When it comes to my brand story clients, I’ve had SO much fun learning all about them, their work, and their passions. It’s truly one of my favorite parts of shooting a branding photography session!

As much as I love to meet new people and also learn about different businesses that I’m not already familiar with, I switched things up with this shoot… This time, there wasn’t a need to learn a ton about my client and her work… Why? My client for this session is someone I’m already very close to!

My awesome friend, Meghan Crozier, is the owner of The Pursuing Life. She is a super passionate and thoughtful individual, and I’m proud to be her friend! Meghan writes all about faith deconstruction, justice, and mental health. If you’re open to challenging your preconceived beliefs about faith, The Pursuing Life would be a great blog for you to check out.

If you’ve been around for awhile and have read through some of my blog posts… You may have noticed a common theme in all of these boudoir session recaps! Can you guess what it is?

No matter who I’m having a boudoir shoot with for the day… I’ve noticed that each client ends up walking away from their session with a new sense of freedom! Why? I personally can’t think of anything more liberating than stepping outside of the box, stripping down, and embracing yourself exactly as you are. That’s what true freedom feels like!

Boudoir is all about freeing yourself… So why not combine this activity with a holiday that’s all about celebrating your freedom? That’s right… I’m talking about the Fourth of July! 

When it comes to all of the beautiful weddings that I’ve been lucky enough to photograph, each and every one is so unique. This time, though, the wedding I went to was especially unique… It was truly a first for me!

Charity and Jeff planned to get married on a ship while on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. When I heard about this plan, it immediately sounded like such a fun experience! Being on the water? You can’t beat it!

While updating me on their wedding plans, Charity and Jeff shared another fun detail… Their birthdays are two days away from each other, and they scheduled their ceremony for the day that falls between their two birthdays!

Today’s blog post is one that I have been SO excited to share with you!

I recently took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona for a boudoir workshop and content day! Of course my husband tagged along, so when I wasn’t busy with the workshop, it was a ton of fun to tour around the city with him and get to explore Phoenix.

Let me tell you! The temperature in Phoenix was SO high, but believe it or not, it wasn’t even the steamiest thing I came across on the trip… As part of our boudoir workshop, we had a content day. This involved renting out a beautiful Airbnb that had plenty of space with rooms that were PERFECT as boudoir backdrops.

Here’s a question for you… How much do you trust your friends? Take a minute and think about it!

For me… When it comes to my closest friends, I know that they truly have my best interests at heart and only want what’s best for me. Honestly, why wouldn’t I trust them?

Now, let’s say that your friends REALLY encouraged you to step outside of your comfort zone and do something that feels very uncomfortable… and to some, even a bit dangerous! Would you trust them then?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from clients that their friends are the ones who encouraged them to start thinking about boudoir photography and recommended the experience. Many women start off feeling nervous about the idea of booking a session, but their friends are the ones who step in and let them know that it’s a worthwhile adventure.

In our lives, when it comes to facing something that’s completely new… It can be a bit scary!

If you start a new job, move to a new place, or are trying out a brand new activity for the first time, you may not know what to expect. Naturally, this can create some worries and anxiety… Trust me, we’ve all been there!

Other times, when we’re in a different mindset, new changes can feel exciting! A new change can be just what we need to shake up our daily lives and take us out of our routines. If you’ve been feeling “stuck” or start to feel like you need something fresh in your life… Even a small change is enough to help us break away from our day-to-day patterns and schedules.

In my life, I recently had a big change that really shook things up… I went through the process of switching up the location of my studio space! I decided to say goodbye to my old studio and create a new and improved photography space in my home!

For today’s blog post, we’ll be covering more about one of my favorite boudoir topics… Fashion!

In past blog posts, I’ve talked all about how boudoir sessions give us the perfect opportunity to express our personal style… No matter what your tastes are! Whether you love simple outfits, have a glamorous wardrobe, or even go for an edgier, alternative look… You can feel confident showing up to your photography session as your TRUE self with the styles that reflect your personality the best.

If you have a specific style or set of outfits that you want to include in your boudoir session, we can talk about particular sets, fun backdrops, and even poses that go hand-in-hand with your personal style!

When it comes to boudoir sessions, everybody has their own individual reason for stepping in front of the camera. I like to think of your reason for booking as your “why.”

Boudoir allows us to honor ourselves and celebrate our bodies in such a unique way. If you’ve been through a tough journey with your body or expect to have challenges down the road… There can be so much beauty in embracing and capturing your body as it is today. For some clients, their “why” is all about celebrating the strength it took to get to this point and fully embracing our bodies that carried us through.

Ever since launching my business brand story packages, I’ve had such a great time getting to know business owners from the Pacific Northwest! It’s always so interesting to meet new people and learn all about some of the local businesses we have in the Vancouver area.

For this session, though, I switched things up and met with a business owner who I’m already extremely familiar with! My good friend, KC Johnson, is an incredibly passionate coach who owns Namaste Happy.

I’ve photographed many weddings as a photographer, but I have to say… Every time, it’s always SO special to see two families come together as one! It’s definitely one of my favorite things about photographing a couple’s big day.

