Halloween Boudoir is So Fun it’s Scary!

halloween boudoir inspiration! Queer boudoir for LGBTQ+ people by Philly queer photographer Neon Velvet Studio
Italian horror boudoir with dramatic lighting and moody film noir vibes
Crown yourself queen of your favorite romantic fantasy with limited edition sets like the Dark Garden of Eden at Neon Velvet Studio! Photography by Cassandra Panek in Philadelphia, PA

It’s Halloween Boudoir season again, so let’s get into a few ways you can add a little pumpkin spice to your boudoir session! 👻

I’m a gay goth goblin so it’s probably no surprise to hear I love Halloween and the season that surrounds it. It’s leather jacket weather, the air is crisp but not too cold, leaves crunch when you step on them, and I’m not the only one listening to The Cramps and hanging out in cemeteries. I’ve got a great group of spooky friends and clients, so it’s only natural that energy creeps into my boudoir photography.

Let’s look at four basic categories of halloween hottie!

Sweet Treats

This one’s for my lifestyle spooky babes, who keep halloween in their hearts year-round. Your perfect boudoir session is dark and moody, atmospheric, dramatic, a little creepy cute, smolderingly sexy. Maybe you dream of witchy boudoir to help you cast a spell on your sweetie with a one-of-a-kind photo album!

Maybe you're a witchy woman looking to hex your ex this Valentine's Day? Or want a halloween session that's more cute than creepy? No judgment, bestie!

Spicy Pumpkins

Where are my sirens? Those who embrace sensuality all the time, and are looking to Halloween for an excuse to live out their particular dark romance fantasies! Maybe that scream mask hair pull TikTok awakened something in you. Your dream session a mix of drama, kink, nudity, and maybe fake blood or Evil Dead style black ooze. (Note: I’m keeping reference images here suuuuper PG but please don’t feel limited by that!)

Will you be the hero or the villain in a dark romantic fantasy? Limited edition sets like the Dark Garden of Eden at Neon Velvet Studio! Photography by Cassandra Panek in Philadelphia, PA

Spooky Cuties

You’re a halloween movie buff! Are you planning a Beetlejuice boudoir look while you’re reading this? Maybe you’ve been working on a sexy cosplay of an original character or a fan favorite. You’re delighted by fantasy boudoir, elaborate costumes, theme sets. More is more, and you really bring your best this time of year.

witchy halloween boudoir with candles and skulls for creepy queer cuties by LGBTQ photographer Neon Velvet Studio in suburban Philadelphia, PA

Autumn Vibes

This is for my babes who aren’t into all the halloween stuff. They want a little candy, some pretty leaves, and a nice latte! You love dress up but like to keep it cute, so maybe you’re a Pink Pony Girl looking for your fantasy dance club photoshoot. Your perfect halloween mask involves lace and rhinestones, more masquerade than mask. You get the picture.

is your halloween boudoir vibe more masquerade than mask?

Halloween Boudoir Inspiration: How to Get the Halloween Spirit

You’ve got a lot of options to make your photos a scream, whether you’re doing a professional boudoir photography session or taking some sexy spooky selfies! Here’s some things to help you prepare:

  • Choose your vibe: are you silly, spooky, or scary? Horror comedy, or dark thriller?
  • Pick thematic outfits. This can be anything from goth lingerie to something straight from the scenes of your favorite final girl or haunted horror.
  • Get atmospheric. Setting is huge! Maybe you’re a Scream fan, so you want to do your session in an oversized sweater in a kitchen while making some stovetop popcorn! Or the isolated woods are calling you.
  • Lighting matters! Deep ominous shadows and color gels can help create a dark and moody boudoir vibe to perfect your scenery and get that Dracula vibe.
  • The devil’s in the details. What little elements can you add to really put the last nails in the coffin? Claw-like fingernails, fantasy contact lenses, ominous ooze? Props are great so don’t forget candles, candy, jack-o-lanterns, or your favorite crystal ball.
  • Shy? Halloween boudoir is a great opportunity to wear a mask or get out of your shell and into character.

