Outdoor boudoir is a beautiful way to honor yourself, your connection to nature, and a special place that is meaningful to you.
Scroll down to see examples of recent outdoor boudoir sessions, location ideas, pricing info, details about my photoshoot process, and outdoor boudoir FAQs.
Some clients have a vision in mind right away for a specific location and will tell me where they’d like to do a session. If you’ve got an idea in mind, we can go anywhere! I’ve done sessions that are in my neighborhood in south Minneapolis, and I’ve done sessions where I’ve hopped on a plane to meet my client.
Some folks have a general sense for the kind of setting they might like (a forest, a river, a beach) but aren’t sure of the exact location - I’m happy to help brainstorm and research ideas for you!
I also plan a couple outdoor boudoir destinations each year, where I choose a dream outdoor boudoir setting and stay there for a few days to do a handful of sessions at each location. This can be great for folks who are drawn to the idea of an outdoor session but have no idea what kind of place they’d like to pick for their session.
Palisade Head on the Minnesota North Shore
Black Beach on the Minnesota North Shore
Airbnb (used their property with permission) and a beach in Grand Marais, MN
Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis
Longfellow Beach in South Minneapolis
At a beloved family cabin
Superior Point, Wisconsin
Frontenac State Park, MN
The Grand Canyon
Hawaii!! (literally anywhere in Hawaii!)
Black River State Forest, MN
A field of wildflowers
The Black Hills, South Dakota
Your favorite hiking trail or picnic spot
Hot springs!
My pricing for outdoor boudoir photoshoots is the same as my studio boudoir sessions - check out the button below to go to my pricing page.
The only difference is that I customize an additional travel fee for each location to cover transportation, time, and simple accommodations.
Click here to learn how to book a boudoir session — it walks you through what to do if you are ready to get something booked now, or if you have questions first.
Once you’re booked for your photoshoot, I’ll send you a link to my “client toolkit” — it has all of my session planning resources and guides in one place. And, I’m here for you every step of the way so you can reach out any time with questions, ideas, concerns, etc — I’m here for it all.
The Illuminate Boudoir photoshoot experience starts with a planning call sometime before your session day. We’ll talk through your ideas and vision for a session and plan out a photoshoot that captures what you want to remember about this chapter of life.
We’ll also plan out your outdoor photoshoot location, choose a photoshoot date, and a block out a large window of time to reserve for your session (for example, from 2-8pm for an afternoon/sunset session) — and we’ll pick a more exact starting time the week of your photoshoot.
The week of your session, I’ll be paying attention to the weather, sunlight, cloud cover, etc. A couple days out from your session, I’ll touch base with you to pick an exact starting time based on the weather and light, and we’ll make sure that we have a planned meeting place for your photoshoot.
The day of your photoshoot, we’ll meet up as planned and make our way through the session! We’ll spend a couple hours taking pictures — you can wear up to 3-5 outfits/looks. A “look” can be a lingerie set, everyday clothing, or an implied nude/topless look wrapped in a sheet.
I find that two hours is the perfect amount of time to include lots of variety while taking things at a relaxed, easy pace so you never feel rushed. Sometimes the actual session takes a bit longer if we are walking/hiking between locations, so we’ll plan plenty of time to adventure! After the photoshoot, we’ll part ways for the day.
I’m an expert at posing and will completely guide you through the session - I’ll even demonstrate poses for you! You'll leave feeling proud and amazing.
If you would like, you are welcome to bring one encouraging friend along to your boudoir session day — for some clients, it helps them feel more calm/grounded or adds an extra layer of fun to the day. Make sure to choose someone who will help you feel positive, safe, and celebrated - and platonic friends only please (no romantic or sexual partners).
I also have some clients who find that having a friend along makes them feel more nervous during the photoshoot because they’re being watched while they pose. If you think you’d have a harder time focusing on yourself, then I encourage you to come solo and make the day just about you. The choice is totally up to you!
