Little Sitter & Baby Milestone Photography Prep List | Studio Portrait Sessions

Preparing for Little One’s Session with Sarah Borchgrevink Photography

Congrats on your sweet cherub hitting these absolutely adorable baby milestones such as tummy time, sitting up unassisted, walking, clapping, and truly showing off that infectious personality that makes your mama heart sing! Thank you for selecting SBP to photograph this momentous time in your life! Timeless, classic, and rustic inspired baby photography is my jam and what I am known for as one of Houston’s highest rated photographers. I promise you’re in good hands and I’m so excited to work together!

What You Can Expect:

When booking a session with Sarah you can expect a customer service driven experience. Details such as upfront and transparent pricing for digital galleries, consultations, option to tour the studio, full gallery samples, and staying on top of client communication and having a clear path of steps to follow are just a few examples of our time together.

You may also expect the following:

• Full Styling such as outfits, wardrobe, and accessories. This includes, but is not limited to luxury and handmade baby clothing that reflects all things classic and timeless. Part of investing in a customized photography session is having a great set of props provided by me; don’t stress about bringing anything but diaper bag essentials. :-)

• Accessories such as headbands, floral crowns and dainty pieces to adorn your little angel.

• Endless supply of rustic, vintage-inspired, and antique floor props to accent the session

The Details for Baby Studio Portraiture Appointments

• Consider booking your session in advance, if possible, as the calendar often fills quickly, particularly if you’re interested in a Saturday session date.

• Milestone sessions are available 6 days per week.

• Sessions are typically best early in the morning, as Little One is most refreshed then, or right after their nap time.

• All outfits and styling are provided for your baby, though you are welcome to bring a special item from home, should you feel inclined.

• My branding is timeless, classic, vintage-inspired, and rustic. I do not offer themes such as Minnie Mouse, Paw Patrol, or things of the like as removing distractions and focusing on your little one’s beauty is the heart of my portrait style. In Houston there are thousands of amazing photographers so it is always best to make sure you’re a good fit for the photographer you choose. The Houston Baby and Infant Milestone Portfolio is a reflection of what I offer.

The Morning of Your Session with Sarah:

• Once Baby is awake for the day, feed baby a snack before you drive to my studio. A well-fed baby is a happy photography subject. I know when I’m hungry I don’t feel like being photographed, ha!

• Please dress Baby in an outfit that does not leave lines on their skin. Sometimes babies are naked during their milestone portraits and this makes sure their skin looks soft.

• Please arrive about 10 minutes early. Your session begins at time you selected your appointment via the online booking & scheduling page. There are often multiple sessions in one day so this will ensure we use all of your time wisely.

• Please bring diaper bag essentials. We will wipe Baby’s face with a baby wipe right before we begin the session so that Baby’s face is clean and there are no leftover crumbs from their breakfast, ha!

• Please feel free to bring a special toy Baby loves. This can be helpful when capturing smiles. You’re also welcome to let me know of any favorite songs. My son, Jack, for instance, loves “baby shark,” ha!

After our session

• 14 days after your session takes place you will receive an online proofing gallery of images from our time together. Your gallery will share how to select your images, download your portraits, safely archive them in the cloud, and also a great list of labs to use for your printing needs.
  

Before you go:

• Cake Smash & Splash Prep Guide for parents specifically wanting their baby to smash a cake followed by splashing in a vintage tub (one year old photography sessions for infants).

• Tricks to Capturing Baby’s Sparkling Personality

I look forward to working with you and meeting your baby! Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.

Think Inside the 610 Loop | New Studio located in Uptown Coming June 2019

Update: with construction & permits, the new studio is set to be finalized the first week of June 2019.

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is one of Houston’s Top Newborn, Baby, and Infant Photographers 2016 - 2019! See what’s new at the studio and learn more about the new location centrally located off San Felipe!

Good morning, friends! Today’s blog post is a formal announcement sharing information about the new studio that is available as of May 2019! Here’s everything you need to know about the new office space!

Centrally Located inside the 610 Loop

I am absolutely thrilled to share information about the new location for Sarah Borchgrevink Photography! As a professional portrait artist, I am moving my office and work space to a central area in Houston called Uptown. This is located off San Felipe and 610.

The address is the following:

4550 Post Oak Place, Suite 203, Houston TX 77027

Dream Photography Studio | Floor Plan Overview

Below is a floor plan attached of the new space and the plans that are currently in place. The studio space is a 1,300 square foot office located inside of a commercial office building. The space is being fully renovated and remodeled to fit my timeless, classic, and vintage-inspired style of photography. This space is a complete dream and everything a professional baby photographer could ever want!

The studio is ideally located in the prestigious Post Oak Park near the Galleria, Williams Tower, Greenway Plaza, Texas Medical Center, Museum District, West University, Rice Village, Downtown Houston, Montrose, Upper Kirby, and the Heights.

Studio features:

Inside the studio you will find the perfect floor plan for amazing baby photography and a wonderful experience for new parents. The studio features the following:

• A lobby and reception area so parents have a comfortable place to wait. There are also snacks, of course, and a coffee bar. Inside this lobby area you’ll also find a playroom for young children to hang out in whilst their sibling is being photographed.

• The mothers lounge is designed for the comfort of new mothers. This is a nursing, feeding, or resting room so you may feed your baby, in comfort and peace, before and after your session. I do have four young children myself and recognize that feeding Baby is a huge part of your day. This mothers room will allow you to relax and to leave your session so Baby has a full tummy for the car ride home.

