Why I Chose To Photograph My Own Son’s Session | Jack Alexander

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography, located in Northwest Harris County, is a full time newborn portrait artist serving Houston and surrounding areas. See more fun details about the latest squish, Jack Alexander, and why Sarah chose to do his posed newborn photos.

Introducing Jack Alexander  | The Chief to the Tiny Tribe of Wild Women

Good afternoon, friends! I am really excited about this particular blog post because it's all about introducing the latest member of the Borchgrevink family, Jack! This post also shares why I chose to photograph his posed newborn portraits myself.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may remember we announced this pregnancy in July when I was around 20 weeks pregnant. We purposely waited to find out the gender before telling everyone since we already have three little girls. They’re named Lucy, Emma and Amelia, however, we lovingly refer to them as the Tiny Tribe of Wild Women.

It turns out baby number 4 is a BOY! This was a really fun surprise and while all babies are wonderful and ultimately, the goal is a healthy bundle of joy, we truly are excited about adding a chief to the little tribe because parenting a boy is a new experience.

His due date was originally 12/15, which was super fun since my birthday is 12/14 and Amelia’s is 12/9, but he decided he wanted to cook longer and hung out for over a week before making his grand entrance!

Jack Alexander Borchgrevink was born at Cy Fair Hospital on December 23rd, 2017. His official birth time was 1:57 PM. Weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces he is the perfect little man; he was also 20 inches long and his head was 14 and ½ inch, his chest 13 and ¼ inch. All in all, things went very smoothly! While you're here: check out what I recommend for packing a hospital back + must haves for delivering at Cy-Fair Medical Center. It's my fourth baby here, after all, ha! 

When it came to deciding on professional newborn portraits, I did book a fantastic in home lifestyle newborn photographer. After all, I am very excited about adding a new baby to our family and the lifestyle session will have a lot of family photos. I want to be in the images and I am looking forward to having truly lovely sibling shots, too. 

Nevertheless, for the posed portion it felt really personal. Jack is my last baby and this is my gift to him; to photograph him in his most precious state. There is a plethora of amazing newborn studios in Houston Texas, so this decision is not based on lack of talent by any means. The options are endless and I'm thrilled to be friends with many newborn artists who truly shine. While I was pregnant with Baby Boy Jack, I planned his session from the moment I saw the positive (+) sign, ha! I did not know his gender then, but I knew I could not wait to meet baby.

Being a mommy myself truly helps me identify with the exciting emotions surrounding the joy of bringing home a new baby. Whether it's your first or last baby, you spend months dreaming of their face, talking about names, decorating the nursery, preparing your home for this precious little life, and your heart is exploding because you already love him or her so much. It's unconditional love. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time is the most beautiful sound to a mothers ears; seeing their profile on the ultrasound makes you so happy, and sharing that experience with your spouse or partner leads you to feel closer to them. 

This in mind, I had a whole session set up for Jack before he even arrived. I made lists and wrote out a session plan. I broke his session up into about 4 days so I was able to concentrate on different aspects without feeling rushed. 

Day 1: Cozy and unique wrapping such as tootsie, potato, and womb. Check out my three favorite ways to wrap newborn babies, too!

Day 2: Macro Images (up close details like lips, toes, his chin, baby magic, ahhh!)

Day 3: Floor props like bucket, bowl, crate, and a wooden trench.

Day 4: Flokati rugs and naked bean bag posing 

Working with Jack was my love letter to him: one day, when he is married or graduates college, I will have timeless and gorgeous newborn portraits of him, the most precious and tender time in which he entered the world. I spent about 6 hours on these images, but they'll last for a lifetime and I will always have these images in an album to look back on and cherish. Newborn photography is *absolutely* an investment, however, you're commissioning an artist to preserve this incredibly special time for you - it is fleeting and one you can never capture again so by booking someone who specializes in posed newborn portraits you're selecting someone who will treat your baby's session with the utmost care, respect and love. 

Without further delay, present Jack Alexander Borchgrevink + my favorite images of him. If you check back in a few weeks I'll be blogging some wall art options and how we will be displaying these images in our home.

Wishing you a wonderful Thursday. All my joy to you friends!

Warmly,

Sarah

Thanks for visiting my blog to see more of Jack Alexander + tips and tricks to photographing your own newborn baby!

If you liked reading about newborn session ideas and why I liked documenting his first professional session, these topics may pique your interest, too! Enjoy, friends! :-)

• The Magic of Froggy Pose | How to Safely Create Magic + Step by Step
• Setting Your Business Apart Through Awesome Customer Service | Nine Ways to be the Best
• How to Incorporate Your Clients Newborn Props from Home

Specializing in timeless posed baby portraiture, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro & 610 area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, West University, Memorial & Galleria, Bellaire and The Woodlands, TX. See why Sarah offers the Best Newborn Photography. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.

Here's Where Sarah's Newborn Studio is Located:

Gorgeous Posed Newborn Styling through Vintage Inspired Floor Props

Vintage Meets Classic for Timeless Newborn Portraiture | Gorgeous Posed Sessions through buckets, bowls, baskets and other floor props.

Floor Prop Styling during a studio newborn session with Sarah Borchgrevink

Friends, hi! I'm excited you're visiting today! This blog post is a great overview on floor props, how to style them, and from which I pull inspiration. Many parents ask, "What's a floor prop?" If you're curious about this, I've got all the information you need! 

