A long awaited boudoir session

M started following my work back in 2016, when I first started working as a boudoir photographer in Minnesota. She had been waiting truly years to book a session with me, waiting for the moment to feel right. M is a lovely, intentional human, and last year she arrived at a season of life where she felt really proud of the shifts she was making in her vocational and personal life. She wanted to do something special just for herself, and boudoir felt like the perfect, self-loving gift!

boudoir outfits + inspiration 

I have permission to share anonymous images from M’s session, and they provide such a sweet window into the many moods and styles her session captured. M wanted her pictures to feel very authentic and “her.” 

M is also an incredible sewist, and she started the session wearing a beautiful pair of pajamas that she sewed for herself. I photographed her in my studio kitchenette, cozying up with a fresh cup of coffee. I love how storytelling and alive these portraits feel. For her second look, M wore a wine purple bra and underwear set. We used my spacious studio window seat for these portraits, which feel grounded, candid, and effortless.

For M’s third look, she wore another outfit she sewed herself - a glamorous teal blue bra and underwear set with intricate gold detailing. Standing in front of my luminous wall of windows and posing on the bed in the studio, M exudes powerful, confident energy. To finish the session, M chose to do a series of implied nude portraits wrapped up in some sheer fabric. These portraits are powerfully simple - all about light, shadows, and body lines. 

In the end, the arch of M’s boudoir session flowed seamlessly from relaxed Saturday morning energy to a series of glamorous power moments in the middle, to a simple, soft, self-loving conclusion. As M shared in her review afterwards, “In a time of my life when my identity feels less stable and less clear than it once did, my boudoir experience helped me create a solid foothold. Since my session, and when I look at my pictures, I love feeling like I recognize myself and who I am—that the sense of self I've been cultivating matches what I see in the images.”

What a beautiful tribute to this chapter in M’s life!

M’s boudoir portraits in Minneapolis