Looking back, I am inspired by the breadth and depth of moods and styles that this year has held across the dozens of sessions I’ve photographed in my studio and in gorgeous outdoor spaces. Some sessions felt super glamorous and dramatic; some felt very artful or whimsical; some exuded an effortless, everyday energy; some held profound gentleness; some captured inspiring strength; some were bursting with joy, vibrancy, and color; some felt like a peaceful, self-loving exhale; and many times a single session held a multitude of these moods.

In the year leading up to her photoshoot, E’s life had held multitudes – including moments of joy and challenging unexpectedness – and she wanted her boudoir session to capture the breadth of who she is now and who she is becoming, all through the lens of self-compassion. It felt extra fitting to mark her milestone birthday with a day devoted to gentleness, reflection, and self-care. 

K went into her boudoir session with the primary intention of doing something beautiful just for herself. She envisioned portraits that captured various aspects of her personality – some romantic, some elegant, some strong and dramatic, and some soft and effortless – and she wanted all of the portraits to have a strong undercurrent of self-love.

A wanted her boudoir session to balance her love of artful boudoir portraits with her vibrant, creative energy. She envisioned portraits that felt at once strong and poised, playful and serene. She was excited for this session to capture the well of confidence she has come to fill within herself and to celebrate the mosaic of styles she feels drawn to in this season of life. A also felt delighted to incorporate two different flower bouquets into her session. I helped with her wardrobe planning for this session, choosing three looks that complemented the colors and textures of the bouquets.

M was in an exciting season of life where she felt able to see and savor the self-compassion she had worked hard to cultivate over the years. She wanted her photoshoot to celebrate the intentionality she had poured into building a life full of self-acceptance. M envisioned a boudoir session that felt candid, confident, effortless, and everyday.

K wanted to devote one of her boudoir outfits to documenting and celebrating her upcoming wedding, so she wore a gorgeous white robe and pj set – which was made from her mom’s wedding dress! She felt beautiful wearing this sentimental, heirloom piece, and her portraits feel elegant, romantic, poised, and effortless.

M booked her boudoir session to mark an important turning point in her life. After navigating a season of flux where she felt stretched in many directions, she arrived at a calmer chapter that allowed her to pause, exhale, and reconnect with her heart and body. She asked herself “what is something I can do that’s just for me?” and immediately boudoir came to mind.

Afterwards, Greta shared such beautiful reflections on the impact of her boudoir session. “Validation, love, vulnerability, hope, and generosity are the words I keep coming back to every time I try to turn my thoughts about my session into words… I came in ready to celebrate my upcoming wedding and get a surprise gift for my fiance and instead, I received such an unexpected and wonderful gift, and it will bring me joy for the rest of my life.

In addition to waiting for the right photographer, A had also been waiting for the right life moment to do boudoir. During our planning session, A shared how a younger version of herself had been waiting for a moment where she looked and felt “enough,” yet she realized the unhelpfulness in that framework and began asking herself: why not now? Looking for the enoughness already in her life, A recognized how celebratory this season of life has felt, especially as she awaits her wedding later this year. She decided boudoir would be a beautiful way to document how she looks and feels right here, right now.

E is one of my clients who considered boudoir for many years and waited to schedule a session until it felt right. When E reached out to me, she was in a reflective season of life, able to look back on the past decade or so of her life and feel truly proud of the life she had made for herself and her family. E wanted to schedule a boudoir session as a way of celebrating her body and all that it has done for her.

AJ is someone who loves tulips. During our planning session, she asked for brightly colored tulips to complement the happy vision she had in mind for her floral boudoir session. She wanted the portraits to capture her genuine joy and groundedness in this season of life.

While there’s no one right time to do a boudoir session, it feels extra magical when a client reaches out to schedule a session because they know in their heart “this is the moment.” This client had been contemplating doing a boudoir photoshoot for literally years. This winter, she reached a powerful chapter in life where she felt immense pride for the person she had become. She knew in her heart: this was the moment she wanted to document and celebrate with boudoir.

While many of my clients do a boudoir session just for themselves, I also have clients who schedule a boudoir session with the intention of giving their portraits to someone as a gift. When Tory reached out to me, she initially wanted her portraits to be a gift for her husband. Tory saw her boudoir session as a way to celebrate this special chapter of life with and for her husband.  Yet as Tory moved through her boudoir session, she felt the purpose of the day slowly expand.

This client brought beautiful inspiration into our planning conversations. She liked the idea of taking time from this full season of her life to pause, honor, and celebrate her body. She wanted the portraits to capture the strength and softness she sees in herself, and she wanted to feel warm, authentic, gentle, and grounded in her pictures.