I remember looking at the photo and just beaming with how I was seeing my true self - I am beautiful, I found me and in that moment I realized I had nothing to hide ‘cause I was perfect the way I am.

Last winter I set out with these two lovebirds in search of a beautiful location for their late spring wedding. Shelby and Andrew were planning on getting married on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge in outdoor wedding, so we wanted their engagement session to highlight the beauty of that area, too.

This boudoir session was a long time coming, but completely and totally worth the wait!

(And I got an AWESOME Tik Tok shout out, too!)

It didn’t actually take that much to get this set up… an acrylic sheet clamped between two backdrop stands, my ring lights, and a water bottle! It’s totally an example of “what you see vs. what I see” type of photography. lol It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but OMG I LOVE the effect that I’m getting!

My client told me that she wanted the photography session to have a “Cottage Core” vibe, so (after quickly Googling what the heck that was. lol) I delivered with an outdoor photoshoot that had softer elements used in the background and foreground of the photos.

The garden background tied everything together and gave the session the feel she was looking for! The plants and soft fabrics really added a ton to the mood of the photos. Plus, the natural lighting we had for the photography session complemented the set beautifully!

Celebrating life is always one of my favorite things to do while working as a photographer! There are so many ways that I capture life through all of my photography sessions, but it’s definitely special to capture brand new life, too.

I came to realize that for me, sexy is not just one thing. It did not have to be all lacy or all sweaters or all my partners tee shirt. It could be all of that! And I know that may seem common sense to some, but I had spent so much time trying to be what someone else wanted that I thought you had to be a “type”. It was a very liberating and exciting feeling and gave me a great confidence when time for photos finally came around.

Women empowering women is such a beautiful and magical thing. Being able to see the beauty in each other and lift that up instead of tearing it down is so powerful, and let me tell you that I had to channel that power when stepping into that shoot! In the few days leading up to the photo shoot I suddenly lost all of that confidence that I had built up during all of my prep. I was not skinny enough, my outfits weren’t the right ones, my skin was weird, and obviously my cellulite was going to be an issue...Damn these negative voices in my head!

When my client booked her session, she was looking to do something for herself that was special! She stayed busy with family and worked hard on her education through the pandemic, so this was her way of taking some time for herself and prioritizing self-care. It was so awesome to help create an experience for her that she could enjoy and remember down the road through all of her stunning images!

While reviewing these photos and looking back through them, it was so clear to see that she was absolutely GLOWING during this session. These photos show the beauty and confidence of my client plus all of the hard work that was put into this space! This is always going to be a very special session for me. <3

Sometimes moms get the short end of the stick, and this leaves us without photos that we love of ourselves with our kids! It’s so important that we have photos of ourselves with our children that we can cherish and keep through the years. There’s nothing better than being able to look back at family photos and see the moments of joy that we shared with our family. As the years fly by and our kids grow up, it’s awesome to have a snapshot of our memories with them… Our kids love to look back at these photos, too!

Celebrating a graduation in 2021 includes celebrating that you got your diploma or degree… but it also includes celebrating how hard you worked through the pandemic. It’s so important to acknowledge your success through all of these changes!