After your photoshoot, I’ll review all the pictures we took at your photoshoot and choose the final portraits - about 60 final images. I’ll edit each picture with my natural editing style (read more about that here) and get them ready for you to see. I print off a dozen or so pictures from throughout your session and set them on my studio shelves, and I’ll prepare a slideshow with all 60 of the final portraits for you to watch!
One or two weeks after your photoshoot, we’ll meet back up for your portrait reveal. If you’re a client local to the Twin Cities, you’ll come meet me at my studio in Minneapolis, but if you live out of town we can always meet up virtually on zoom.
At your portrait reveal, first we’ll head to my studio shelves so you can see the dozen printed images that I’ve prepared for you — it’ll take you right back to all the magical feelings from the photoshoot.
Then we’ll sit together and watch a slideshow with all 60 of the final images. It’s so special to see it come together! Next, we’ll plan out your order! My clients are keeping their portraits in either a storytelling album (to tell the story of your session and this chapter of life) or an heirloom box (with a stack of pictures inside), and you’ll get the matching digital images from your order as well.
I’ll be able to send you home with the digital images after your portrait reveal, and your printed art will arrive a month or two later!
For clients local to the Twin Cities, I like to have orders all arrive to my studio first so that I can inspect them and make sure that they are perfect, and then we’ll arrange a time for you come to the studio to pick up your order. For out-of-town clients, I can arrange shipping directly to you!
Holding your final art in your hands is the final step of the boudoir process, and it’s such a powerful moment - it’s absolutely magical to see how your photographs come to life in their printed album or box.
I take a limited number of outdoor boudoir sessions each year and they can book quickly - I often book over a year in advance for my outdoor sessions.
That being said, I can sometimes have last-minute spots available, so feel free to reach out if you’re interested.
Sometime it means we change the timing of our session, reschedule to another day, or we may plan your session with an indoor backup location in mind in order to keep the photoshoot on the same day as planned.
Part of doing a session outdoors means that there can be a risk of poor weather! I talk through weather backup plans with every client so we will have a plan together for what to do if it rains/storms/etc.
I photograph weddings and engagement sessions (with my other brand Alyssa Lund Photography) so I am accustomed to coming up with backup plans for photoshoots - it’s a normal part of my job and something I’ll guide you through.
The timeline of an outdoor boudoir session is totally different than a studio session. We’ll build your custom photoshoot timeline based on when the light will be most beautiful at your chosen location.
Outdoor sessions are extra amazing at sunrise, late afternoon, and sunset. Usually I will schedule your session for a large chunk of time (like a six hour window) and then I will touch base with you the week of your session to finalize an exact starting time for the photoshoot based on weather/light/etc.
The duration of an outdoor session is still about the same as a studio session - a couple hours! We have time for up to 3-5 looks/outfits.
Once I have planned the timing for the photoshoot itself, I’ll work with you to choose a date/time for the reveal of your portraits.
For most outdoor sessions, the reveal is usually about 1-3 weeks after the session.
I want that too! Your safety and consent is super important to me, and I spend time talking with each of my outdoor boudoir clients about their comfort level how to make sure that they feel safe/comfortable in their chosen location.
I have some outdoor clients who choose more remote locations, quieter times of day (like sunrise), or plan more covered-up outfits (comparable to a swimsuit, or adding in robes/cardigans) to help them feel comfortable during their photoshoot.
I have other clients who aren’t as self-conscious about other people seeing them (although we also always talk through how to respect the consent of passerby as well).
For example, when I have outdoor boudoir clients who want to incorporate nudity into a session, that always involves choosing a more remote location and keeping a sheet or robe handy so that the client can cover up if someone walks by, or renting a private property so that we know there won’t be other folks around.
For sessions in Minnesota, I typically do outdoor boudoir between May and September. I have recently started offering winter outdoor boudoir (at a cabin with a big private property, where we have a safe spot to warm up and include some indoor pictures too)
We can also do outdoor boudoir during the rest of the year if we’re traveling to warmer locations!