Alex and Chris planned to get married at Lacamas Lake Lodge in Camas, Washington over Thanksgiving weekend. When speaking to me about the wedding, Alex shared that they were going to become a blended family! Alex and Chris along with her two sons and his two daughters were going to officially become a family, so I was especially excited for them and also wanted to make sure I captured plenty of photos of them all celebrating together.

Ever since I started offering my brand story packages for businesses, I’ve had so much fun discovering more about some of the amazing businesses we have here in the Pacific Northwest! Recently, I had the opportunity to learn all about Fancy Faces by Amy, a face painting business that’s local to the Portland area. It was amazing to learn more about such a skilled face painter and see her in action!

For today’s blog post, let’s talk all about style! If you were to have a boudoir session of your own… What types of clothing and accessories can you see yourself wearing for your shoot?

The styles and possibilities are truly endless! That’s why this question can be so difficult for everyone to answer… For your photography session, you can choose to embrace your personal style or even switch it up and try out a look that’s entirely new to you.

Today’s blog post features a client who definitely knows a thing or two about personal style! Before our boudoir session together, I learned that some of her style staples include jeans, a leather jacket, and a cowboy boots. She shared that she planned to wear all of those items to her shoot along with lingerie, a corset, and a cowboy hat. I absolutely love that she chose to embrace her “leather and lace” style for the camera!

Ever since I launched my new brand story offerings, it has been so fun to meet business owners all around the Pacific Northwest! When I’m meeting with local business owners, our photography sessions are typically pretty close to Vancouver… This time, though, I hopped on a plane for our shoot!

I recently flew out to Denver, Colorado to shoot a brand story photography session for Thereafter Podcast. Meghan Crozier and Cortland Coffey are the hosts of the podcast, and they wanted to get together to capture some promotional photos. Because Meghan lives in Washington and Cortland lives in Colorado, they rarely have the chance to take photos together!

I am SO excited to share today’s post, but it also feels incredibly bittersweet…

If you haven’t already heard, I’m currently in the process of moving into a different studio space! I’ve spent the past two years (I can’t believe it!) in my previous studio, and I can’t begin to tell you how many amazing memories I’ve had there.

From the classic living room and bedroom sets all the way to our “special” sets… It was a ton of fun to create each and every setting! Now that I’m moving into my new residential studio, I have the chance to design new backdrops and creative sets that I wasn’t able to set up in my old space. That’s one huge reason why I’m making the move… I can’t wait to create new spaces that my clients will love, and I’ll also be able to make use of outdoor space!

I always LOVE when I have the opportunity to capture two people in love, but I have to say… This session really hit home and was a special one for me!

Why? These are my brother’s engagement photos!

It’s always exciting when a sibling gets engaged, but this one really means a lot. After capturing Rob’s engagement photos, I’ve now photographed engagement sessions for all of my brothers! I’m the oldest in my family and have three little brothers, so I’ve always loved to capture the important moments in their lives. Not only have I photographed their engagement shots… I captured senior photos for all three of them, too!

When it comes to planning a wedding, it’s always a great idea to think about some of your favorite things as well as your partner’s favorite things and find a way to include them in your big day… whether it’s a favorite musical artist, type of food, or color!

Better yet… You can also take your favorite things and turn them into the entire theme for your wedding!

This is exactly what Nathun and Katie did! Both of them are huge fans of Halloween, so they decided to make their wedding Halloween themed. Their big day was set in late October, so it was the perfect time of year to include fun costumes and spooky decor.

When you think of my photography studio and the types of boudoir sets I offer… I bet you think of all the classics! Of course we have the bedroom set and living room set. Those rooms are super versatile and used by just about everyone who books an in-studio boudoir session with me.

Even though the special sets aren’t used as often as our classic sets, it’s so important (and fun, too!) to get experimental with creating new sets. I always want to make sure that my clients have tons of unique options when booking.

I’m always thinking about new types of sets and ways I can practically bring them to life in my studio! It usually takes some DIY-ing, help from a loved one or two, and a model session… And that’s exactly what I did to bring my latest idea to life!

When clients come in for their first sessions, we capture exactly what they’re going through at that point in their lives. It’s natural for our mindsets and life circumstances to change at least a bit over time, so if clients choose to come back for more sessions… there’s a guarantee that things will be different!

As I look back at my friend’s first session, I can see SO much growth. This is especially impressive because she even went through a ton of personal changes before her first visit to the studio! The changes haven’t stopped there… In just a year, she’s had even more personal growth and gained a new sense of independence.

Calling all partners of boudoir lovers! Today’s post is just for you…

When we talk about using boudoir photos as a gift, usually this refers to booking a session for ourselves and then buying either prints or an album to gift to our partners. This is such a fun Valentine’s Day gift or birthday gift, and the present always takes partners by surprise… in the best way possible!

But what your partner may not know is that a boudoir shoot is an awesome gift for you, too!

As part of my new brand story offerings, I recently met with Pam Huber of The Whorticulturist and Pam Huber Designs to take some behind-the-scenes photos for her business!

In Pam’s case, it was so much fun to act like the “paparazzi” and capture her inside of her workspace because we were surrounded by gorgeous plants during the whole shoot. It was amazing to see all of the greenery and learn more about plant care just by watching her!