Photo Tips Newborn Sessions | Create Variety through Simple Posing

Through the use of simple newborn posing, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography shares ways to create soulful, unique and breathtaking newborn images.

Hi, friends! Welcome! Today's blog post is full of some tips for posing during a newborn session and how to make the most of each set up through simple posing. This topic is especially important to me since my newborn packages are digitally based: this means clients purchase full resolution digital galleries as well as a print release from me. This also means my galleries need to be full of variety from naked bean bag posing, parent images, macro details, lovely floor props and also back lit set ups. 

Over the years I have learned a great session flow that works well in my own studio space. I have curated my collections so that they may be photographed in about 2 hours. Part of photographing a newborn session efficiently means choosing what's most important to document and reading the baby's queues. Another aspect of creating variety in your newborn galleries is making the most of each and every set up. 

You may be asking, "Well, what does that mean?" If you're a beginner in the world of newborn photography, this can seem daunting or not very clear. However, it truly is simple: focus on the set up in front of you and don't rush. This can be achieved by:

• Using many different angles. A prime lens (such as a 50 mm or a 35 mm) is the best way to become creative. Because a prime lens is "fixed", meaning the lens does not zoom and is instead of set focal length, it's a good plan to move around. Angel your lens to many different angels through standing, sitting, "zooming" with your feet, etc. This will create variety even during the most simplistic of poses! This is especially helpful to a newborn photographer who is in the beginning stages of building a baby portraiture brand because you may not have quite figured out your session flow. Have no worries. It will come in time. Your own studio space will influence this for you and you'll learn what works for your preferences. I currently photograph about 10 set ups in two hours. 
• Hats or bonnets are an excellent way to add variety to simplistic posing, too! This can add variety by adding a pop of color and make the entire image look completely different! 
• Add a wrap to baby, too! You can drape an organic wrap or textile over baby and this will change the look of the image as well. Parents love sweet photos of their little ones swaddled, wrapped, or simple covered so they're a little more modest. 

The images above, for example, are of sweet baby girl Sage who visited at 8 days new. Her parents came from The Woodlands, TX for their posed newborn session and asked for hunter green during our time together. Baby is wrapped with her cute toes out, but we also used a classic bonnet and headband for her images so two different looks resulted from a simple switch. 

• Communicate with your clients. Don't be afraid to try different things. :-) You can also ask Mom and Dad what their favorite preference is, too! For example, yesterday's newborn session visited for a full newborn collection; in her prep e-mail we chatted about what poses she liked the most and what styles of wrapping. This allows you to focus on what's important to the parents and make the most of that set up + your time in studio. If the parents dislike a set up, just don't include it. This is also part of having Top Notch Customer Service, too - double score!

Before we delve into the 3 set ups that result in the most variety, you may be interested in reading about these topics: 

1.  The Three Free Cloud Storage Systems you should recommend to clients
2.  5 Must Studio Newborn Props on Amazon Prime
3. Pricing Your Newborn Collections | Packages & Pricing for Houston Sessions

Let's get started! Here are my go to set ups that are more simple yet can evoke a sense of tender beauty, are favorites among my own clients, and also can be full of variety, thus resulting in an absolutely fantastic newborn gallery! Wow your clients! 

Tootsie Wrap

Tootsie wrap is a wonderful way to create variety in your session! This sweet baby girl is named Zoya and she visited my Houston Newborn Portrait Studio when she was 17 days fresh and new; she slept beautifully for me and we used many gorgeous textiles from my favorite vendor for wrapping. The sage green is the perfect color on her gorgeous skin! I also paired this set up with a dainty, feminine and stunning newborn tie back from another great vendor named Violet Loves Me. 

Variety was created in this set up through the use of a floor prop (check out my favorite newborn session styling tips with vintage inspired floor items), and then also moving baby to bean bag. This was a simple adjustment that still looks cohesive, but also makes an impact since you have the wooden floors in one shot but then the soft, muted, classic sage green backdrop in another image. 

The second way to create variety here is to take the time do some macro images. When photographing my macro images, I like to wait until baby is nice and sleepy. I use a 100 mm f/2.8L macro lens from Canon. Macro images are especially near and dear to my heart because while I am a professional Houston newborn photographer, one of which works full time, I am also a mommy to three little ladies (Emma, Lucy and Amelia) and one dashing fellow (Jack) so I can attest how important these images are to parents. 

