, then hell’s going to break loose. People don’t understand the behind the scenes that goes on to prepping for an event.
It could be just the paperwork, the legalities involved. It could be a copyright thing where you have to hand over your soul. You cannot post those pictures on social media. Sometimes, people don’t realize the work I’ve done, but it’s because I cannot post it or I cannot post it until they post it. Even then, sometimes I have to get permission to eat, and they’ll allow me X amount of photos to publish and approve. I put people in a place right away, or I remember one girlfriend telling me that. When she came to visit me and I was working and then she looked at what I was doing and she’s like, “You’re editing the photos.” I’m like, “Yeah, this is what we call post-production.”
It’s a career. It’s not just with your Instamatic and boom.
Not at all. I call it the creative burnout because at least for me that I could speak of, I put my heart and soul into everything. By the time it’s done, I’m literally winded, and I fall out, especially if I’m working a whole week in production, like I’m offline for at least three days. I cannot function.
How do you recharge? Once you’re offline, what do you do to sleep?
Restorative sleep. That’s very important. What about recharging? Yes. What about because this is your passion and what you’ve always in the creative experience, but it’s a business and you’re doing it over and over again. How do you continue to maintain that sense of wonder in what you’re doing?
This is my week of my sense of wonder. I just came off a week of literally nonstop. I don’t have anything booked for this week. I need that. I need to reset because I’m not going to be able to be of service to the next person if I keep going. Creatively, I have nothing to give. A cup would be half full forever. I learned two years ago that I’m not a machine. I have to give myself that time to recover. Usually, after a shoot, I have to retouch the photos anyway. That’s part of the reset process. Doing it with music in the background or just in between everything else and then hunting for more work.
What music are you listening to now, as far as when you retouch your photos to set the mood? I’m just a music person.
As an entrepreneur and a creative, there are things you have to do on a weekly basis in order to thrive and grow. Share on XI was listening to a Doechii.
She’s so amazing. Did you see her Paris-like debut is what I’m going to call it.
Should be the picture, the gold.
I’d never known her, honestly, until recently.
Me too.
The song Anxiety, like I’m totally feeling. Before that, obviously, I was on the Kendrick track.
We all.
I never really liked the West Coast thing for me.
I’m not going to be offended by that, given that I’m from LA and love the West Coast.
I’m feeling his album, at least this one in its entirety.
I go back and take a listen to some of his older stuff, too.
I will. There are a few that I like, but I think because he’s very deep, when I’m trying to relax, it’s just not too much. Of course, we just came off a carnival. Listening to all the songs.
Can you tell us that the images that you have on the website are just absolutely amazing. Makes you want to buy your ticket now. As it should. I imagine that’s it. Can you tell us what that was like for you?
Cultural Connection And Photography In Trinidad
It’s cultural for me, and I have a vested interest in promoting Trinidad to everyone. Normally, I would have a costume on. We call it playing mask. That year, I decided, “No, I’m to be on the stage, and I’m taking photos and behind the scenes just doing photography.” It’s just catching the energy of people. I think this generation is caught up in taking pictures like this beautiful moments such as being on the stage at Carnival. I have had to tell them like, “Jump up, like be excited. You’re on stage. I forget the selfie Instagram moment.” You’re on stage.
Natural and authentic as opposed to staged.
That’s just me as a photographer. I’m not a posy person unless like we’re staging a shot for like, in your case, a magazine. I like to catch people in their element, showing off who they are, candid. I’m like, waiting for the shot when I see it. Trinidad has a lot in terms of scenery, people, and culture. My goal is to explore that deeper now that I’m there and really show off what we have to offer and be of service to people who want to come and visit, whether it’s carnival or not and offer those photography walks, packages, opportunities to see the country through my lens, through a local lens. Just more of a personalized experience.
When you shot us, I knew you as being from Miami. Are you in Trinidad now?
No. I’m now officially a digital nomad. I officially sold my car last week in Florida when I was in Florida. It’s official. I’m a digital nomad.
I put my heart and soul into everything. So, by the time it's done, I'm literally winded. I fall out, especially if I've been working a whole week in production. Share on XCongratulations.
