Meet the Photographer: Johnathan Kasey on Boudoir, Fire & Storytelling

An intimate interview with Johnathan Kasey exploring boudoir, fine art photography, fire concepts, and the power of storytelling through the human form.

Johnathan Kasey is an Idaho-based boudoir and fine art photographer who also travels throughout the Western United States for bespoke sessions. Known for his dark and moody style, fire-driven concepts, and powerful black-and-white work, he blends emotional storytelling with a highly crafted visual approach. While Idaho is his home base, he regularly works in surrounding states such as Oregon, Washington, Montana, Utah, and Nevada, making him a sought-after choice for clients looking for both local and traveling boudoir experiences.

Black and white (Or white and black) to me is about the details of the individual...what you can't see it as important as what you can see. I love getting to know someone intimately through photography and capturing every little detail of who they are.

1. Why did you choose to pursue a career as a boudoir / fine art photographer? What got you started in boudoir?

I was (And still am…to an extent) a flight, intensive care, emergency, and disaster nurse. I spent every day of my working life with people on the worst days of their lives and worked closely with combat veterans. All of us were taught, we trained, and then practiced never showing emotions no matter what came before us. Never being able to tell the world what we saw or did. Not that anyone believed us when we would tell them. I cared for a patient and their family one day when I realized that my gift wasn’t the caretaker but to tell the story of those I cared for.

I started boudoir with someone who was incredibly gorgeous but had previous issues with body image. And what started as innocent photoshoots that we did for fun turned into a realization that boudoir was her connecting to herself. She was the hero in her own story again and she saw herself in the photos we took. I didn’t make her her own Knight in Shining Armor, she brought that shining armor and wore it with pride. From there, it took off into creating art for the betterment of the soul.

2. What does boudoir photography mean to you?

To me, boudoir is the purest form of art for seeing yourself. It’s a connection between your mind, body, and soul. That sounds kind of cheesy…but I think it’s real! When I am involved in a boudoir session, I am not there to merely take photos because photos are a byproduct of the experience we create together (That’s not to say I don’t want great photos because I absolutely still do).

3. What kind of creative process is there behind boudoir photography?

From the moment I start talking to you, I inquire about the goal of the shoot. And then we let that goal evolve. I want to get to know you. I want the lighting to match, the angles and framing to be…you. Do you want to be a queen with large rooms and big, grand images? Do you want up close and intimate? Have you ever thought about being in a film noir? How do you move, laugh, and smile? What makes you cry, what makes you feel warm and loved? When do you feel the sexiest?

4. How do you communicate with a client or model you’ve just met to make them comfortable for boudoir / nude photography?

Before we ever meet in person, I always make sure to talk about comfort with various scenarios. Would you like to have a female present? Do you want someone there from my team or a friend of yours?

I am aware that I am extremely fortunate to be a male entrusted with creating nude and sensual art. So, I don’t hide it. Always ask permission. Check in with comfort every step of the way multiple times and allow for privacy and breathing room. What we make is intense and I make sure to pay homage to that. The majority of my work is private and to that end I always ask permission to share specific photos from a client no matter how much time has passed since the shoot. Integrity is everything and permeates to every aspect of my life.

5. How do you educate yourself to take better photos?

I look at pictures. I watch videos. Ask other photographers and then use websites like Boudoir Inspiration to find…inspiration. I take the colors from images I love and use a program to break them down to look at the mathematical way to get to those colors. Then I take the images I hate and do the same thing. It’s not enough for me to be able to create something I love; I must also learn to create something I hate on demand. I watch movies without sound to study how movie creators tell a story. I look at the images that make me tear up and push myself to understand why. How we tell a story and how we receive a story as people matter.

I am here to tell a story in a single image. To create something that moves my subject. So most importantly, I take pictures. Lots of pictures. So many pictures that everyone in my life gets sick of me taking pictures. And then I take more. And now I do video. All the video. And those images and videos I do are never shared with anyone. They are for me to make so I may learn and appreciate the world around me.