Final Girl Final Thoughts

The most important part of boudoir in general–and halloween boudoir in particular–is to have fun. In my opinion classic boudoir photography is a great opportunity to see yourself in a new way, and themed boudoir sessions are perfect for trying something fun and maybe a little unusual for you! So what are you waiting for? Get your selfie setup and start snapping, or schedule your free consultation for a session with me!

Disco Diva? Strut Your Stuff in a Disco Photoshoot

The Disco photoshoot of your dreams is just a click away

Two truths and a lie about Disco Nights

✧ Disco Nights is a neon boudoir fantasy, and part of the reason I chose Neon Velvet Studio as my studio name!

✧ Dolly Disco was my first TikTok to go a little bit viral!

✧ I got kicked out of Studio 54 in 1978.

Okay, sorry, that’s probably a pretty easy one to figure out, especially if you follow me on social media and saw my recent birthday posts!

If you’ve spent even a minute on my site, you won’t be surprised when I say I love things that sparkle! I’m a t-shirt and jeans goth, but my photography heavily features prisms and lights and things that twinkle in dark moody spaces. I also love colorful lighting and set design! Once I spent several days turning a mannequin into a disco ball just so I could have a super unique prop!

I’ve got disco planters (hello, Disco Days!), disco curtain, and disco balls to pose with. The client closet has rhinestone dresses and bodysuits and mirror-silver pasties, and my hair and makeup artist can give you the glam makeover of your dreams.

All that’s missing is you!

Disco Nights is Perfect For You If:

✧ Glitz, glitter, rhinestones, and disco balls are your native environment
✧ You’re willing to share the spotlight with our queen and mascot, Dolly Disco!
✧ Big 70s glam hair thrills you!
✧ Dramatic standing and leaning? POSE.
✧ Two words: Bisexual Lighting
✧ Is it you? Are you the drama?
✧ You’re already dreaming about which of multiple outfits you own would be perfect for a disco ball photoshoot
✧ You read the Throne of Glass series and Aelin was your favorite character
✧ You want to fight me a little for the above statement (it’s fine, I do too)
✧ Your record collection has its own zip code
✧ The plural of vinyl is vinyl
✧ You want to subvert expectations and bring some glam rock sleaze into the mix

bonus: check out my roller disco playlist on Spotify

that’s all, I love you

Valentine Dreams: How to Heart Your Vibe

Love is in the air with a Valentine’s Day boudoir shoot

I’m an elder goth, the absolute last person you’d expect to get fired up about Valentine’s Day. And you’re right; I don’t care about it as a commercial occasion. But I love it as a themed boudoir session opportunity! These can feel more playful than a classic boudoir photoshoot because they’re colorful and can involve cute props. Valentine’s Day has always been campy and Valentine’s boudoir is too. Want hot pink femme euphoria? Got it! Or maybe you’re a them fatale. Classic widow robe vibes. Or you want to dress up like a powder-blue fox and wear heart-shaped pasties. I’m for it.

There are three types of people I think Valentine’s Day boudoir sessions are perfect for:

  • People in love
  • People out of love
  • Happy singles

Let’s get into it!

People In Love

Got that special someone you want to be sure is thinking of you when you’re thinking of them? Nothing says love like the personal and sensual gift of sexy photos! Flowers are beautiful and candy is nice, but a custom photo album will last forever. Valentine’s Day boudoir sessions are a little sweet, a little spicy. Use them to set the romantic vibe for the year to follow.

Or really lean in and schedule a Deluxe Couples Session with your sweetie! You’ll be together forever in your album and prints, memorialized for the hot pair you are.

People Out of Love

Look babe, I get it. Heartbreak hurts. But sometimes the best way to move on is to be so hot they regret everything. Let them cry. Let them regret. Block their number. You’re hot and you’ve moved on. You’re dressing for revenge. You are a sultry siren ready to break the heart that broke yours, and maybe a few others on the way. I don’t judge. That’s for god and drag queens to do.

