An ethereal, artistic boudoir photoshoot in Minnesota

Kelsey is a return boudoir client of mine who I worked with back in 2016 when I was a brand new boudoir photographer in Minnesota! Kelsey is a wonderful human, and she’s also a fellow artist. Kelsey runs The Hair Badassery in Osseo, MN (where I get my hair cut!), and she’s worked with me several times over the years as a hairstylist/makeup artist for my clients who choose professional styling for their boudoir photoshoot. It felt so special to create self-celebratory art together again and document another season in Kelsey’s life!

When envisioning her boudoir photoshoot, Kelsey initially felt drawn to pictures that would feel colorful, lighthearted, playful, and glam. But in the weeks before her session, Kelsey found a gorgeous pale blue satin slip to wear for her session, which inspired her to feel more drawn to creating delicate, ethereal-feeling pictures. It’s super common for a client’s boudoir vision to evolve between our initial planning meeting and the day of the photoshoot, and I love finding creative ways to integrate all of a clients’ hopes into their session.

Kelsey and I started her session by taking a series of figure detail and fine-art portraits in front of the luminous wall of windows in my Minneapolis studio. I also draped some flowy white tulle fabric from the studio rafters for some portraits, which accentuated the delicate, ethereal energy Kelsey envisioned. We wrapped up her session taking a series of portraits in front of my studio accent wall, which at the time was painted a deep, dusty pink. These portraits feel very minimalist and artful, with clean lines and strong body language in Kelsey’s facial expressions and shoulders. I also love how soulful and glamorous these portraits feel, honoring the essence of Kelsey’s original boudoir vision. 

Body-positive, self-affirming boudoir photography & videography

As one of the participants in my “Dear Body” series, I incorporated boudoir videography into Kelsey’s session and paired footage from her session with a recording of her reading this stunning letter to herself that you can watch below.