6. How would you describe your photography style?

Dark and moody. 100%. I can take a completely blown out window with an ounce of shadow in it and still manage to make it dark. I tried light and airy and every time I do, I have to stop myself because I can push that shadow a little. Maybe a little more. Aaaaaand a little more. And then….wait how did we end up back and dark and moody?

I love silhouettes. I love shadows. I think shadows are beautiful and what we can’t see is just as beautiful to what we can see. When I do shoots for people with PTSD, let me let you hide in the shadows. While everyone else may see shadows, you see the light. And we can bring the shadows to the light slowly through the shoot…or change it up completely and bring the light to the shadows!

7. What type of cameras do you shoot with?

My main workhorse is a LUMIX S1R2. I absolutely love the way that the camera shows colors and sits in my hands. The sound of the shutter closing is so satisfying to me that it feels like it was built for me.

What kind of other gear do you use for boudoir and other types of shooting?

Fire. Which is odd because this shoot posting here has no fire in it. But fire is also a very specific creative decision and is not for everything.

Water. The combination of fire and water together. Lighting water on fire.

I have assorted flashes and continuous lights. My shoots are usually not just about getting good looking pictures but also about making you feel sexy and confident. To that end, I like to have continuous lights to bring a mood to the studio or location.

I also have diopters and filters that provide a specific look I can’t get otherwise. But the most important gear I bring to a shoot is an open mind and the willing to go with the flow…to change it up.

8. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?

I think the silhouette shots with fire are my favorite. Or the ones in the water with the water on fire. Or the nature ones. Or or or…

Really my favorite shoots are the ones where we feel something. I want you to be emotionally moved by yourself in a world where everything is increasingly fake. My favorite ones are your favorite ones.

9. What is the most difficult part of being a boudoir photographer for you?

The pressure I take on to perform and push to the highest levels. It’s not necessary 90% of the time but I usually can’t help myself when looking for that challenge. So every day I always push myself to create something that speaks to me; just for the love of the craft.

10. What is the most rewarding part of being a boudoir photographer for you?

The joy of being able to give someone a photo of what they feel inside. To create something special and incredible. Something unique. I love making new connections with people and getting to know them. I love being able to provide a safe space for my subject to be themselves with no judgement or reservations.

11. Just for fun, if you could shoot in any location, what would it be?

On the top of a mountain during a mountaineering expedition. Or while kayaking/white water rafting. I am a huge fan of extremes. And yes, I do mean having a boudoir photoshoot in a four season tent in a blizzard. Or on the side of a river in a canyon gorge. By campfire after a day of paddling or hiking under a wide open sky. I do fire photography and light water on fire, I love the snow and cold, I hike in Death Valley during summer. I want to challenge myself and the subject to do something no one has ever done before.

12. Do you have any other profession or anything you are passionate about?

Healthcare and nursing. Both physical and mental. There are people walking around with PTSD from a myriad of issues, from combat veterans to ICU patients and their families. From individuals who have permanent medical devices to people like me who worked the other side and held the hands of those dying. I got into healthcare to care for people and caring for people didn’t end when I became a photographer…it just evolved into something else.

13. Who is your favorite artist?

Van Gogh. I never know where to begin or end with him. A man who dedicated his life to his craft and produced such marvelous beauty. Who could see the simplicity in a single empty chair and find the complicated emotions and feelings behind the chair. And somehow put all of that into a painting! A painter who went unrecognized during the majority of his life but didn’t let that deter him from creating paintings so moving I could shed tears from simply standing in front of them. If I could embody a small fraction of what and who he was I could pass on with a smile on my face.

14. If you could give a piece of advice to the younger you, what would you tell yourself?

Go for it. Stop waiting for the right moment. Don’t wait for the opportune moment and just jump in. Both feet in the deep end. I’ve been around so many souls who, with their dying breath, say they wish they did something different…and I let that be me for so long.