M’s bold and authentic boudoir videography session
The first half of M’s session had a more classic boudoir photography feel. Wearing the red bra outfit in front of my gray lime wash wall, M looks confident, happy, and effortless. For the second portion of the session, M felt very drawn to my studio kitchenette. M loves to cook and drink coffee, so we did a series of lifestyle, candid-feeling boudoir photographs of her making a cup of coffee. M also sat on the countertop for a series of pictures, which radiate strength and empowerment.
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Madeline’s artistic and celebratory boudoir photography + videography session
When envisioning the types of boudoir photographs Madeline wanted to include in her session, she felt a gravitational pull to take more figure detail photographs and artsy, sculpture-inspired images. When looking back at her first boudoir session, right now she was really connecting with some of the artful portraits focused on body lines and movement. She felt so empowered to see her body in that way, so we chased that vision as the foundation of her second boudoir session.
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Annika’s joyful & glamorous boudoir and videography session
As Annika and I started planning her second boudoir session with me, she felt filled with excitement, noticing that she didn’t have any hint of nerves or uncertainty as she understandably felt before her first session. While reminiscing on her first boudoir session, Annika shared how much she loved the portraits that captured her beaming and laughing – filled with genuine joy. This giggling, light-hearted energy is a theme that continues to resonate in her life, and she initially wanted her second session to feel effortless, candid, and full of joy while also integrating a soft and romantic aesthetic.
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“A new beautiful”: Ashley’s reflective, peaceful maternity boudoir + videography session
Ashley had a clear vision for her maternity boudoir session. She wanted her portraits to feel confident, radiant, and peaceful. While her first session featured a ton of bright energy and wide-smiles, for this session Ashley wanted her portraits to capture the quiet joy and inner peace that has marked this time of becoming a mom. Her warm, self-loving energy shines through powerfully in both sessions.
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M’s studio boudoir session full of personality, confidence, and joy
M had been dreaming about doing a boudoir session for years, intentionally choosing to wait until it felt like the right moment. This year, she arrived at a season of life where she felt grounded, joyful, and ready to say an unwavering “yes” to boudoir. As a body-positive photographer, I believe strongly in the power of boudoir as a self-celebratory act, so it is such an honor to know the depth of meaning a photoshoot can hold for a client too. It felt so special to help M create the empowering boudoir session of her dreams.
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“You found the sun”: AmandaJean’s joyful, self-celebratory boudoir videography session
When planning her session at my Minneapolis boudoir studio, AmandaJean shared that although recent years have held both grief and beauty, she has arrived at a season of life where she feels a sense of strength and acceptance in her own skin. She wanted printed art that would help her remember and savor this time of feeling beautiful and at home with herself and her body. She envisioned candid, storytelling portraits that would capture the genuine emotions this season of life has held - including joy, reflectiveness, self-love, softness, gratitude, strength, resilience, and ease.
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Celebrating growth and transition: Sarah’s elegant and openhearted boudoir portraits
Sarah brought so many beautiful intentions and hopes into her boudoir session. When she reached out to me, she was approaching a milestone birthday and entering one of those life chapters where one door closes and another opens. This was a threshold moment she didn’t want to let slip by, so she decided to schedule a photoshoot as a way to pause, reflect, and celebrate the growth and changes she and her body had experienced to arrive here, greeting a new season with gratitude.
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Hannah’s powerful, artistic boudoir videography session
It is such an honor to work with returning clients and help them document what has shifted, changed, or grown in their lives since their previous session. Hannah told me about the healing journey she has been on in recent years, working to align her life with her natural strengths and authentic intentions. She wanted her boudoir portraits to feel dramatic, bold, and artistic – capturing her resilience and bravery in this season of life.
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A year in review at Illuminate Boudoir
Looking back, I am inspired by the breadth and depth of moods and styles that this year has held across the dozens of sessions I’ve photographed in my studio and in gorgeous outdoor spaces. Some sessions felt super glamorous and dramatic; some felt very artful or whimsical; some exuded an effortless, everyday energy; some held profound gentleness; some captured inspiring strength; some were bursting with joy, vibrancy, and color; some felt like a peaceful, self-loving exhale; and many times a single session held a multitude of these moods.
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A reflection of joy, beauty, and strength: E’s self-loving boudoir session
In the year leading up to her photoshoot, E’s life had held multitudes – including moments of joy and challenging unexpectedness – and she wanted her boudoir session to capture the breadth of who she is now and who she is becoming, all through the lens of self-compassion. It felt extra fitting to mark her milestone birthday with a day devoted to gentleness, reflection, and self-care.
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K’s romantic and self-celebratory peony boudoir session
K went into her boudoir session with the primary intention of doing something beautiful just for herself. She envisioned portraits that captured various aspects of her personality – some romantic, some elegant, some strong and dramatic, and some soft and effortless – and she wanted all of the portraits to have a strong undercurrent of self-love.
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A’s powerful, whimsical, and elegant floral boudoir
A wanted her boudoir session to balance her love of artful boudoir portraits with her vibrant, creative energy. She envisioned portraits that felt at once strong and poised, playful and serene. She was excited for this session to capture the well of confidence she has come to fill within herself and to celebrate the mosaic of styles she feels drawn to in this season of life. A also felt delighted to incorporate two different flower bouquets into her session. I helped with her wardrobe planning for this session, choosing three looks that complemented the colors and textures of the bouquets.
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M’s artful, effortless, and self-loving boudoir portraits
M was in an exciting season of life where she felt able to see and savor the self-compassion she had worked hard to cultivate over the years. She wanted her photoshoot to celebrate the intentionality she had poured into building a life full of self-acceptance. M envisioned a boudoir session that felt candid, confident, effortless, and everyday.
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Poppins’ adventurous and serene outdoor boudoir session at sunset
Poppins had been dreaming about doing an outdoor boudoir session for a long time, saving up and waiting for the right moment. This year, Poppins reached a point where she felt really proud of her body-positivity journey, and she began exploring an intentional practice of doing special things just for herself. She decided an outdoor boudoir session at sunset would be the perfect way to celebrate herself and mark her progress on the lifelong journey of cultivating self-love.
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K’s joyful, sentimental boudoir session
K wanted to devote one of her boudoir outfits to documenting and celebrating her upcoming wedding, so she wore a gorgeous white robe and pj set – which was made from her mom’s wedding dress! She felt beautiful wearing this sentimental, heirloom piece, and her portraits feel elegant, romantic, poised, and effortless.
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“Just for me”: M’s calm and confident boudoir portraits
M booked her boudoir session to mark an important turning point in her life. After navigating a season of flux where she felt stretched in many directions, she arrived at a calmer chapter that allowed her to pause, exhale, and reconnect with her heart and body. She asked herself “what is something I can do that’s just for me?” and immediately boudoir came to mind.
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Giving and receiving the gift of boudoir: Greta’s romantic, self-loving boudoir session
Afterwards, Greta shared such beautiful reflections on the impact of her boudoir session. “Validation, love, vulnerability, hope, and generosity are the words I keep coming back to every time I try to turn my thoughts about my session into words… I came in ready to celebrate my upcoming wedding and get a surprise gift for my fiance and instead, I received such an unexpected and wonderful gift, and it will bring me joy for the rest of my life.
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B’s strong, sensual, and empowering boudoir session
B had been dreaming about doing a boudoir session for a long time, so it felt incredibly exciting to get to plan her much awaited session together. B was excited to take a day all for herself and create art that captured her beauty and strength. In her words, she felt excited to set aside time “to see myself as beautiful.”
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