Posts in Boudoir portraits by Illuminate Boudoir
M’s studio boudoir session full of personality, confidence, and joy

M had been dreaming about doing a boudoir session for years, intentionally choosing to wait until it felt like the right moment. This year, she arrived at a season of life where she felt grounded, joyful, and ready to say an unwavering “yes” to boudoir. As a body-positive photographer, I believe strongly in the power of boudoir as a self-celebratory act, so it is such an honor to know the depth of meaning a photoshoot can hold for a client too. It felt so special to help M create the empowering boudoir session of her dreams.  

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“You found the sun”: AmandaJean’s joyful, self-celebratory boudoir videography session

When planning her session at my Minneapolis boudoir studio, AmandaJean shared that although recent years have held both grief and beauty, she has arrived at a season of life where she feels a sense of strength and acceptance in her own skin. She wanted printed art that would help her remember and savor this time of feeling beautiful and at home with herself and her body. She envisioned candid, storytelling portraits that would capture the genuine emotions this season of life has held - including joy, reflectiveness, self-love, softness, gratitude, strength, resilience, and ease.

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Celebrating growth and transition: Sarah’s elegant and openhearted boudoir portraits

Sarah brought so many beautiful intentions and hopes into her boudoir session. When she reached out to me, she was approaching a milestone birthday and entering one of those life chapters where one door closes and another opens. This was a threshold moment she didn’t want to let slip by, so she decided to schedule a photoshoot as a way to pause, reflect, and celebrate the growth and changes she and her body had experienced to arrive here, greeting a new season with gratitude.

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Hannah’s powerful, artistic boudoir videography session 

 It is such an honor to work with returning clients and help them document what has shifted, changed, or grown in their lives since their previous session. Hannah told me about the healing journey she has been on in recent years, working to align her life with her natural strengths and authentic intentions. She wanted her boudoir portraits to feel dramatic, bold, and artistic – capturing her resilience and bravery in this season of life. 

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A year in review at Illuminate Boudoir

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.

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A reflection of joy, beauty, and strength: E’s self-loving boudoir session

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. 

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A’s powerful, whimsical, and elegant floral boudoir

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.

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Poppins’ adventurous and serene outdoor boudoir session at sunset

Poppins had been dreaming about doing an outdoor boudoir session for a long time, saving up and waiting for the right moment. This year, Poppins reached a point where she felt really proud of her body-positivity journey, and she began exploring an intentional practice of doing special things just for herself. She decided an outdoor boudoir session at sunset would be the perfect way to celebrate herself and mark her progress on the lifelong journey of cultivating self-love.

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“Just for me”: M’s calm and confident boudoir portraits

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.

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Giving and receiving the gift of boudoir: Greta’s romantic, self-loving boudoir session

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.

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“Why not now?” A’s dynamic, self-loving, and brave boudoir session 

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.

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Priya’s joyful, self-assured, and sensual boudoir session

Priya brought so much vision, joy, and energy into her photoshoot. She wanted her portraits to feel confident and strong– reflecting the authentic groundedness she felt in this season of life. Priya is a naturally upbeat person, and she wanted her playfulness and levity to shine through. She also wanted to balance this levity with portraits that felt sensual, sexy, and artful. 

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E’s settled and self-loving boudoir session

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.

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