Through this one simple style of wrapping called tootsie, baby remains calm and content; you can take your time, capture these macro details and make your clients' heart sing when they see the beautiful work you've created. Simple posing is best because it showcases baby in the most lovely of ways; removing distracting pieces is truly the heart of my custom newborn portraiture because this preserves baby for a timeless and classic look.

Back Lit

Back lit images during newborn photography are some of my absolute favorite. So much, in fact, you may be interested in seeing which lighting equipment I have in studio and how I create gorgeous light with artificial lighting.

Back-lit images are also a great way to create absolutely breathtaking images in your newborn galleries because they're ethereal and ever so special as the soft, white light surrounds baby. The heavenly look is perfect for macro images, too! 

My favorite macro details are always profile, hands, lips and cheeks. 

Potato Sack Wrap

Baby girl Shelby visited my studio at 2 weeks new for a wrapped session. She looks lovely on the green backdrop of flokati rug. 

Potato sack pose is truly a stunning syle of newborn wrapping! Not only is rustic, fresh and organic, but it also can be done with both boy or girl babies. You can do a variety with potato sack pose from flokati rug, seen above, macro images, or even styling with different headbands or bonnets. This pose is versatile because it also may be used on bean bag, floor, or during parent shots. 

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.

Sarah's Studio is located in Northwest Harris County

 

Tricks to Implement Bean Bag Posing During Newborn Photography

Tips & Tricks for Posing Newborn Babies During a Studio Session by Houston Newborn Photographer Sarah Borchgrevink

Howdy! Thanks for stopping by my blog to read some tips and tricks I have learned when it comes to posing sweet babies during a studio newborn session. Many parents adore these stunning, curly poses because they replicate how baby is during their time in the womb. Their brand new nature is truly divine and they are my favorite subjects to photograph. If this is your first time here, welcome! A few fun facts: my name is Sarah Borchgrevink and I'm a Houston TX Newborn & Baby Photographer who specializes in posed newborn photography through the use of sweet, cozy, unique wrapping and also darling naked bean bag posing. I am often influenced by texture, color, textiles, and light and my styling results in timeless, classic and pure newborn portraiture. I have been photographing babies, full time, for about 3 years, though have also been working with families and maternity portraiture for 5. My heart belongs to newborn photography and I'm really excited to see you're at my blog. Let's get started.

Schedule baby accordingly

The first trick I have for you is the foundation of your newborn session: for baby to be the appropriate age for studio portraits. While every newborn artist does have their own preferences on specific dates, I personally prefer the first 14 days of life, but my absolute favorite days to have your little one in studio is 5-8 days new and fresh. While this does sound really early to most parents, you must keep in mind that the longer baby is out of the womb, the less curly they are and bendy. They also don't sleep as well once they're over 10 days. Sometimes parents call me when baby is around 4 or 5 weeks new and unfortunately, I cannot guarantee they'll receive the poses they see in my portfolio. I can offer some really sweet wrapped shots, however, for those naked and squishy adorable poses, we really need baby to be as new as possible. Most mothers book in the second trimester and notify me immediately once baby is earthside. For example, the next newborn I'll be seeing was born 2 days ago. Mom called last night to arrange her appointment. I offered her 3-4 days that fell within this week so I'll be seeing baby at 7 days fresh. 

Keep It Simple

Secondly, when working with newborn babies, don't worry if the pose is simple. Simple is good. Simple is beautiful. Simple is timeless and classic. Sometimes photographers feel like they have to accomplish every single pose known to man in order to be creative, unique or offer a gorgeous gallery to parents. My rule is that I offer 3-5 poses with several different angles, hats, wraps, or headbands. This alone can yield 15-20 different images full of variety. Paired with macro photos, which are those upclose and sweet details of baby's characteristics, such as nose, profile, toes or lips, you'll have many beautiful options to show the parents. By keeping it simple, you learn the flow that works for your own studio, you focus on improving, and also learn your own tricks to nailing those adorable, naked bean bag poses time and time again. Keeping your posing simple also does not create too many expectations for the baby. Remember: the baby is a person, too, and sometimes it's just too much on them to try every single pose you can think of. Choosing your favorite 3-5 will yield better results. 

