Meet Madison Buff, The Photographer Behind Kimberly Guilfoyle's Unrecognizable Snaps
It was never more apparent that Kimberly Guilfoyle had changed over the years than when she posted photos from her Impact Wealth magazine feature to Instagram. Guilfoyle posed in various gowns in eye-catching colors for the snaps, which were taken by photographer Madison Buff, who the former Fox News reporter gave a shout-out to on Instagram when posting the pics. The snaps were taken in Palm Beach, where Buff lives, at Mar-a-Lago. Before the Impact Wealth issue was released, Buff offered up an Instagram preview of the 10 looks she captured for Guilfoyle.
The pictorial was divisive, as many of Guilfoyle's detractors bashed the photos on X, formerly Twitter. "Every single dress blinded me, ugliest, most over the top crap I've ever seen," one X user wrote. Several cited the photos to reference the rumors that Guilfoyle had undergone plastic surgery. Meanwhile, fans came to her defense. "Boring,woke millennials/Gen Z have no idea about being gorgeous, getting dressed up and having fun!" one replied.
The Impact Wealth pictures were not the only time Buff collaborated with Guilfoyle, as she has taken both personal and professional shots for the TV personality. For Christmas 2023, the photographer captured a snap of Guilfoyle and friends posing with Santa. Then in March, she photographed Guilfoyle walking the runway in a crimson red dress at a charity event. Impact Wealth was so impressed by Buff's collaborations with Guilfoyle that they wrote an article about the photographer.
Madison Buff embraces spirituality as a photographer
Madison Buff is originally from Hawaii, and she started taking photos at 11 years old, as covered by Impact Wealth's article about the photographer. Not only was she taking snaps as an amateur in Hawaii, but she started her career as a photographer there before moving to Palm Beach in 2018. "Little me with my blue waterproof camera cannot believe where the present me is at right now," she wrote on Instagram in December 2023 while posting about the magazine article.
As mentioned in the article, Buff's sensibilities differ from what many may associate with the traditional Palm Beach attitude. She does Reiki healing, and is very involved in spirituality which carries over into her work. "As a holistic photographer blessed to be in the enchanting embrace of Nosara," she wrote in the caption of an Instagram carousel uploaded to her professional Buff Media account. The photos were of a couple posing in multiple embraces on a beach. "With every photo session, I surrender to the magical energy that surrounds me," Buff added in the caption. The photographer may be best known for her snaps of Kimberly Guilfoyle and other Palm Beach residents, but she has taken shots of multiple couples back in her home of Hawaii. "For a split moment in time I get to peer into a couples intimate moments," Buff wrote in the caption of an Instagram post from August 2022.
Prior to becoming a photographer, Buff made a name for herself in beauty pageants.
Madison Buff is friends with other notable Mar-a-Lago members
Besides being in tight with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Madison Buff befriended another celeb who is a member at Mar-a-Lago, Jackie Siegel. Siegel is known from the 2012 documentary "The Queen of Versailles," which is also her Instagram handle. "Jackie. To know you is to love you! Thank you for being a great friend over the last few years," Buff wrote in an Instagram snap of Siegel posted on April 16. That photo had the same glossy sheen as those from Guilfoyle's Impact Wealth shoot. According to Buff, she got to know Siegel through the pageant circuit. "Jackie owns preliminary Miss/Mrs America pageants to many states," Buff wrote in the caption. "I joined the Florida America pageant 3 years ago and it was one of the best decisions I've made," she added. Details of Buff's pageant work are scarce, but she posted a video in April 2023 to TikTok from the time she was crowned Mrs. Florida International.
Besides rubbing elbows with the Mar-a-Lago crowd, Buff mixes it up with other Palm Beach residents. She took photos for a fitness trainer where she captured the client in spicy poses on a tennis court. Buff uploaded the pictures to her Buff Media account in September 2023 and earned high praise from the fitness trainer. "Obsessed! Best photographer in palm beach," the client wrote in the replies of the post.