Sarah Borchgrevink

November 13, 2017

children

Candid & Natural Photography | The Tiny Tribe of Wild Women

Sarah Borchgrevink

November 13, 2017

children

My philosophy on letting my kiddos be little and embracing the spirit of the Tiny Tribe of Wild Women

Everyday Happenings With Emma, Lucy, and Amelia

“So let them be little, cause they’re only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give them praise, give them love, every day.
Let em cry, let em giggle, let them sleep in the middle.
Oh, just let them be little”

— Songwriters: Billy H. Dean / Richie Mcdonald

Hi, friends! Today's blog post talks about how I started my photography journey and the inspiration I find in my daily life, how I apply this to my own portraiture work, and why I enjoy using a more candid and natural photography style to preserve my little ones in the most authentic manner.

Welcome! If this is your first time visiting my blog, you should you know I do specialize in posed newborn photography, however, I work often with my own little ones and photograph them in our everyday lives. My kiddos are what started me on my photography journey which has eventually developed from a small hobby to a thriving business in which I am the breadwinner for my family.

Over the years, my husband, Kevin, and I have welcomed three little girls into our home! Emma is our eldest, who is 7, followed by Lucy, 3, and Amelia, 1, who will be 2 in December, though, so I am looking forward to that birthday milestone! We're also really excited to announce we're having a little boy, Jack, in December so stay on the look out for fun newborn and family photos once he arrives, ha!

As time has passed, Emma, Lucy and Amelia's personalities have truly flourished and we've started called the gaggle of red headed girls the "Tiny Tribe of Wild Women", lol! Yes. We even have had a sign made for their playroom (seen below).

Pregnancy Annoucnement by Sarah Borchgrevink

Why they're called the tiny tribe of wild women

Emma, Lucy and Amelia are certainly modern women who do not have meager, quiet, or meek personalities. A few words I would use to describe them are perhaps: spirited, lively, ardent, courageous, vivacious, and truly remarkable. As parents, my husband and I celebrate their personalities and really enjoy raising them. For example, my spouse is the stay at home parent while I work full time, so there are often days I come home to dance parties and lots of dresses and glitter, ha! Kevin is a great sport and awesome daddy. He is always up for a trip to the park, baking cookies, or painting toe nails. He is also the ultimate story reader and puts extra bubbles in the tub because that's what makes life interesting, right? Who needs a bath without bubbles?

When photographing my children, I embrace their spirit and will document their everyday lives candidly. My children don't respond well to sitting quietly or being told they must wear a fancy gown and sit perfectly still and smile. This simply is not who they are and part of having their photos taken is preserving their childhood.

Love letters to my children

I am taking everyday, natural, and candid photos for my little ones. These are for them to have when they're older, it is my love language. This is my gift to them: albums and prints and canvases showing them as they are, allowing them to be their own people, and showing the journey as they grow. Life is not perfect. Nothing is ever going to be precise (unless you're doing math problems, but that's another blog post, ha!). By allowing them to be who they are, it removes expectations that are unnatural for them and also will be a connection to our past. I adore looking through older images of them and sometimes it makes me a little sad because it's not until a milestone has passed do you realize how precious it is.

As parents, we're sometimes so focused on what's next, what our children will accomplish next, we forget to see the everyday beauty right in front of us. Photographing them in their everyday moments, the simple truth in our daily lives, will forever preserve this sacred time. I know I will miss them being small. I distinctly remember crying the day my eldest went to kindergarten. She stepped onto the bus, waved goodbye to me, and the doors shut. I looked at my husband, in a complete panic, and said, "We have to follow her. I don't even know the bus driver! Who let's their child in a vehicle with someone they don't know?" Of course, these milestones are harder on me than them and by having many everyday images of them, it it truly wonderful to look back on their lives and celebrate them.

I also must note: a yearly family photo shoot is a must. Once a year, I do like to have professional family photos taken and I would never discount the beauty in this type of photography. However, one photography session a year is not enough to capture who they are as they do change very quickly.

Having young children inspires my own family portraiture work because it teaches me patience and how to engage with others without being intrusive. It also shows me that mothers will relish in those precious, candid images and enjoy looking back on them. It's totally nice to have 3-4 images in which your whole family is smiling at the camera, but it's also okay to have more natural images, too. There is a balance. I tell parents to not worry: we always do the more posed images first and then we play, have fun, and I give you many tips on interacting with your children.