Congratulations.
That’s a leap.
That’s part of the D programming. We’re taught to buy a house, have a physical address, and have this and that and the third. Now I’ve stripped myself on purpose of all of those things. I’m a travel photographer. I go where the work is, and I have a base. To your question, Angela, Miami is still my US base, but I’m up and down the East Coast. If I’m not in Miami, I’m in DC or I’m in New York. Those three cities that’s my area of focus. When I’m not, I’m in Trinidad.
That sounds beautiful.
I planned this, and I’m happy that it’s rewarding when you plan something and it just comes to fruition, that you’re living it. That’s what I would encourage everybody is manifest, write it down, and create that list. I hate to say the proverbial list, but remind yourself, say it out loud every day, like, “This is what I want.” Tell the universe, “This is what I want.”
Do the work.
Can we circle back? I love all things about you and definitely connected with you when you did our shoot, but I want to address this self-care thing. I would like to know what your intentions are, what your plans? We just talked about your list. It sounds like you don’t have it exactly the way you’d like it to be, but tell us what it would look like if you were actually optimizing your self-care plan.
Self-Care And Wellness Practices
The oxymoron of it all is that I’ve always self-cared. People know me to always be doing something, from a facial to massage to sauna to my natural path. I did that. Thank God I did that. I built that foundation just with my body because I think when I became an entrepreneur, I had to scale down because you cannot tap into your resources. At least, this was my thinking. I prioritized my business if I needed an air pod versus my getting my hair done. I chose this. It got skewed to the point where, like I said, I don’t take care of myself. My excuse is “My hands are always in something. My camera, I’m on the ground. I don’t want to be messing up something I paid for.” I’ve done that and ruined my nails. I’m like, “What’s the point?”
A good nail polish. I do my own nails. You’re done.
I bought some croissants.
That works, too.
You are cute. I think I’m going to put them. I have my own photo shoot in New York this week, so I’m going to put them on. That’s another thing. I preach to everybody to get their photos done. Here I am. I haven’t even done it formally for a while. This guy that he’s a fellow Trini as well, but I liked how he shot me years ago. I’m going up to New York to do that. That’s part of my self-care. I always traveled, and I’ve done stuff. I’ve done the trip like the last four years.
You’ve been busy. You’re a travel photographer now, so we can reset.
I carry a lot of equipment. I carry luggage and stuff.
Do you have an assistant yet? When you shot us, you had all of this yourself equipment, and you just came with it and left with it.
That’s a struggle. I say that because part of it is I’m OCD, like to do it all myself, type A. Part two, I think this generation, I guess I’ve had assistance. The work ethic is different. I had one girl who I thought was promising, but she was always late on arrival. I’m just like, “I cannot do that. I cannot support that anymore.” I guess it’s just I was contemplating putting something on social media. I don’t know how I’m going to do it yet, but I need one.
My boyfriend’s daughter does help me on. I have a shoot coming up at the end of April, and she works. If I have the date and she’ll plan to help me. I had somebody reach out to me recently. They’re a camera operator, but I was thinking maybe I can use them because he’s asking me to be an intern or if I had any projects, but I cannot do anything paid with him. I’m going to probably pick his brain a little bit.
This generation is caught up in taking pictures of beautiful moments—like being on stage at Carnival—instead of fully experiencing them. I’ve literally had to tell them, ‘Jump up! Be excited! You’re on stage! Forget the selfie Instagram moment.’ Share on XDo you need somebody with experience or no experience?
Not necessarily, because I could always mold that person. I think a lot of it is just the generational work ethic. That’s the battle for me. I was that eager person willing to do everything and paying my dues, and they don’t have that paying-my-dues mentality.
The right person is out there for you, and there may be an internal candidate that Angela may be able to refer. We’ll talk about that offline.
I’m willing to hear what you have to offer.
I feel like you will be blessed. I think you’ll find exactly what you need, though.
The plan is to get a massage when I get back to Florida or even when I go to New York or get acupuncture. I love acupuncture.
I like acupuncture, too.
Never done it. It’s on my list.
