A Peek Behind the Curtain: The Creative Photoshoots That Feed My Soul

If you love the boudoir photography I share, I have a little behind-the-scenes treat for you today!

Something I realized recently is thvat I don’t often share the other kind of photography I do. The creative, experimental, just-for-fun photoshoots that happen outside of client work. The ones that don’t have an outcome attached to them. No expectations. No pressure. Just curiosity, play, and artistic exploration!

To be honest with you, those shoots are a huge part of what keeps me inspired, grounded, and creatively alive.

So today, I want to pull back the curtain and let you into that side of my world. Lets get into it.

Making Art For Me (And Why This Matters For You!)

When you turn something you love into your full-time business, there’s a funny thing that can happen.

Suddenly, the thing that once felt like pure joy also comes with logistics, timelines, client expectations, deliverables, and responsibility. Don’t get me wrong – I love my clients deeply. Creating transformative boudoir experiences is meaningful, sacred work to me.

But as an artist, it’s essential that I also make space to create art just because!! Art that doesn’t need to sell. Art that doesn’t need to fit into a box. Art that exists purely for exploration, growth, and self-expression.

These creative photoshoots are my playground! A low-pressure space where I get to try new techniques, experiment with ideas, and follow whatever creative thread is tugging at me in the moment. They’re where I stretch myself, make mistakes, learn, and sometimes stumble onto something magical.

This personal creative work feeds directly back into the boudoir experience, even if you never see the direct connection. When I’m inspired, playful, and creatively nourished, my client work becomes richer, more intuitive, and more alive!

Body Painting: Art, Skin, And Storytelling

Body painting has been part of my life for a long time — long before Embodied Art Boudoir ever existed.

Back in high school, I took a stage makeup class that introduced me to body painting and henna. That one class turned into years of painting bodies at school events, festivals, and creative gatherings. There’s something incredibly powerful about using the human body as the canvas itself.

These shoots are easily some of the most time-consuming projects I take on. Designing the concept, painting the body (often over many hours), styling, lighting, and then photographing it all before the paint fades or smudges — it’s a labor of love.

And I am completely obsessed with the results.

Each body painting shoot feels like a collaboration between artist, model, and photographer – a conversation happening without words. It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence. About honoring the body as art, exactly as it is.

Watching an idea come to life through multiple creative hands is one of my favorite things in the world.

Playing With Light: Learning Through Experimentation

Lighting is one of those things that can completely transform an image — and it’s also something I didn’t learn through a traditional fine arts or photography program.

I never went to art school. I didn’t sit through years of formal color theory classes or technical lighting labs. Instead, I learned by doing. By experimenting. By investing in workshops, online courses, and in-person classes, to understand advanced lighting tools and techniques.

These creative shoots are where I get to test new lighting ideas without worrying about getting it “right.” I can push boundaries, try something weird, or use color in unexpected ways just to see what happens.

When I look back at some of my earliest lighting experiments and compare them to more recent work, the evolution is wild. Not because the earlier work was “bad,” but because growth leaves a visible trail.

It reminds me that you don’t have to start as an expert to become one. You just have to be willing to stay curious long enough to learn.

420-Themed Shoots: Playful, Local, And Very Colorado

Of course… There are the 420-themed photoshoots. I mean — it’s Colorado. It would almost be weird not to.

These shoots are lighthearted, playful, and intentionally not too serious. They’re about joy, curiosity, and celebrating the fact that art doesn’t always have to be deep or heavy to be meaningful.

There’s something freeing about giving yourself permission to make art that’s simply fun. Art that exists because it delights you. Because it makes you smile. Because it feels good to create it – that kind of joy is contagious – you can feel it in the images.

Why I’m Sharing This With You

I’m sharing these creative projects not just to show you pretty pictures but to remind you of something important:

You are allowed to create things that don’t need to be productive.
You are allowed to explore parts of yourself without an end goal.
You are allowed to follow curiosity just because it’s calling you.

Whether that looks like a creative photoshoot, a passion project, journaling, painting, dancing, building something with your hands, or simply making space to daydream, it all counts.

If any of these creative styles sparked something in you, I’d love to hear about it! If you’re working on a creative project of your own right now, tell me about that, too. I genuinely love hearing what lights people up!!

Is there a creative shoot you are dying to try? Let’s talk!!