Here are some of my favorite everyday happenings from November.

houston baby photographer sarah borchgrevink

houston professional family photographers

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer specializing in gorgeous posed newborn sessions. Her studio is located in Northwest Houston. In addition to breathtaking baby portraiture, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting mothers and couples. Sarah joyfully serves the entire Harris and Montgomery county areas including North Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, Jersey Village, The Woodlands, Magnolia, Conroe, Willis, Montgomery, Humble, Kingwood, Porter, New Caney, Waller, Memorial & West Houston, Katy, Fulshear, Sugar Land, Pearland, Hempstead, Richmond, West University, Rice Village and Porter TX. Connect to chat with Sarah today! Please consider booking your session at your earliest convenience in order to secure your appointments on the calendar.

Sarah Borchgrevink

November 9, 2017

Family, Maternity, Motherhood

Shooting a Maternity Session on a Cloudy, Foggy and Overcast Morning

Sarah Borchgrevink

November 9, 2017

Family, Maternity, Motherhood

Located in Houston TX & serving the surrounding areas, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography offers lovely outdoor pregnancy and family portraits in an outdoor atmosphere. Check out some effective tips for creating dynamic images on cloudy, dark, or foggy mornings.

Photography a Family or Maternity Session on a Cloudy, Foggy & Overcast Morning

Hi, friends! Good morning to you! Today's blog post is an overview on photographing a family or maternity session on a day in which the weather is cloudy, overcast or even foggy, such as the early mornings. While most of the time, the warm golden light look is what is most preferred, sometimes sessions are time sensitive, such as maternity or family photos. For example, maternity portraits typically take place between 32-35 weeks, however, you may be limited on time frames because of things like high risk pregnancies, baby arriving early, or perhaps Dad travels often and of course, Dad is a vital character in all things maternity or family. This in mind, these tips and tricks are helpful in ensuring you can move forward with your session and provide stunning outdoor images despite the weather being gloomy.

Before we delve into the three tips I am going to list, please allow me to introduce the R family to you! They're a sweet family of three. They'll be adding a new baby girl to their family in just a few short weeks! They'll be on my newborn calendar for a studio baby session so I am excited to see them soon. We photographed this session in Houston, TX and began right at sunrise. I typically spend about 25-30 minutes with my outdoor family sessions so we will hit many poses and have a lot of fun, but not tire the little one out and expect too much of them.

Be Inspired By the Scenery and Surroundings

When working outdoors in an on location setting, look around and allow yourself to be inspired. How do the trees frame your images? Where are the clouds? Ask yourself how color of the grass will photograph and where your subjects will look best. By checking out your environment, you can see where the light is most soft, even and dispersed beautifully so that you may place your subjects there.

Open your aperture

Since the light on a cloudy day is more soft and subdued since there is less sun, you can open your aperture, or use a wider f/stop, to allow more light to enter the image. You'll also want to compensate for subject movement, so make sure to keep your shutter speed fast enough to resist blurry movements, but also keep your ISO high enough to be properly exposed without too much noise. I use a Mark iii body and a Canon 135 mm f/2.0L lens when working outdoors so these settings are based on the equipment I use.

For these shots, my f/stop is at f/2.2, shutter speed is 1/500 and ISO is 800. My white balance is also set to around 7500 for the skin tones and I used spot metering so that their skin is illuminated properly.

Houston Professional Family Photographer

where to take maternity pictures in houston

Be mindful of where the clouds and sky are

While a beautiful blue sky filled with brilliant golden light is lovely during a sunrise session, during a foggy or overcast morning, the sky can look flat and grey, which may not add interest to your images. For this session, I choice to avoid using the sky and focus on connections and love between this expecting mother and her family.