I love that. Go back to my girl in DC for the facial. I had bad cystic acne and hormonal acne as an adult but never as a child. She rescued me. You rescued me. Like she is the only person who really touched my face for I would say over twenty years, probably 30 now. My natural path as well in DC, he saved me not realizing I wasn’t going to the path. This is another TMI, but I wasn’t regular.
The doctor said, “You’re good.”
Health And Nutrition For Sustained Creativity
I wasn’t regular. He just opened up my world to how to eat and just my blood type and managing how I eat.
Food is your medicine.
Food is my medicine. Even when I travel, understanding because I work long hours and I might ask, “Do they feed you on set and stuff, but it’s not always the healthiest at times.” I really try to buy groceries and cook as opposed to eating out a lot, although last two weeks wasn’t that, and that’s not the norm, but it wasn’t. I try to make sure I get my wheatgrass or just make sure I always take vitamins, and that’s part of my self-care regimen because in order for me to think clearly and shoot people, I need to be nourished.
I love it. You are on such a great path. I’m glad to hear that you already have at least the knowledge of taking care of yourself well. I just wanted to make sure you’re continuing to do that because you’re putting out so much beautiful work into the world, making sure you’re taking care of yourself.
You have to even know your health condition. I became anemic as like early twenties even now. I don’t haven’t had the need to take iron so much. I guess because I’ve balanced all my nutrients. Definitely, the bees are helpful just for clarity, focus, and energy. Just knowing what foods work well with me while I’m working and don’t give me that fog or sleepy fog just staying away from, and I don’t eat pasta really, but if I need carbs, like I’ll gravitate to brown rice, just those things. Sweet potato.
Nina Babel, travel photographer.
Babe with an L, that’s what I told you.
It’s okay.
In order for me to think clearly and photograph people effectively, I need to be nourished. Share on XFix that.
You made us feel so comfortable, it was just Nina.
I’m used to it.
We thank you for sharing your story with our readers here at the show. Could you tell us how people can find you what social media channels?
LinkedIn would just be my first and last name, Nina and Babel, babe with an L. Now, you would find me professionally. Instagram, I changed my handle to NIBA, which is the first two initials of my first and last name, Media Official, that’s on Instagram. I’ve used that. If you go on TikTok, if you go on Threads, it’s the same on thread. It’s Niba media. That’s how you’ll find me on any social media, Niba media official.
We’ll put it in our show notes, so it’ll all be correct.
I can send you the link to everything so you have it too with my headshot.
That would be great.
My website, in case anybody wants to look at my work.
It’s beautiful. I encourage everyone to look. If you need services, please.
She’s the one.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you so much for being with us. It’s wonderful. A pleasure. We are so looking forward to having you and look forward to working with you in the future.
Let’s go.
Until we meet again, though, may you be well, Nina.
You too, guys. Have a great week ahead.
Thank you.
Sylvia, that was an amazing interview with Ms. Nina Babel, our digital nomad and ultimate creative photographer. What a beautiful story she had to share.
She’s fantastic.
She was. I remember when we first met her, and just what she said, she gets to know you, but she’s also very open, so you were able to get to know her. I just remember being a mother, hearing her story and how some of what she shared in that she felt like she had to do one thing as a career path, but then in most more recently found that she could actually potentially make a career out of what she was really passionate about. I just remember being her champion or a cheerleader from that moment. From when she took our pictures to what she’s done now, it’s just absolutely amazing. Much that I’ve taken from the interview. I guess I’ll let you go first. Tell me what your takeaways are. What are your pearls? I’ll tell you what I think.
I love how she shared that she had people along the way who gave her a little nudge or a push or said, “You can do this.” That is really important. I know as I look back on my own career journey, definitely there were people who always encouraged me. Dr. Carlton Louie said to me when I was at Berkeley, he’s like, “You can do this. You can go to medical school. You can be a doctor.” That meant the world to me.
Listening to Nina, I really enjoyed hearing her story when she talked about where there’s death, there’s birth. Just knowing that there is an opportunity to move rising above from the ashes. I think that’s really an important thing for us to all to hang on to. I think my favorite expression was you cry once. Really investing in whatever equipment you need or whatever it is. You buy the appropriate one irrespective of cost or perhaps maybe what you can afford, but you cry once, and then you have it moving forward. What were your take homes?
