Forget the Fox! What Does an Adorable Baby Wolf Pup Say?

Custom and Handmade Newborn Baby Wolf Hat Prop

What could possibly be cuter than a newly arrive little one? How about a precious baby boy adorned with the cutest animal baby wolf hat? This vintage-inspired handmade, made to order prop is a favorite of mine because it’s unique though also has impeccable quality! The gorgeous charcoal gray color and sweet little ears make my heart sing! This amazing sweet little wolfy knitted bonnet is made from the softest alpaca yarn so it is sure to set your gallery apart. Here are three setups showcasing timeless, classic, and rustic inspired baby portraits with the cutest little hat you’ll ever see!

Three Ways to Use Baby Wolf Bonnet In Studio Newborn Photography

Part of being one of the Best Houston Newborn Photographers (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) is having a fantastic array of props on hand in my studio space. For instance, you’ll find vintage-inspired floor props, darling hats and bonnets that are handcrafted, as well as the daintiest of headbands, halos, and tiebacks for newborn baby girls. These elements, combined, create timeless, unique, and rustic baby portraits that truly stand the test of time.

This in mind, an infant wold hat is simply incredibly cute, unique, and hard to pass up when styling baby sessions! You won’t ever be dissapointed with your little wolf cub!

Baby in a bucket posing

The first way to use an adorable wolf hat prop is to place baby in the forward facing pose, on their belly, in an antique, rustic floor prop such as a bucket. For little boys, I adore using classic color schemes such as grey as this will not only look amazing in any home decor, as the images are intended to be hung in your home, but also suggests baby’s gender and is neutral enough to shine anywhere! This baby boy, below, is named Cole and he visited for a full newborn session at my Houston Baby Portrait Studio when he was just about a week old. He is so handsome with a smoky gray color scheme such as ash, dove, stone and slate. There are truly more than 50 shades of grey, ha! This hat is special because it is hand crafted and different than the usual fox hats that are very popular now. In fact, to see more of Cole’s session, you may be interested in clicking over to the sibling, parent, and family poses to see him with his big brother. Moreover, check out 7 Tips to Rock Your Baby in a Bucket Pose!

Vintage-Inspired Newborn Wooden Bed Prop

The second way to use an animal hat during a posed newborn session is placing baby on their back in a floor prop, such as the timeless and incredibly precious wooden bed prop. This is from one of my favorite vendors who makes all of my natural, wooden, and classic bed props. This little guy is named Henry. He was born in early February 2019, though spent many weeks in the NICU and so by the time he came home and was settled he had missed the traditional 14 day or newer time frame for his posed baby photo shoot. This in mind, I offer flexible scheduling for babies and the wrapped newborn session is the perfect way to showcase your little one, which is available up to 40 days old, for full term babies, and 13 weeks old for NICU stays. Here he is wrapped in the ‘tootsie’ style and his sweet chubby cheeks are just perfect!

Potato Sack Pose

The third way to use a super cute, customized newborn baby wolf hat prop is to wrap baby in the popular potato sack pose and place them on their back. This style of newborn session wrapping is perfect for little ones who like to be swaddled. Not only is it super cozy but makes for the sweetest, timeless baby portraits! Together, there are three styles I utilize and this gives tons of variety. The baby seen here is named Theo and his parents are some of my favorite! They’ve been great clients over the years and have done about 15 sessions with me so far, ha! I am so honored to have the best clients in Houston support me. For Theo’s posed infant photos, the charcoal and heather grey mix is the perfect texture to show trendy themes but also remain perfectly classic. Remember: your gallery is meant to forever stand the test of time and authentically preserve the brand new baby time in your life. As a mother to four kiddos myself, I can attest how fleeting this time is so the styling is meant to be as timeless and classic as possible. The little wolf hat adorns his sweet face and I adore his hands folded beneath his chin!

Before you go:

You may be interested in the following blog posts sharing information about other animal hat props you’ll find in my studio:

• What Does the Fox Say?

• Bear Bonnet Hat Props

As always, thank you for visiting the blog! Here are a few more images of the hat in use. Wishing everyone a great week!

7 Essentials to a Perfect Studio Environment | Newborn Photography Career Checklist

Dreamy and timeless infant portraits begin before clients arrive. See 7 effective ways to prep your studio!

When I first began my newborn photography journey, I was about 24 years old and accidentally fell in love with baby portraiture. You see, I started out as a family photographer. At the time, my husband, Kevin, and I had our first baby, Emma, and capturing and connecting with families was my jam! However, as those families returned to me with their new additions, I instantly realized newborns are meant to be my specialty and my heart will forever belong to them.

Nevertheless, 5 years later I have worked very diligently and with much dedication to learn how to set my galleries apart and create wonderful works of art. The best advice I can give is to have a solid foundation and to ensure your studio is not only welcoming to parents, but also creates a calm, soothing environment so you may focus on your creativity. The space in which you work is how you set the stage for a great session! To date, I’ve photographed over 900 cherubs!

