Nicole Gates is the owner of Nicole Gates Photography, a modern full service portrait studio in McAllen, Texas. The studio was voted Best Photography Studio in The Monitor’s 2026 Readers’ Choice awards. Nicole opened her studio in the fall of 2019, at the age of 50, after retiring from a long and rewarding career. She had been photographing people since 2013, and she decided her next chapter would be a creative one. That choice is at the heart of everything she does. She knows firsthand that a woman’s best season can start at any age, and she helps her clients see that in themselves. Her studio is built for every woman, every age, every stage, every phase. One session can capture the boardroom leader, the mom, the daughter and the woman who simply wants to feel beautiful again. She also photographs families, high school seniors, children, professional headshots, and fine art and storytelling portraits. Every experience starts with a consultation and ends with an in person reveal. That’s where clients choose finished wall art and albums handcrafted in Greece and the USA. Nicole doesn’t hand over a folder of files. She creates portraits meant to live on your walls for generations. Welcome to different.