40 Over 40 Portrait Experience.

I'm photographing 40 women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.

I'd love you to be one of them.

You're invited to a unique and luxurious, one-of-a-kind photoshoot experience.

You'll be featured in my upcoming Over40Fab Gala spotlighting women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, and their incredible stories.

How much does it cost?

I am offering the 40 Over 40 Portrait Experience for just $495 (the total value is well over $1,450).

What does the $495 include?

Portrait Design Appointment: A thoughtful consultation to design your session — discussing colors, silhouettes, wardrobe, and the overall feel you want your images to carry.
Signature Guided Posing: A fully guided experience — you don't need to know how to pose. I'll direct you every step of the way so what we create feels unmistakably yours.
Image reveal session: You'll be invited to a private reveal session to view all your portraits and select your one complimentary image.
Portrait of your choice: Your session includes one portrait, chosen by you, delivered as both a fine art print and a digital file. Additional portraits are available starting at $250 each, or as a collection starting at $1,250.
Featured in the Over40Fab Gala: When the portrait series is complete, your portrait will be featured in an exhibition celebrating women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.

Package Includes

One complimentary portrait delivered as a fine art print and a digital file. Additional portraits & products available for purchase. Collections of 5 or more start at $1,250. Albums, luxury archival boxes, and wall art are available to choose from.

Optional Add-On

Don't want to stress about hair and makeup before your portrait experience? Upgrade your session with professional hair and makeup for just $195. My stylists will take great care of you at the studio. You walk in, relax, and we handle the rest.

Why 40s, 50s, 60s+, Why Me, and Why Now

My name is Katya Nicholas. I'm turning 50 in 2026, and over the years I have — like many of us — been asked countless times, directly and indirectly, to adjust, dim, or shrink myself.

Countless times, after each "friendly" suggestion, I wondered if they were right.

They weren't. Not once.

At some point, I stopped wondering altogether.

I wear tutus or glitter boots whenever it feels like the right outfit for the occasion (yes, even if it's a corporate function).

And as I've been talking to other women who feel the same way, I realized something:

Our enemy is not aging.
It's self-editing.

What I've also realized — long before I had language for any of this — is how naturally I tune into people.

I learned photography at 9 years old and was drawn to capturing those around me — my teachers, classmates, friends — because I saw beauty in them... before I was taught what was (and wasn't) supposed to count as beautiful.

Today, I combine that innate ability to capture unguarded moments with years of experience guiding you through the process — so what we create feels authentic, even when it's directed.

To showcase the portrait series

You'll be invited to share your story — what this stage of life feels like to you, what beauty meant to you then and what it means to you now. These stories will be part of the Over40Fab Gala where we'll celebrate the wit, defiance, and self-possession of women over 40.

Who is the 40 Over 40 Experience for?

Women 40+ are invited.

This experience is for women who have lived enough to know who they are and who no longer feel the need to adjust to be more acceptable.

Women who are capable, self-possessed, and clear — and who, in quieter moments, still catch themselves second-guessing.

Women who want to take ownership of how they are seen and remembered.

This is more than creating beautiful images.

It's an opportunity to be captured as you are — without self-editing.

The Experience — What's Included

Portrait Design Appointment

We begin with a thoughtful consultation to design your session — discussing colors, silhouettes, and the overall feel you want your images to carry. You're welcome to bring pieces that feel like you, and I'll guide you on what photographs best. If needed, we can source something specific to support the vision.

Hair & Makeup and Wardrobe Styling

Professional hair and makeup are available as an add-on, booked separately from the session fee. I have no intention to transform you into someone else — everything stays aligned with how you want to be seen, whether that's natural or more glam. If you'd rather do your own, that's fine too.

Signature Guided Posing

This is a fully guided experience designed around you. You don't need to know how to pose — I'll direct you every step of the way. My role is to create the conditions where you can settle in and be yourself, and to translate that into images that feel unmistakably yours.

Featuring Luxurious Products
to Store & Display Your New Portraits

Crystal Covered Albums

Our leather and crystal heirloom albums are the perfect way to preserve your images and enjoy them for generations. Choose the size that works best for you.

Luxury Archival Boxes

Handcrafted, archival-grade boxes designed to protect and display your prints for a lifetime — a living frame you can open, swap, and return to whenever you want to see yourself again.