Here are 7 ways my studio is prepared so that the session runs very smoothly. This blog post is going to cover the following:

1. Temperature

2. White Noise

3. Lighting

4. Newborn Safety

5. Props & styling

6. Gear

7. Post Processing & Retouching

1) Toasty and Warm

Parents are often surprised how warm a studio needs to be when photographing a little one. While many pediatricians recommend your home be kept 68 - 72 degrees Fahrenheit, when you’re in studio the room needs to be warmer because the baby is naked. Remember, when your little one is at home sleeping they are often clothed, swaddled, and typically in a room without any stimulation.

My studio is usually kept at 77 degrees via my air conditioning. I have experimented with keeping the room a little cooler than most studios, but that is because I have space heaters on hand to supplement for warmth if needed. That way, the room itself has air circulating, though if the Baby is showing signs of being cold we can instantly have a source of heat without making the entire room overheated.

Even full-term and healthy newborns may not be able to maintain their body temperature if the environment is too cold. When babies are cold-stressed, they use energy and oxygen to generate warmth. By keeping babies at optimal temperatures, neither too hot or too cold, they can conserve energy and build up reserves.

2) White Noise | Sleepy Studio Vibes

If you’re not using a white noise app or machine of some sort, do yourself a favor and try one! My favorite option will help baby sleep soundly during their session.

White noise is the ultimate soother when it comes to putting a Baby to sleep. This is because this noise is gentle and very consistent; as parents, we often hold our new addition to our chest, softly bounce them, and whisper, “shh,” over and over. This repetitive sound is calming to your precious little baby. White noise mimics this sense of peace because life outside the womb can be a little overwhelming for a baby. Imagine spending 9 months in a perfect world; it’s dark, cozy, and everything you need is instantly provided. The womb is all your baby knows. Once they leave this cozy place, the sounds of the world can cause stress or over stimulation for them. White noise is simply familiar sounds that keep your baby calm and help them drift off to sleep.

3) Dreamy, diffused lighting

Lighting is the most important part of producing amazing galleries because photography is nothing without light. The word "photography" was created from the Greek roots φωτός (phōtos), genitive of φῶς (phōs), "light" and γραφή (graphé) "representation by means of lines" or "drawing", together meaning "drawing with light".

This in mind, I have chosen to use studio lighting, which is an artificial source, for the consistency it allows. Each gallery should be the same type of lighting no matter what time of the day you photograph sessions. While the lighting in my space has an ethereal, diffused look there is not a single window in my current studio. I create the soft, natural light look with several lights used in different manners.

Whether you’re team studio or natural lighting, choose a side, and be consistent! This will also make your editing much easier and allow you to do things such as creating your own presets and actions based on the type of white balance and other settings you utilize.

4) Newborn Posing & Safety

Always acting with caution and perceiving risks is a huge part of working with newborn babies. Before attempting many poses and setups, it is a great idea to take newborn safety courses such as mentoring, workshops, and other classes on lighting, handling, posing, editing, and many other responsible options. This is because the safety of handling a new baby is often done through post-processing tricks, such as the magic of the froggy position; the former link, for instance, shares step by step instructions on how I safely pose babies into this very advanced yet popular pose.

By taking workshops and choosing to mentor under an industry leader, you will have the confidence and knowledge to successful photograph your petite clients; this is part of creating an amazing studio environment because you should lead your session and never be unsure in what you’re doing.

Babies are absolutely precious and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect so I urge you to always practice newborn safety and training when working with them. Remember: this is a human life.

5) Props and Styling | Swoon-worthy

For my particular brand, all props are rustic, dreamy, and timeless! I use vintage-inspired floor props, which are the buckets, bowls, crates, baskets, and more!

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.

However, in addition to floor props, I have a huge stash of wraps and organic textiles, too. You’ll also find several flokati rugs, backdrop options, and more! By having a wonderful prop stash available, this enables you to create stunning baby and family portraits because you’re surrounded by everything you need. The options are endless and you’re only limited by your creativity; the more creative you are, the more ways you can pair items together. In fact, I have so many props on hand, I made a goal for 2019: do not purchase a single prop and truly be unique in my session design.

Layers and texture are a great accompaniment to newborn sessions, too, because you have contract, interest, and different types of fabrics. In general, however, I prefer knits of the jersey and sweater variety, particularly from responsibly sourced vendors who take pride in their craft.

Moreover, there are the sweetest nuances found within the daintiest of newborn headbands & tiebacks as well as caps, hats, and bonnets. All of your props and designs work together in harmony to showcase all things wonderful about a new addition to earth, a brand new baby boy or girl! However, please note that it has taken me about 5 years to collect this many props and my own unsolicited business advice to you is to purchase a few things at a time, learn to build your brand and style, and to be patient. You do not need every item at once, no matter how tempting it is. You’re a business and your profit and loss margins are very important!

