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The subseries Ann Arbor contains photographs taken by Richard Nims while a student at the University of Michigan. The photographs document student life and Ann Arbor street scenes during the late 1930s. The subseries contains many images of the popular student hangout The Pretzel Bell; the images are primarily interior shots showing patrons eating and drink and staff members at work. The images from the "Ann Arbor Album" are not prints but rather contact sheets; however, there is a negative for every image.

The subseries Navy is made up of photographs and negatives taken by Richard Nims during his two tours in the South Pacific in 1944-1945 and 1951-1952. The folder titles for images dated 1944-1945 come from a descriptive list complied by someone other than Richard Nims. The descriptive list can be found in the folder titled "Line Ceremonies." The images capture life aboard a warship, battles at scene, scenery of the South Pacific, and street scenes in the Philippines and Tokyo.

The subseries Family and Friends includes photographs not taken by Richard Nims, such as childhood pictures of Richard with his mother and brother. Richard Nims' childhood photographs provide a strong portrait of growing up in Michigan during the late 1910s and early 1920s. Most of the Family and Friends photographs are casual snapshots rather than formal portraits of various people related to Richard and Margaret Nims.