If you've visited before, you probably know my name is Sarah and I adore all things newborn portraiture. I spend my days in studio wrapping precious babies, snuggling them, getting to know their parents, and truly delighting in capturing the custom art of posed baby photography. I'm located in Houston and it's my favorite place to be! 

All of my newborn collections include at least three floor props during our time together. Sessions are around 2 hours long so we have plenty of time to feed baby, do lots of cozy, unique wrapping, implement naked bean bag posing, and ensure we utilize many classic floor props, which will be previewed below.

Before we get started, floor props are literally what they sound like: props that are placed on the floor, ha! Examples include:

• Buckets
• Pails
• Bowls
• Baskets
• Trenches
• Many more! Anything is possible in the world of baby photos, ha! 

Floor props are also a wonderful way to add variety to your session because baby may be wrapped or added into many different types of props so that your session is full of stunning images! We want each image to stand alone and be gorgeous. 

Classic Wooden Bowl & Trench

My favorite floor props to use are typically of the wooden variety since they're both rustic and organic. After all, why be trendy when you can be timeless? As women, we all have that special little black dress in our closets. My floor prop stash is like that black dress: dependable, classic, timeless, classy, totally gorgeous no matter the occasion, ha! For instance, the baby girl featured above is named Sophia. She visited my studio space when she was 7 days fresh and new. Her mama relayed she liked girly set ups, so I pulled an antique quilt I picked up at a local shop an paired it with an organic wrap, that's soft and peach. This exudes all things girly and precious! After all, little girls are angels and should look feminine and dainty during the session. This type of wooden bowl is also versatile because you put baby on their belly, side, back, and shoot from many different angles. 

However, wooden bowls and trenches can also be styled to look more masculine. This bowl, shown above, features Dylan who visited at 11 days new. He is wrapped in a taupe textile and has an adorable bear hat and matching teddy in his hands. The styling is vintage and timeless so that nothing is distracting from his handsome face. Look at his sweet little lips! His precious pout just made me sigh with happiness during our time - capturing details like this makes my day!

Rustic, Organic Wooden Boxes & Crates

Crates and boxes are excellent choices for vintage inspired newborn photography! They can be styled to reflect either gender; they look fantastic with any color option and also can fit pretty much any size baby. 

When parents notify me of their little darling being earth side, I do take their weight and size into consideration. After all, baby should fit into the prop but not be swallowed up so that you cannot focus on them. 

Wooden, classic props are also an excellent opportunity to document baby's macro images, too. Macro images, you see, are those up close, darling details of a new baby. These are the characteristics parents spend hours memorizing; you will not want to forget these! Examples of macro images are lips, toes, nails, eyelashes, etc - everything newborn! Since baby is styled perfectly, you can take your time and capture these detailed images. This adds much soul and breathtaking portraiture to your final baby gallery, too! Parents love these! 

Sloane, for instance, shown above, has the most lovely little lips and hands. She has cheeks for days, so when she is wrapped so snuggly into this box, I made sure to take advantage of her sleeping so soundly. 

As you may have noticed, wooden boxes and crates can be styled in numerous ways. They look amazing with deep, vibrant tones or even soft, muted neutrals and pastels. I like to have fun and be creative here when working with newborn loves; I have many vintage quilts, textured pieces, and adorable knitted hats/bonnets/caps to adorn your sweet baby. 

Wooden Bench

This wooden bench is an absolute dream! It cradles baby perfectly and can be either styled with neutrals or color, though I do prefer muted color schemes with this floor prop. 

Antique Scale

The antique scale is the perfect vintage prop because it fits any baby or gender! This sweet boy, for example, is over 10 pounds but when he visited I was able to add him into this floor prop piece. I don't use the scale often, but when I do I am reminded how cute it is, ha!

Wire Baskets 

Wire baskets are a huge must have for any newborn photographer! Wire baskets are versatile because they come in any shape, size, or color. I happen to have several of these and enjoy using them in my posed newborn portraituer because the styling is always timeless. They make for the perfect bed or snuggly set up. 

This gold one, for example, was purchased from Home Goods and is dainty and fresh. Anytime a mom tells me she likes the color gold I remember this basket and pull it from her. It can be used with peaches, pinks, mauves, white, purple or even cream and ivory.

A circular wire basket is a great vintage prop because it's a nice alternative to a wooden bucket. You can use any color here, too, based on your preferences. 

Furthermore, a square or rectangle wire basket is also a lovely option because it's super versatile. The next image you see, shown below, is all things rustic earth tones and neutral. 

But then of course, a round circular basket is fantastic because it can hold baby perfectly. 

Woven Basket

Finally, a woven basket can be styled for vintage newborn portraiture because it can look lovely with any color, baby, or gender. This little girl, for instance, visited for a full newborn collection at 8 days. Addie is about 7 pounds here, but fits perfectly. I think it's extra sweet when their little fingers hand over the prop, too! 

As always, I graciously thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and read about what inspired me as a newborn portraiture artist. If you liked reading about how to style posed newborn sessions through vintage inspired pieces, such as floor props, you may like reading the following:

• Creating Unique Baby Portraiture through Texture
• Newborn Prop & Accessory ideas for Baby Boys 

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.