6) Professional Gear | Lenses and More!

As of now, there are two popular brands for cameras and lenses: Nikon or Canon. I liken these to brands like Pepsi or Coke. Both are leading in their categories, but different people like different things, which is totally fine! I personally drive a Subaru Outback, but the Volvo is amazing, too, ha! Because quality is important to me, I use the best Canon lenses and camera bodies designed for professional newborn photography. Check out what’s in my camera bag for more details on my must haves.

Using professional gear is part of creating a perfect studio environment because your gear is your medium. Without sharp lenses and advanced focusing systems, for instance, you’re not the boss of the images. You need to tell your camera what to do. Sometimes clients say things to me like, “Your camera takes nice photos!” I, Sarah, take nice photos. My camera is simply a tool. Within reach I have two full-frame professional bodies as well as several prime lenses, such as the ‘L’ version and the Sigma ART versions.

These tools produce breathtaking images but because I set the white balance, shutter speed, metering for skin tones, aperture, ISO, and focal points, just to name a few. These can change at anytime. For instance, if you’re photographing a toddler sibling, they may move, so your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO would be different than if you’re photographing a baby in a bucket, for example, but at all times you must ensure the look is the same throughout the session for consistency. You adjust as you go.

7) Post-processing and retouching

After your set the temperature, turn on white noise, style your session, light your studio, photograph your session, this finally brings you to the final piece of the art puzzle: editing. I included this portion in a studio environment because editing is what makes the images shine and polishes them up for gallery preparation. At this point, you’ll have your own workflow on how you present images to clients, but the post processing, no matter how you showcase images, is truly important. In my studio, I have a custom built PC that is a dream! Not only is it super fast, but it is designed to fit my needs as a photographer.

For instance, this is when you’ll do your culling, and I’ve shared 3 tips on how I cull sessions, especially since I am habitually an ‘over-shooter’, ha! I also predominately use Lightroom for editing a posed newborn session.

During post-processing, your studio is where you’ll do all of the behind the scenes work. This is where you’ll create impeccable skin tones, remove baby acne, sharpen your images, adjust and crop, the list is endless! When editing, choose a time in which you feel relaxed and at ease.

And there you have it! While this blog post is lengthy, these 7 tips are the foundation to being one of the best newborn photographers in your area. As always, thank you for reading! Stay tuned for next week’s blog post in which I will share information about family photography, outfits, and ways we pose your children together to ensure safety.

Do you have further questions? Let’s connect, friends!

Hand-crafted Hats & Bonnets make for Cherub Chubby Cheeks Galore

Darling babies adorned in the sweetest, most timeless accessories during their newborn session with Houston Photographer Sarah Borchgrevink.

Hi, friends! Welcome to my blog! Today’s topic is all about adorable, vintage-inspired classic newborn photography props that you’ll find in my studio. We’re specifically chatting about hats, caps, and bonnets, which are the quintessential prop to show off your precious baby’s stunning features, such as their cheeks, oh my!

Let’s get started on everything you need to know!

Full Styling such as props and accessories are provided

When you visit my newborn & baby studio you’ll find everything you need for a great session! In fact, I pride myself on having a huge variety of luxury newborn props and items that create amazing works of baby art! Part of having a beautiful gallery, one of which stands the test of time, is having impeccable yet unique items on hand to stylishly adorn my most petite, precious clients.

For instance, you’ll find numerous colors of hats, bonnets, and little caps for both genders! Boys and girls are adorable in these hand-knitted bonnets, many of which come from all over the world. Part of the reason these props are so amazing is because each prop is custom made for the perfect newborn prop size; unlike big box stores there is something absolutely special and endearing about using a prop made my another small business, one of which makes the props specifically for certain sizes (such as 6 pounds).

What makes these special?

The bonnets in my studio, moreover, are perfect for your little one because they’re made of hypoallergenic and the softest, most natural materials for your new addition.

Since the items are handmade, they have the most adorable knitted ties and are made of super soft material, such as alpaca yarn. Newborn photography bonnets truly are special because they’re created by other people who want your images to truly shine! Using classic, timeless, and vintage-inspired props set your gallery apart through texture, unique colors, and having your precious baby’s sweet cheeks showcased! Hats are such a great addition to any session!

Absolutely gorgeous textiles

Here are sample images of sleepy caps, bonnets, hats, slouchy beanies, and more! Playing dress up with my clients is an a dream and I look forward to all of our styling. Darling little baby hats with delicate features is the perfect compliment to your little one!

Thanks for visiting!

If you liked seeing the type of bonnets I have on hand for your session styling you might like the related topics, too!

• What does the fox say? Cutest Woodlands Themed Nursery

• Teddy Bear’s are Most Requested Prop by Parents

• 3 Safe & Simple Sibling Ideas for Newborn & Big Brother or Sister
  

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography, located in Houston, is currently booking March - September 2019 due dates! if you’re currently an expecting mother, I would love to chat with you about options for your little one!