I picked up my first camera at fifteen in Moscow and learned to develop film in our family's only bathroom alongside my father, a scientist whose travel photography opened up a world that wasn't accessible to me then. I could see through his eyes, and it was magical. Those darkroom hours planted something that stuck.

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Photography stayed with me through the years, but I didn't take it seriously until my first Nikon DSLR in 2008. By 2010, I had moved to the United States and was shooting extensively. The first paid clients came in 2011, and by 2019, I had built Nina Merklina Photography into a full-time practice based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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Before photography, I spent years in executive search, recruiting for the tech industry. That background taught me how to read people quickly and put them at ease in high-pressure situations. These skills translate directly to working with clients in front of the camera, especially for professional headshots. I understand what makes someone look confident versus guarded, and how to create the conditions for the former.

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Today, I specialize in family portraits, high school senior sessions, and corporate headshots for clients throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Raleigh, and Durham. I've worked with universities, Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofits, but my favorite clients are the ones who show up ready to trust the process and have a good time. I treat every session as a special event, so people feel elevated during the shoot, after it's done, and when they're reviewing their gallery.

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I'm fascinated by faces. The way physical features, personal history, and emotion combine to tell a story. The best photographs happen in unrehearsed moments, when people forget to perform and just exist. That's what I'm after: images that are polished but not fake, intentional but not stiff, and honest enough to still matter in ten years.