These photos are for you, but maybe they’re for the internet too. So let’s accentuate your favorite features and get you feeling fire again. And if you want extra moral support, book back-to-back sessions with your pal for Galentine’s Day and make it a party.

Happy Singles

Welcome to the Self Love Club! You’re living your glorious unattached life and this session is about you creating a glamorous archive of self-adoration. I love the other kinds of sessions but between you and me, this is my favorite one. You’ve got no one to prove anything to but yourself, and it’s time for a luxurious little treat. Like those expensive bath bombs, but longer-lasting.

Get fancy in professional hair and makeup styling, have a dress up dream in the Client Closet, and pose your heart out! You can be sweet or spicy or a bit of both!

Book your Valentine’s Day Boudoir Session Now!

If you’ve made it this far I just need you to know that at some point writing this I confused St. Valentine with St. Sebastian and barely course corrected in time. But like… if somebody wants to do a St. Sebastian-themed session I think that would slap. Love you.
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Explore Your Dark Fantasy in the Dark Garden of Eden

Star in your own dark fantasy romance

Did the Dark Garden set building post make you curious for more? Let me help you picture yourself in the Dark Garden of Eden.

Are you:
✧ Corporeal (possibly involuntarily, because you’ve been cursed by a witch)
✧ Extremely into halloween, cosplay, or sweeping dramatically into a room in a floor-length gown
✧ Looking for any excuse to wear a crown
✧ Someone who looks at fantasy romances and thinks, ‘hmm, could be gayer.’
✧ Exploring your sensual side (ominous, possibly as a threat)
✧ Ready to risk it all for forbidden knowledge of the arcane
✧ A will-o-the-wisp
✧ A crone who Knows Too Much
✧ Lowkey obsessed with being a Fae Prince (in a very hot and genderqueer way)
✧ Afraid for your mother to see just which books you read last year (ahem, dark romance readers)
✧ Into the Dark Maximalism or Dark Academia aesthetic

If you answered yes to three or more of the above, it sounds like your butt belongs in the Dark Garden!

Set Building: Dark Garden of Eden

Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer and a set building nerd, but I love to see process photos of how a series of images or a set are conceptualized and created! Here’s the first inkling of the Dark Garden of Eden set:

As you can see, the inspiration was darkness, gold, and roses. Maybe you’re looking at this thinking, ‘Wow, Cassie really loves red!’ and in 2024 that’s probably true! But it still feels surprising to me because I so rarely shot with a heavy red influence until the last few years!

I wanted greenery but not too green. I wanted it to be lush and detailed but not chaotic. So I began building…

…and this is when the Eden portion arrives! I thought, ‘More gold!’ and started buying and painting toy snakes, a totally normal expense to have to explain to my accountant as a boudoir photographer!

https://www.tiktok.com/@neonvelvetstudio/video/7128810239994137902?_r=1&_t=8imjYMhyBze

It’s difficult to paint with one hand and video with the other. But the vibe continued to expand as I added light and tested how it would look with the prisms I like to use when shooting…

https://www.tiktok.com/@neonvelvetstudio/video/7129185240781786414?_r=1&_t=8imjcuZkGbu

… and here we are, after hundreds of red fairy lights, dozens of roses, yards of black lace and greenery panels!

A versatile and moody fantasy boudoir vibe for all my dark queens and kings (and queer-coded villains, I love you). It’s a little bit fairy tale, but the dark foreboding kind that suggests maybe you’re more witch than princess. It’s a set in which you can be your own dark romance.

Dark Garden of Eden returns for a limited time in my suburban Philadelphia studio June 2024 for your choice of a mini session, deluxe session, or couples session (bring a sweetheart or a friend, or if you’re into booktok tropes, a friend you’re hoping might become a sweetheart?). Prepayment plans are available! Come see what romantic vibes are in the air.

Classic Boudoir: Relax in The White Room

This classic boudoir staple is here to stay!

