Every year Sam likes to set a specific goal and try something new - something that is a challenge or that she wants to do but is out of her usual comfort zone. In the spirit of doing something that scares her and fulfilling her bold promise to give the unfamiliar a go, she decided this was the year she would do a boudoir session. Together we planned a session that celebrated this moment in her life.
Read MoreBefore a wedding there are so many emotions. It is a season of gratitude and love and a time of preparing to be in a new union. Celebrating this transition is really special, and it’s a lovely time in life to document with boudoir portraits. Sara loved the idea of doing a session for herself and being able to use these pictures as a gift for her partner. Together we planned a bridal boudoir session that felt equal parts feminine and light and dramatic and cool.
Read MoreAva decided to take the leap and do a boudoir session out of self-love after some encouragement from a friend. When we started planning for her session, we talked about her ideas for how she wanted her portraits to feel-- she wanted pictures that would feel “subtle sexy” and love how that translated into soft and romantic portraits with a hint of drama and depth.
Read MoreI really enjoy working with returning clients: witnessing their personal growth and sharing in their seasons of life as they unfold. I’ve talked with so many of my boudoir clients about how much grow and change in just a year or two, and I love seeing the new energy and intentions they bring to subsequent boudoir sessions.
Read MoreCandice’s portraits are bursting with personality and let her joyful spirit come through with so much life. They are colorful and fun and hold such depth and soul in a way that feels really true and authentic to her.
Read MoreLisa’s eye for fashion and experience selling clothing came through in her thoughtful wardrobe choices. She loves pink and blush and brought many pieces playing off that color palette that worked so well with the warmth of the brick in my studio.
Read MoreIn Grace’s boudoir session we talked a lot about the idea of inner light-- feeling sexy through loving her own body and being really proud and confident in that, so much so that her energy would be shining out from within. This intention and mindfulness resulted is Grace’s portraits feeling glowing, confident, and self-loving.
Read MoreLeeya was center stage in her boudoir session and these portraits are all about her, for her. As an artist, model, and creative working in advertising, this was an unique experience for Leeya. She is often behind the scenes bringing photoshoots to life or modeling for a specific purpose. Leeya still had a hand in shaping how her portraits would look and feel, but she was free from appeasing anyone else’s goals or selling products. This was all about her, and I love the power and self-love that comes through in her energy.
Read MoreAt the time of her session Bria was really fulfilling her soul and following her dreams by doing what felt right for her in her life. She was taking care of herself, involved in politics, running a local house campaign, and super involved in the nonprofit scene. In short, she is a powerhouse, and it was a really cool season of her life to document in photographs.
Read MoreWhile Kelly’s intention for her first boudoir session a year ago was gifting the pictures to her partner, this session was a gift completely for herself. This shift resulted in a full and rich collection of portraits that document the sense of inner self she’s been feeling in this phase of life.
Read MoreIt is interesting to think about how much can change in even a single year of life. How we feel and look and the energy that comes through pictures can be completely different in this amount of time. A favorite part of my job is when I’m granted the privilege of documenting a person’s journey through multiple boudoir sessions. Leah came to me to plan a second boudoir session for a little over a year after her first. I loved her energy during our first session and was thrilled when she reached out to work together again.
Read MoreWhen we first chatted, Kiersten and I talked about what she was really proud of in her own life recently, and a theme that kept coming up was taking time to be intentional for herself. She wanted her session to be a celebration of her full life and inner strength, and I feel like that totally came across in her photos.
Read MoreNothing is a bigger compliment than when my past clients return for a second boudoir session. I’ve so loved sharing the journey with my clients as they return and seeing how they bring new energy to the session each time we spend the day together. When Jensen reached out to plan her second boudoir session, I was so so excited to reconnect with her.
Read MoreAnnie came to the boudoir studio after vowing to do things that scare her. When we first chatted she said that her life had contained some big changes recently and she was challenging herself to overcome some big fears; for years she had found boudoir portraits to be both intriguing and a bit scary, so it seemed the perfect experience to embrace during a year of saying “Yes.”
Read MoreM wanted to use her boudoir portraits to “walk the walk.” As a healthcare professional, she’s often encouraging her patients to focus on what their bodies are capable of, to have gratitude for what they can do rather than dwelling on the negative. And, while M had been interested in boudoir for a while, she thought that boudoir wasn’t for her, that she would never have the confidence in her body to do a session.
But the more she matured in her life and work, the more she saw that she needed to focus on the positive for her own body too. More than anything she wanted her boudoir experience to be celebratory and empowering, so when she came across my work, she knew she had found the right photographer for this journey. And I was so excited to work with her!!
Read MoreTo guide the style and direction for her session, I asked Dylan about her favorite things about herself. She told me she loved her sense of humor, she loved her work as a theatrical stage manager, she loved her “dark Scorpio side” and she loved the moments where she felt more grounded, more calm. Most important to her in these photos was creating a sense of connection, of being vulnerable and present in the moment.
Read MoreRachel wanted to see herself the way she felt. We all go through times when we feel really good about ourselves, and visually documenting that confidence can be a powerful reminder on days when we doubt ourselves, or just need that memory of being really happy and alive in your body and mind.
Read MoreWhen I first met Emily Rose, she told me she had been drawn to Illuminate Boudoir because my work didn’t feel manufactured or overly stylized. “I’m not a pin-up girl,” she said during our first conversation. She was drawn to the idea of celebrating herself with photography, but couldn't find the right photographer to capture her vision. So when we met, there was an instant synergy in capturing boudoir photos that were elegant and organic, that celebrated Emily Rose as she is.
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