There are a lot of new faces around here and so I wanted to tell you a little more about me and tell you my story.

A Little More About Me!

I am Melissa (or Missy), the face behind MelissaLee Photography and MelissaLee Boudoir. The owner and photographer at MelissaLee Photography and the facilitator of this group. I live in Glencoe, Mn with my boyfriend David (who farms cash crops and operates a trucking business) and our crazy beagle Roscoe. Who is like always having a toddler that never grows up in the house. Together we’ve been in this crazy ride called life for 4.5 years and it seems to keep getting crazier but worth it every day.

My Start

I started doing photography as a business for myself in 2010 after I graduated college with my degree in arts and photography. I had wanted to be a big time photographers assistant and get a job working for someone else. But when that didn’t happen after sending tons of resumes out i started portfolio building on my own to keep things going and from there it grew into a side hustle that I loved and couldn’t get enough of.

I had expected then that I would be this big time wedding photographer. Doing weddings as many weekends as I could book and handle. Loving the rush of craziness and busyness that came from long weekends working and tons of editing time. I absolutely loved weddings even with the amount of work that came with them. On top of that I tried out every other session type out there along the way to keep filing the books. But eventually I learned that weddings were my jam and not everything else was. I was going to do only weddings.

But as I wanted to do that I moved an hour away from where I had started my business and now was in a brand new market where I basically had to start my business over. This made it tough to keep the calendar full with weddings. I knew there was something more out there and that my hard work trying to bring in clients should pay off eventually.

Changing Paths

Now, a lot of boudoir photographers have a more profound story for what brought them to boudoir but mine is a little more simple. But as I’ve grown into doing boudoir I’ve seen how much not only do I love this type of photography but also how important it is in making an impact in this world and making an impact on my personal growth.

Like I said, I’ve tried every genre of photography out there at some point during my career. I even did some bridal boudoir years ago for a few brides of mine. But at that time I didn’t think investing in hotel rooms to do sessions was the way to go with that. So I didn’t pursue it all the way and just did it for brides who wanted gorgeous photos for their grooms on their wedding days.

Boudoir Photography

Fast forward to 2019 when I started thinking I wanted to fill my calendar through the winter since wedding season in Minnesota slows down during winter. I started investing in boudoir education slowly and started realizing how much I liked this genre. I started doing sessions at big studio spaces in the Twin Cities and that was fun but the travel and anxiety of making sure I had everything when going an hour from home was a lot.

Then out of no where I decided that I needed to get in touch with this new neighbor that had moved in last fall next to us who was starting this retreat Femme Farm thing. I honestly don’t even remember now why I thought I needed to email Heather at The Femme Farm and tell her about me doing boudoir. But I think something told me we could collaborate or at least meet and get to know each other and share business ideas. Little did I know she would have the most beautiful space in her home that she wanted to share with me and the boudoir girls.

The Beginning of Something Great

Through doing boudoir I have learned a lot about myself and about the women out there. We all need more love and self confidence in our lives every day. Each day is a struggle to keep loving ourselves and anything that can help boost that (like a boudoir session) is important to woman learning to love themselves fully. It’s so hard to see women struggle with who they are or what they look like when we are all made so perfectly beautiful. Walking in the door for a boudoir session is scary but it’s one of the best confidence boosters you can do for yourself. There is nothin like it to be pampered, treats like a queen and be and feel like your best self. And that’s why I love doing boudoir because every woman deserves this and is worthy of realizing her true amazingness.

If you want to see more and be a part of a great group, come join my women’s only Facebook Group Here and see what it’s like to do a session for yourself. If you would like to learn more about how to prepare for a session Click Here.