Do you dream of simplicity? Soft white sheets, gauzy curtains, the gentle light of an afternoon sun filtering through? A bright and airy boudoir set is a classic for a reason–it’s timeless, it’s minimalist, and it allows you to shine in a natural, neutral environment. And if dark and moody is your boudoir vibe, that’s easy too!

In this classic boudoir set you can dress up to set the mood or strip down and bare it all. A simple bedroom looks gorgeous with clean editing, vintage film effects, and classy black and white color toning. It’s perfect as an only set or second set, woven into your custom photo album alongside other more elaborate sets or features with vivid colors.

A bedroom setting is great for beginners because it’s soft and sensual and relaxed, and pretty much everyone has used a bed before! It’s an organic, comfortable setting for such intimate photos. It’s simple to select your outfit; you don’t even have to pick out shoes (unless you want to).

Lastly, the set can be accessorized easily with fresh flowers or rose petals, a cozy cup of tea and a favorite book or comic. Anything goes if it helps personalize the vibe and make it about you.

Mini Sessions: Limited Edition Themes for 2024 & 2025

Mini sessions: Photography for all!

Live your dark romantic truth with Gothic Romantasy! black lace, candles, and roses for all my goth boudoir kings and queens <3 mini session photography sets for a limited time

Mini Session Themes 2024:

✧  Leather & Lace, May 9-10th 2024
✧  Dark Garden of Eden, June 12-14th 2024
✧  Christmas in July, July 25-26th 2024
✧  Golden Gods, August 20-22 2024
✧ Hallowqueen! September 9-12 2024
✧ Bride of Dracula, October 22-24 2024
✧  Monochrome Red, November 4-6 2024
✧  Gothic Romantasy, December 2-4 2024

2025:

✧  Valentine Dreams, January 6-8 2025
✧  Neon Nights, February 3-5 2025
✧  Flower Heaven, March 3-5 2025
✧  Birth of Venus, April 6-9 2025
✧  Burlesque! May 5-7 2025
✧  It’s Witchcraft, June 2-4 2025

A tattooed plus-sized burlesque performer in glamorous makeup. she has a partially shaved head and wears a black faux fur caplet, a strappy lace bra, and a striped corset.
a queer burlesque dancer posing with black ostrich feather fans in a boudoir photo session in Philadelphia PA with Neon Velvet Studio photographer Cassandra Panek

What are mini sessions?

Themed mini sessions offer all the great stuff of my deluxe boudoir photoshoot sessions (hair and makeup, wardrobe, pose coaching, and more!), but at a bite-sized duration and price. But they’re not just quicker, they’re ephemeral. Some of the themes are unique: they’re one-and-done, never to return again! Some themes will return annually, or with variations in the future. Catch them while you can!

Why Mini Sessions?

My clients have always been vocal about their love for my set building and immersive environments, and the mood it creates for them. 2023’s sessions taught me that my ultra-detailed themed sets need to be special editions, built for a week or two at a time then taken down(for my sanity), not offered all year! They often take up an entire room in my Philly studio homebase, and there’s no space for me to take other non-theme bookings around them!

Building sets with a finite lifespan in mind allows me to be more deliberate and more elaborate, creating an immersive romantic fantasy session for you! And it’s fun for me too; mini sessions let me try new things in my photography and art, with you in the starring role.

What’s Included?

All this great stuff from my deluxe photo sessions!
✧ Hair and makeup by a professional makeup artist
✧ Wardrobe styling
✧ Pose coaching and guidance
✧ Free consultation before your session
✧ Prep guidance so you feel ready and excited
✧ An image reveal appointment via zoom to pick your photos
✧ A few edits, delivered digitally
✧ The option to upgrade a larger digital collection, custom photo albums, and beautiful wall art!

romantic goth boudoir mini sessions! photography in suburban Philadelphia by Cassandra Panek

As always, payment plans are available for any session. For more information, schedule a consultation or begin your booking process!

Past mini sessions! See what themes you’ve been missing:

✧  Valentine Dreams
✧  White Room Classic
✧  Disco Days
✧  Disco Nights