Kim is one of those inspiring people who is so purely herself. She is thoughtful, witty, confident, and cool, and she commands an energy of being unapologetically herself. I worked with her several years ago to photograph her first boudoir session, and needless to say I was thrilled to work with her again for her recent boudoir photography & videography session at my Minneapolis studio.

Joyful, happy, and candid: these three words captured Kim’s vision for her session. Kim was in a really amazing season of life, and she wanted her photoshoot to celebrate the honest emotions of this chapter. Her photoshoot also took place mere days before she was heading off on an incredible, once in a lifetime trip she planned for herself, and that exuberance shines through so authentically in her portraits.

Kim shared that before her first session, she felt some nervousness with not knowing what to expect (which is really normal!). She said that nervousness vanished quickly, but she still felt extra excited to start this second session from a place of confidence - knowing what to expect and savoring every minute of it.

I proposed we begin the session taking portraits of Kim sitting in front of my black background, which created a really simple, clean, and artistic backdrop that contrasted the luminous windows and textured backdrops from her first session. These minimalist portraits allow Kim’s radiant smile to shine all the brighter. I also love how the purple streak of her hair and the bright purple satin detailing on her lace nightie stand out against the sleek back screen. Kim ended the session with a series of implied nude portraits full of the happiest energy, which feel very energetic and self-loving.

KIM’S INSPIRING WORDS + BOUDOIR VIDEO

Kim was one of the participants in my “Dear Body” series, and she wrote such a vulnerable, honest, and self-loving letter to herself that I’m delighted to share here.

“So, what do I love about myself?

I love that I’m here. That I survived some awful shit (and while I still struggle with it, I have and continue to survive it.)

I love my dark sense of humor - my ability to laugh at the darkest shit and help other people laugh at it too. I love to have fun and to have impromptu dance parties with my dog. I love that I love my friends fiercely and will do anything for them (no matter how much my brain tries to convince me they don’t like me.)

I love that despite all the shit I’ve endured, I still want to help people –maybe not in the same ways I did before through my work but through my legacy and what I bring to people everyday. I love that I’m smart and that my capacity for love runs super deep, despite my efforts to protect myself from it.

I love that I’m curious and always want to learn more about something. That I can change my mind when presented with new information that’s reliable. I love that I keep finding things out about myself the longer I live, and how that makes me want to live forever so I can really get to know myself because I haven’t really done that until recently.

I am just currently in a great place, and I want to share that with everybody I love.”