Wall Art

Having your new portraits up in your home is a fine art treasure. Whether your style is contemporary, modern, or romantic, we'll help you create wall art that feels like part of your space, not an afterthought.

Investment

Regular price$1,450

Over40Fab Project participation price$495

Hair & makeup $195

Added at booking if you'd like it done for you.

Image Selection

You'll be invited to a private reveal session, where you'll view all portraits from your session and select your complimentary image.

Your session includes one portrait, chosen by you.

Your chosen portrait is delivered to you as both a fine art print and a digital file, and will be featured in the Over40Fab Gala.

Most women find it difficult to choose just one.

Your other portraits are available as additional images starting at $250 per portrait, or as a collection starting at $1,250 — a complete body of work that tells your story.

"People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. Behold yourself as beautiful."

Salma Hayek Foreword to The Beauty of Color by Iman

Nobody calls a wedding photo vain...

I hear a lot from women talking themselves out of a portrait session.

"How can I spend money on something this frivolous?"

Like wanting a portrait of yourself just because you want it is...

Vain...

Arrogant...

Indulgent.

And I think to myself, "Why is a photo of the mother of the bride not indulgent, but a photo taken just for you suddenly is?"

It isn't.

You've just never had a reason handed to you before.

So give yourself one.

Because you can.

Because you want to.

People have told me for years how photogenic I am, looking at my professionally done photos.

And half the time, I catch myself starting to say "I'm actually not even that photogenic" before I stop myself mid-sentence.

Like a lot of women, I didn't always love being in front of a camera. As a girl I thought of myself as an invisible ugly duckling.

Cute, maybe. But invisible.

It wasn't until I started photographing other people that I understood what it actually feels like to be on the other side of the lens.

A while back, I even answered a casting call and went to a studio in Manhattan — just to feel, firsthand, the experience I create for my own clients.

West 38 Studio, NYC

It was exciting going to the studio even though I couldn't tell whether it was nerves or anticipation.

It was — and still is — also exciting to look at those photos afterwards.

It's not that they made me more confident...

I knew exactly who I was walking into that studio, and I walked out exactly the same woman.

But those photographs gave me this small jolt of — "Wow, look at her!"

Then, "But wait. That's me."

Did I need those photos? Not really.

But I wanted them. Just because.

Will you be one of the 40 women I'm photographing, just because we can?

"We did the session in a relaxed setting and I felt very comfortable. Katya intuitively assessed which poses were most natural and comfortable for me. I am always very critical of photos of myself, like many, but I can truly say that I LOVE what Katya did! She captured my best looks and made it easy for me to relax and look natural. As soon as I received the photos I immediately changed all my profile shots and received tons of positive feedback."

Amy

"I tend to be a bit camera shy, so choosing a professional photographer was a bit nerve-racking. Talent alone wasn't enough, I knew I needed a photographer that I would be comfortable around. I was so lucky to have Katya referred to me by a good friend of mine. I was in awe of the results! The shots not only captured different angles of my face, I could feel the energy behind the different looks and most importantly I was proud to share these pics on various media!"

Chizzy

"I've truly never had more fun in a photo shoot in my life! During our time together, I just knew Katya was going to capture some great images. Not only did I leave with some modeling secrets, six hot magazine-quality shots, I left with a new friend!"

Lori

You start preparing well in advance.

You select songs for the perfect playlist over a few days, maybe even weeks — each song weighed and reconsidered.

You decant the wine a couple of hours before they arrive…

Because wine, like anything worth savoring, needs room to breathe.

Your favorite flowers are arranged just so, and you lean in, just briefly, to catch their scent.

The guest will be here any minute now.

So you walk the table once more, watching how the light catches each place setting.

How exciting is it to host someone who is so, so important to you?

You know that flutter of anticipation I'm talking about, right?

Now imagine the very, very important guest is… you.

So let me ask you this:

Why do we do this so often in our lives?

Why do we put so much effort into someone else's evening, but never really our own?

I'm hosting the Over40Fab Gala showcasing these portraits so that you feel like this very, very important guest.

The playlist, chosen for you. The candles, lit. The table set, the wine breathing.

You arrive in style and celebrate. YOU.

You don't need a reason to take a luxurious portrait of yourself.

"Because I want to" is enough.

Book Your Portrait Experience