Don't forget safety

Tip and trick nothing number three is to always keep baby safe. I cannot stress the importance of this enough! One way you can keep baby safe is making sure you use composites at the appropriate times. A composite image is when two or more photos are merged together in processing to create a new image. This is often done in Photoshop with the popular pose called "froggie" in which baby is sitting up with their hands holding up their head. When photographing this, you want to do several images and merge them together later on. This is a more advanced pose, but by being safe you will be able to feel more confident once you're no longer a beginner. I also think it's important to let clients and beginner newborn photographers know that these poses require skill and safety; professional newborn photographers, like myself, do not just stick baby on a backdrop and hope they can hold their heads up. In fact, we have newborn safety awareness month, every September,  for this very reason: because people try things they see online and think it's not difficult, when in fact, the could hurt a baby. See behind the scenes images of how the froggie pose is achieved.

To elaborate, in the images above, I keep my hands on baby at all times. I take images in which I am holding baby's head and she is never supporting herself. Then, I take more images in which I am holding her hands in place while keeping her neck stable. I keep my entire hand underneath her chin and upper arms. Then I merge the images together in processing, seen below, to create the final look.

The froggie pose is beautiful and sweet, but does require safety and skill. By seeing how it's done, I hope it inspires you to always use proper safety techniques. If you're a parent, I also hope it teaches you to ask photographers if they composite this image.

Firm Bean Bag that's tightly packed

The fourth tip I have for you is to make sure your bean bag is tightly packed and filled to the brim with packing peanuts. The more firm your bean bag is, the more supported baby is and this also helps to make sure baby does not sink into the bean bag. We want to see each adorable little toe, facial feature, and also make sure baby is curled up nicely. You can buy bean bag fill at many places like Amazon but I like to go to my local post office or UPS store and have it filled very tightly so it is super firm. 

Warmer is better

Because your womb, or uterus, is in the core of your body, baby is used to a warm environment of 98.6 degrees. Baby has spent 9 months in a warm hot tub and enjoys being in a warmer environment. Remember: baby cannot regulate their body temperature always, even if full term, and a baby's body surface is about three times greater than an adults, compared to the weight of his/her body (source - Stanford Children's). Because of this, babies lose heat rapidly. In order to pose baby in these sweet, curly poses and help soothe baby, it is best to create an environment that mimics the womb. Often, parents worry the room is too warm, but by keeping all of these facts in mind, it'll help you understand that by keeping the studio at an optimal temperature, baby is neither too hot or too cold and they can maintain a comfortable temperature. 

I personally keep my studio at 77 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit through the use of air conditioning. I also have several small, mobile space heaters on hand that can be placed 3 feet or so from the baby so that they have warm air when needed. Baby's comfort is always on the forefront of my mind. While we may feel a little warm, no one is ever sweating buckets. 80 degrees is the warmest it'll ever be. Here in Houston, that's almost chilly compared to the type of weather we usually experience, ha!

White noise

White noise is my fifth tip for you because like heat, this emulates the womb environment. When babies are growing, this is is what they hear. I use a white noise app on my smart phone, but you can buy many awesome options such as this one. I have white noise on after I greet the parents and help get them settled. Mom and Dad come in, get situated, undress baby, and we immediately start feeding baby. Once baby is being fed and is down to their diaper, I turn on the white noise and also make sure parents have the opportunity to ask any questions. 

Posing pillow sets

Posing pillow sets are paramount to your newborn sessions because they help keep baby safe, secure, and move them from pose to pose. Without a posing pillow set, you cannot scoop baby's face up into the light or have them supported enough to hold a pose. The posing does take time and these pillow sets will help you tremendously. I personally use the photoblock set, but if you're on a budget there are many options out there such as this affordable set. There are also even some nifty DIY options you can do, too! For instance, when I first started working with newborn photography, I used bags of rice, lentils or beans because they're firm and sturdy. To this day, I still keep them in my studio to help weigh down floor props like bucket or put behind baby's back when doing froggie pose so that they don't move forward. 

Keep your fabric taunt and tight

The final tip I have for you is to keep your fabric or backdrop taunt and tight when setting up. The more taunt and tight the fabric is, the less wrinkles you'll have to remove when editing the images during post processing and you'll also have a smoother, more seamless final look to your newborn images. Don't make things harder on yourself than they need to be! Take time to set up, use heavy duty clamps (I like these from home depot) and this will make sure the back drop stays in place. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog to read some of my favorite tricks and tips on newborn bean bag posing during your session! I hope you enjoyed reading about safely posing babies and were able to find some new ways to work with babies! 

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.