• The prop room has anything you could ever want for accessories! Inside my prop room, which is labeled storage, you will find a huge array of props, perfectly organized. Here is where I will keep my hundreds of props such as buckets, bowls, baskets, wooden bowls, newborn antique beds, hats, bonnets, headbands, wraps, textiles, backdrops, and more!

• The all white lifestyle room for family, child, or maternity sessions. This room is going to feature a big white bed, white couch, and have beautiful flooring, crown molding, and floor to ceiling light to make for the dreamiest of sessions. This can be used for little sitter sessions, baby milestones, and even family photos during your newborn session. This room will focus on capturing families naturally and with connections.

• The posed newborn room featuring backdrops, three custom wood walls, and comfortable seating for you during your time in studio. This room is about 500 square feet, within itself, and will have the same look at my current studio. This means I’ll be keeping the three rustic wood walls my husband, Kevin, designed for me as well as all of the seamless paper backdrops. Everything will be set up in advance for your session for a seamless experience.

Amenities:

The building has monitored security, ample surface parking plus controlled access to garage covered parking, as well as a deli downstairs.

Online Booking Available

A new feature that has recently been implemented is online booking for your sessions. This is how you seamlessly sign your contract, pay your deposit, and then select your session date & time from a calendar. This is designed for busy parents who like simplicity. See more about Booking Your Session Online.

Thank you for reading about my new centrally located baby portrait studio! I will be updating the blog with new information and photographs as construction is completed.

The Magic of Froggy Position | Step by Step & How to Safely Pose

Located in Houston, Sarah Borchgrevink shares newborn posing tips on how to safely composite the popular & precious "froggy" pose.

“Sarah is AMAZING! The time and care she takes setting up everything for the newborn session to be perfect is great. She was so patient and careful with our son like he was her own. You can tell she has so much fun doing her job and loves what she does. Dont waste your time calling other photographers, Sarah is the person to go to document you little one. What Sarah does is truly a gift! She is outstanding!!”

— Deborah

Please note the following: This post is intended to show parents how we safely creating this classic newborn pose that is commonly requested. 

See Behind the scenes images of newborn posing in a studio atmosphere 

Greetings and welcome! Today's blog post topic is an overview on the popular froggy pose. This is the most requested pose by parents and one that I truly enjoy doing. There's something super sweet & special about baby's chubby cheeks being showcased and seeing their darling little tootsies! However, this pose is very advanced and requires special training.

Moreover, parents typically ask, "What do you mean by training?" Newborn safety and training, for instance, is mentoring and taking hands on workshops in which you learn how to safely handle and pose a newborn baby. While newborn photography should look effortless, as if baby posed themselves even, it is anything but. It requires much safety, skill and time.

As one of the best newborn photographers in Houston, I do pride myself on always being respectful of my most petite clients. Part of this is creating beautiful fine art images of brand new cherubs through the use of safety techniques. 

A few things to note:

• Not every baby likes froggy pose. If baby resists, we move on.
• This is best achived with a new baby who is 5-8 days new 
• If baby is not flexible enough, we do not force this pose
• This pose is ALWAYS a composite. 
• Do not EVER try to do this on your own. It is not worth the risk of hurting a new baby.

What is a composite?

Froggy pose is always done as a composite. A composite image is when two or more images are merged together in post processing software, such as Photoshop. It's sort of like building an image: you take multiple photos in which baby is fully supported and then through the magic of editing, a beautiful image is created in which we're able to truly showcase the stunning aspects of a new baby. 

Hands on Baby at all times

Once baby is in a very deep sleep, I place baby on my bean bag. I ensure baby is completely supported through the use of posing beans, which are the must have safety tool for all photographers.

Tips to ensure baby is sleepy:

• White noise machine playing (mimicking the sound of the womb)
• Warm environment - typically around 77 - 80 degrees 
• Lots of patience and soothing
• Pacifier is a huge help

Step One: Hands supporting baby's chin from beneath

The baby you see here is Sebastian. He was very laid back and easy to work with; because he was also very new and flexible, we were able to quickly pose him into the froggy pose perfectly. As you can see, he is sleeping peacefully and my hand is holding him in place. At no point did I ever remove my hand from the baby. I took two images here. He is supported on my bean bag and then has posing beans beneath and behind him to ensure he does not slide forwards or backwards.

Step Two: Hands Supporting Head From Above

After baby is in a very deep sleep, I place my hand on his head from above. I am holding his weight and he is supported beneath through the posing beans I linked in an earlier paragraph (above). 

Merge your images in processing through photoshop composite

Switch up the angles for more interest

When working with a newborn baby, it's fun to do a profile angle of baby during froggy. If they're very laid back, I am often able to  do more than one angle, such as straight on or side view. I like side view, however, because it shows off baby's face better and is more interesting, in my opinion. However, I do like front on, too, and this is the preference of most parents so I include both if possible. 

Check out other recent froggy poses that I've done in studio.

Thanks for stopping by the blog to read how to safely pose a newborn baby in the perfectly precious froggy pose! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about the magic of Photoshop and how we achieve these fine art looks! While froggy is a stunning image and makes for gorgeous portrait of your baby, please remember this is an advanced pose and should never be attempted without taking a workshop and hands on training. Parents: also remember this looks easy when you see behind the scenes photos, but it's not anything you should attempt at home. Do not ever risk your baby's safety for a DIY photo shoot. Always trust professionals like myself! :-) 

If you liked reading about newborn safety, these posts may pique your interest, too!

• Tricks to Implementing  Bean Bag Posing into your Workflow
• Striking a Pose: How to Add Vibrancy to a Newborn Color Scheme 

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.