Megan’s vibrant, confident studio + outdoor boudoir session

I’m so excited to share Megan’s incredible boudoir session with you today! Her session took place in BOTH the studio and outdoors -- it was such a fun hybrid! 

Megan had been considering doing a boudoir session for a while after seeing her friend go through the experience and feel so empowered by it. Megan was having a milestone birthday this year and thought it’d be a really cool celebration for herself to do a portrait session! We began chatting and planning her session last winter, and she decided to book her session for summer 2021. 

Megan shared with me that she’s recently been in a phase of life that’s felt really, really good! She’s been feeling super confident and comfortable in her body and is totally in love with who she is. She was so excited to document this in pictures -- and so was I!

As we got closer to the date of Megan’s session, she noticed me talking about outdoor boudoir on social media. She reached out to me and asked if there was any way we could do a mix of both indoor and outdoor photos! She still loved the idea of the studio for some pictures, where she could be a little more undressed in the privacy of the indoors, but also loves nature and was really drawn to balancing those with some portraits outdoors. We decided to do half of her session at my studio, and the other half at nearby Lake Harriet around sunset.  

Megan loved the idea of having a mix of photos where some felt more natural and others felt more dramatic and confident, and I feel like that’s exactly what we got -- it all came together so beautifully! 

Megan’s boudoir session: the studio portion

Megan had a really fun mix of ideas and outfits! She began the studio portion of her boudoir session wearing a classic red and black flannel layered over a lacy black set. She loved the rustic feel of the flannel paired with the elegant lace! 

Next, Megan wore a bright pink bodysuit! She’s a super colorful, vibrant person, inside and out (her hair is an ombre of warm rainbow tones!), and I love that she really embraced this in her pictures.

Finally, Megan wore one of the most unique and fun outfits I’ve ever seen in the studio: a sheer, chiffon rainbow dress that she sewed herself for Pride this year! It has all of these ruffled layers and feels so playful and celebratory. She wanted to wear it in a way that would feel natural and vibrant, so I had her pose in front of my silhouette panels. She was spinning and twirling and throwing the dress around, and the soft chiffon layers floated in the air in such a magical way! 

Megan’s boudoir session: the outdoor portion

We changed settings and met up at the south beach of Lake Harriet on this beautiful, late summer day. Megan and I took some pictures walking along the trails and wandering through a really lovely willow tree that was blowing in the breeze. I love how lush and green these pictures are!  

For these pictures, Megan wore a Wild Isles Swim suit in a rich teal color. She also had brought along a drapey, gauzy white button-down that she layered on top, as well as a truly fantastic sun hat! 

Wearing more layers and accessories like this really adds personality to photos! It also makes it easy to take portraits in a public place. During Megan’s session, Lake Harriet was quite busy -- totally understandable at sunset on a summer day! We’d talked about it ahead of time and Megan felt comfortable being photographed around other people, but we also wanted to make sure the people around us felt comfortable too, so a swimsuit and fun cover-up layers worked out well; it was such a beautiful outfit and also totally commonplace at the beach. 

We ended Megan’s session on a quieter corner of the beach! The sun was setting, and the sky was glowing in pink and gold. I love how the second half of Megan’s session feels so joyful, confident, and connected to nature. The whole day felt so so special!  

Megan, what a joy it was to work together! You absolutely radiate with joyful, vibrant energy, and it was so much fun to document all of who you are in these portraits. I love the mix of photos that we created indoors and outdoors, and am so glad that we got to work together -- thank you for trusting me with your boudoir session!