M's Cozy, Elegant Boudoir Photos

When I first met M, she told me that she hadn’t been professionally photographed for a while- since her high school senior portraits. She had been following along with Illuminate Boudoir and was excited to create some portraits that were empowering, elegant and intimate.

When they first express interest in boudoir photos, folks often tell me that the last time they had portraits taken was their senior year. I think your senior year of high school is a wonderful time for portraits, it’s a time of transition and a really cool time of life, but I sometimes feel sad that we don’t have other culturally significant times in our adult lives to get solo portraits taken. We celebrate weddings and engagements by taking portraits with our partners. And we mark family milestones by taking portraits with children and babies, but it’s so curious that we don't celebrate other moments in our lives just for ourselves.

One of the things that I love about boudoir is that it captures just you. It’s so powerful and important to say “My time now is important and worth documenting. I want to remember and celebrate who I am in this season, this moment in time.”

M was feeling all of that. There had been so much change in her life and self since these her last portraits and she loved the idea of creating cozy, elegant, lighthearted portraits for herself and as a beautiful gift for her fiance.

M was also marking a big milestone, she had just completed her yoga teacher training and had an enhanced love of her body and awareness of the mind/body/wellness connection that her training had honed.

M brought a beautiful eye for detail to her wardrobe choices. These beautiful, lace-detailed, high-waisted undies brought attention to her waist and curves. Her pink set with it’s cutout details, paired with a floaty white robe captured a low-key bridal vibe and her epic lace bodysuit from Flirt Boutique was so special and dramatic.

But the choice that was most surprising and delightful to me were these cozy, striped pajamas. Even I (who champions all types of wardrobe options for boudoir) can get stuck in a “boudoir means underwear” mindset and I was reminded here that anything that makes you feel comfy and beautiful is a perfect wardrobe choice for boudoir. The sweet, cozy-morning vibe with these pj’s ended up being one of my favorite photos from this session!

Paired with simple makeup and romantic curls by Hayley Sachs, all of M’s photos channeled that cozy, elegant and playful vibe that M wanted.

M thank you for following along with my journey as a photographer and trusting these milestone photos to my care. I loved hearing about your yoga training, creating cozy studio vibes and watching you light up when you told me about your partner.