Interesting. We have a lot of the same ones, death can be the birth of something new. I’m taking that to mean the letting go of part of what has defined my career and taking it into something new. The significance of one person. I’ll share my story in terms of, I was always given the license to believe that I could do anything. I’ve shared my story from college to medical school. It was a little bit jaded, and thinking don’t know if I want to do this for eight years.
It was a little bit rough initially trying to apply and started in pharmaceutical sales. I’m like, “This is a good job. I like it. You can move up and have this career path looking ahead.” I was dating Carl, my husband, and I don’t remember where we were. I don’t remember what we were talking about, but I do remember the part of the conversation that was like, “Isn’t medicine what you really want to do?” It’s that person who knows you.
Nina’s boyfriend saying to her.
I felt that.
My take on this. Have the right partner. Have someone that’s in your corner and that’s going to support you.
Sometimes, they may see things a little clearer than you do. The last part as an entrepreneur is that you eat what you kill. I don’t know if everybody understands that terminology, but I do in medicine because there are models of practice where essentially your take-home is going to be based on how many patients you see. How many surgeries do you do? How many deliveries do you do or fee for service?
If you want to make a living, you’ve got to work. That’s just the resounding message that we get in all of these is that no matter what you’re doing, if you find what you’re passionate about, it’s still not necessarily an easy course. You have to work and put in the work. If you’re doing something that you love and you’re passionate about, it doesn’t necessarily feel so cumbersome to get the hours in.
Make sure that you tap into mentors or, as Nina called them, angels, people that surround you that say, “I see something in you.” Learn from them. It may only be one sitting, or it may be a much more extended interaction, but we need people. It is the connection. It is the community that helps us make that leap to the next level.
Well said, my friend. I think we can leave it at that. I think pretty much Nina dropped the mic when she finished, and we’re just going to go with that and soar this week on all those pearls that she dropped. I am excited for what’s to come in with Boss Leap. Until we meet again, may you be well.
We want to thank all of our readers. Please make sure that you subscribe, you like, you listen, and you share. If you have any ideas for us, please drop us a line at BossLeapPodcasts@gmail.com or go to our website, BossLeapPodcasts.com. Until next time. May you be well.
Important Links
- NIBA STUDIOS
- Nina Babel Email
- Nina Babel on Instagram
- Nina Babel on LinkedIn
- Nina Babel on Threads
- NIBA Photography
- Black Photographer Miami
- Trinidad and Tobago Photographer
- Nina Babel Portfolio
- Boss Leap Podcast Email
About Nina Babel
Nina Babel is the founder of NIBA Photography which is a 100% minority and woman-owned creative-led production house. She is an experienced professional global photographer, videographer, and licensed FAA CFR Part 107 certified drone pilot. She works as a unit stills photographer on set for film and television, media pit, front of the house, behind-the-scenes (BTS), and back of the house.
She specializes in portraits, events, aerial, and fashion specializing in production for digital, media, live events, film/TV, cultural and brand activations.
Her Mom always had a camera in her hand. She is 100% entirely self-taught and has grown her creative nerd into a photography career. As a teenager, she thought taking photographs was super normal, not realizing the path she was creating for herself. It all started carrying her Canon Power Shot and film camera around the world to capture all of the beauty surrounding her. She has maintained that same sense of wonder in her professional career, pouring that love and passion into her creative projects and commercial work.
Nina’s portfolio shows her diversity in skill and that she can perform on-demand for various clients. Her past clients include Snapchat, Eras Tour, Barclays, Food Network, Google, NBA, Walmart, American Black Film Festival, UPS, BBC Studios, JP Morgan Chase, Art Basel, Major League Soccer (MLS), and Major League Baseball, to name a few. She is drawn to vivid colors, low-key lighting, hard light, architecture, and candid portraiture, she shoots and edits all skin tones, aerial imagery, and fine art. Her gear list consists of SONY mirrorless cameras and lenses, and she uses DJI Mavic Pro drones.