Affordable Maternity Photography Houston

Sarah Borchgrevink

November 1, 2017

Family, children

Five Simple Ways to Create Variety in Outdoor Fall Family Sessions

Sarah Borchgrevink

November 1, 2017

Family, children

Five Simple Ways To Create Gorgeous Fall Family Sessions Full of Variety, Vibrancy and Love

Adorable Outdoor Fall Family Photography in Houston TX

Greetings, friends! Good afternoon to you! Thanks for clicking over to my blog to see some awesome simple tips on how to create variety in your family sessions, particularly outdoors in a natural light setting. As a Houston photographer, I can tell you that sometimes it's easy to feel "stuck" during a session. This is probably the first time you've met the family and you are a stranger to their children. However, I have been working a newborn and family portrait artist since 2013 and have accumulated much knowledge through trial and error. These are helpful tips I've found to work for me and my own business model. I hope you enjoy reading!

Selecting a great location that's inspired by fall

So: in Houston, we have two seasons: hot and hotter. We also sometimes get hot and muggy, too! The best time to take outdoor family photos in Houston is always the fall. This is when we have a slight reprieve in the warm weather and it may be around 85 or 90 degrees, which is essentially a cool front for us! When working with your clients outdoors, select a location that is timeless, classic, and not distracting to the viewer. This session will become a treasured family heirloom; pick a spot that will look forever stunning upon the walls. Avoid places that have random signs or buildings that do not work with the aesthetic. For this particular session, I chose Telge Park, located in Northwest Houston, during golden hour, which is right before sunset. Here's a helpful map just for you:

Make Sure Your Camera Settings are spot on

In order to create vibrant family sessions full of variety, you have to have the correct camera settings. You are the boss of your camera. Your camera is simply a tool that acts as your paintbrush. Your location is your canvas, and the light is your inspiration. I always use camera settings that are appropriate to my subjects, such as moving children. For sharp, crisp, and lovely family images, I like to use my Mark iii camera body as well as a Canon EF 135 F/2.0L lens. I typically will keep my settings at about ISO 800, shutter speed 1/640, and f/stop (aperture) at around 2.2 - 2.8. Sometimes I'll also shoot wide open if all of the subjects are on the same focal length. The wide aperture gives you a creamy, gorgeous background that's compressed and also makes sure that your subject "pops" from the background, too. Your camera settings need to reflect the movement, light, and final look of the images you're looking to produce.

Make a list of all combinations

During a family session, there is so much more than just family photos. As a mother, I can tell you that it is wonderful to have many options to consider when hanging the photos. For instance, my final gallery comes with 35 retouched digital files for my outdoor family photography sessions in Houston, TX. I may take around 200 clicks, but during this time we cover many poses and options. Some of the family photo combinations you might consider are:

3-4 family set ups showcasing everyone
Dad with the children
Mom with the children
Children together
Individual photos of the children

Keep the session moving without pauses

By having a consistent shot list in mind, you will achieve two things: first and foremost, you'll have a ton of variety and each image will stand alone without looking repetitive. You'll also be able to keep the session moving very quickly. For example, I often do a full family session in about 25-30 minutes. There are no awkward pauses or fumbling; over the years, I have learned how to keep things fun, fresh and focused. If something is not working, don't let the client know you're displeased. Instead, move on and make a mental note you may need to return to that combination. Also a great tip is to find out if there are any images Mom does NOT want. To explain, she may not need an image of her with each child, but would instead prefer a photo of all the children with her. I can tell you, a Mama wants to be surrounded by her sweet babies. I would not hang an image of one child without including the other. That's just me. :-)

how to pose families during outdoor family sessions

how to work with children during photography session

Keep Everyone Involved and Up to Speed

Communication is key! In life, so many mishaps can be avoided by simply communicating with your family clients. During the session, relay to them what is going to happen. Before the session occurs, they should truly know what to expect, but as you're working, don't be afraid to say, "Hey, Mom and Dad: after this we're going to move on to kids as a group." That way, everyone knows. I might also say, "Mom, would you mind sitting next to me and helping to sing a song the children love?" By keeping your clients involved, effectively communicating, and making sure everyone knows what's next you will be able to have a great deal of variety simply by keeping things running smoothly.

For example, after the family photos for this session, Mom also reserved time to do an outdoor cake smash inspired by all things pumpkins and fall for her own little one. See his one year photos and how he is such a sweetheart! By keeping his parents involved, they knew when the pumpkin pie smash would take place and how to prepare for this so baby would be happy.

Thanks so much for stopping by to read 5 simple ways to create variety in your outdoor fall family photography sessions! You may also be interested in reading about the following: