Jewel Tones Meet Blush & Neutrals for a Spring Newborn Sensation

12 Day old Newborn Girl Session Featuring a Jewel Tone and Soft, Muted Pink Color Scheme for a Vibrant Spring Inspired Baby Session 

Florals, rustic bucket and impeccable styling

“We loved our newborn photo session with Sarah. Sarah is very sweet, professional and talented. I had complications after the birth of my daughter and thought I wasn’t going to be able to take part in the photo shoot. Sarah gave me several options and we were able to reschedule our session. I really appreciate what she did for me and I highly recommend her. Her work is beautiful!”

— Klaudia

When styling my posed newborn sessions, I always keep your color preferences in mind. We also consider the season in which baby is born. For example, when this sweet cherub baby girl visited at just under two weeks new, Mom relayed she is a fan of both neutrals and vibrant jewel tones such as rich teal and deep purple. Simultaneously, nevertheless, Mom also requested soft blush pink and an ivory for a neutral portion of their session, too. This in mind, I created a stunning custom session curated to their taste and preferences while also sticking true to my timeless, vintage inspired and dreamy newborn images which act as fine art in your home.

This darling baby girl slept wonderfully for me - a complete treat! Her parents were absolutely lovely as can be and Dad especially was helpful during the session from asking questions, to hanging me props, and to moving things around for me even! 

Here are just a few of my favorite images from their spring inspired newborn photography session here in Houston, TX! Wishing you a wonderful day and I hope you enjoy seeing how vibrant colors can mix well with neutral styling, particularly for an April due date.

This is a new bucket I have in studio; when I purchased it, I thought about painting it cream, but the rich, golden wood is so pretty against a baby's skin, I may just leave it brown for now!

The adorable heart prop, seen below, is from a vintage quilter I  follow on Instagram. She makes the most adorable newborn props and I really enjoy using her pieces in my sessions.

As always, I encourage you to stick around and peruse the blog to see more timeless newborn photography, dynamic maternity sessions and even cute family milestones, such as outdoor and natural light portraits. 

Keep in touch and please visit again!

Warmly,

Sarah

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Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer specializing in gorgeous posed newborn sessions. Her studio is located in Northwest Harris County. 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 Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Memorial & West Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Richmond, West University and Rice Village.

 

Houston Family & Maternity Photography Locations | Client List

Houston TX Family & Maternity Photographer | Location List for Sarah Borchgrevink Photography

This is a list for clients to see the locations I use. Please note the exact address is not given until you have signed your contract and paid your non-refundable retainer to secure your spot on the calendar. Once this occurs, you may then select your location from this list and I send over the address. 

Location 1: Open field

• Available for evening sessions

• Looks great for both maternity or family photos

• No travel fee

• Located in NW Houston Texas

See a sample sunset family session in this location featuring older kids

See a sample sunset family portrait session showcasing young family of three

Location 2: Waterfall (currently available to Townelake residents only)

At this time, as of August 2018, the waterfall location is available to Townelakes residents only; too many photographers have disrespected the location by leaving trash and not taking care of the property. 

• Ideal for maternity sessions

• Evening only

• Available M-F due to popularity, not available on weekends

• No travel fee; located in NW Houston TX near 290/Barker Cypress

See a sample gallery of a family + child session below.

Location 3: Houston Downtown Skyline

• Located near Downtown Houston TX

• Parking off Allen Parkway

• Beautiful evening light

• Recommended for all sessions

• $150 travel fee

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LOCATION 4: Hermann Park

• Located Inside the 610 Loop of Houston TX

• Herman Park near the zoo

• Lovely evening or morning light

• Ideal for family sessions

• $150 travel fee

• Update: as of October 2018, there is a permit fee required to use this location. It is $131.14 per session each time this location is used. If interested in this location, clients are responsible for collection the permit and submitting the application in advance. See more information here.

LOCATION 5: Field with Bridge

• Sunrise/Sunset

• Recommended for all session types

• No travel fee [located in Northwest Houston near 290/Telge Road)

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LOCATION 6: Over-hanging Trees and Dirt Trails

• Ideal for sunrise/sunset

• Recommended for cake smash, child, family, and maternity photography

• No travel fee [Located in NW Houston near Fry & 290]

Sample gallery of sunset family session at location 6

See a sunrise family session with 6 month old baby girl

Location 7: Natural Bridge and Golden Light

• Recommended for evening or morning sessions

• No travel fee [located in NW Houston near Cypress TX]

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Sunset maternity gallery of location 7

Child's One year session with cake smash during sunset at location 7

Buffalo Bayou - Location 8

• Located in Downtown Houston TX

• Ideal for all session types

• Looks best in the evening

• $150 dollar travel fee

Location 9 - The Woodlands

• Located in The Woodlands TX

• Ideal for evening sessions

• Great for all session types

• $150 dollar travel fee

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Connect with Sarah to schedule your own session

Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer specializing in gorgeous posed newborn sessions. Her studio is located in Northwest Harris County. 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 Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Memorial & West Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Richmond, West University and Rice Village.

 

Creating a Soft, Natural Light Look through Artificial Studio Lights

Update: as of June 1st, 2019, Sarah is in a new commercial space and no longer utilizes the space below.

Houston Newborn and Baby Photographer, Sarah Borchgrevink, uses artificial light in order to create soulful yet natural looking portraits. 

Artificial Lighting Tips for a Natural Light Look

Greetings, friends! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm really excited you're here because today's post is all about using artificial light. You see, as a Houston Newborn Photographer, one of which specializes in professional baby portraiture, I work with light on a daily basis, but in the beginning of my photography journey, I was really intimidated by studio lighting. I did not understand it or how to work within these perimeters. However, have no fear! I am excited to talk to you about the type of lighting I use, how I set it up, the camera settings and gear you'll find, and why artificial light is truly special. 

First things first: please allow me to introduce my studio to you. It's 400 square-feet over everything you need for adorable baby and newborn studio sessions from props, a huge wood wall, a plethora of prime lenses, and a huge array of hats, bonnets, head bands, and vintage inspired pieces. 

However, many times clients are truly shocked to know there is absolutely zero natural light in my Houston Newborn Portrait studio. It's simply a dark room. In fact, artificial light is the only type of light source I use and over the years, I've learned how to create soft, diffused lighting during my newborn sessions in order to be super consitent and manipulate the light to suit my tastes and style. 

A few reasons I enjoy using artificial light are:

• I can take sessions any time of the day, no matter the weather. If there are clouds or stormy skies, there may not be enough light to shoot. Also, this allows me to work at night and accommodate clients travel and work schedules.

• Consistency is very important when working as a professional newborn baby photographer. Clients must receive what they see on your website. Artificial light allows me to have the same lighting in all of my galleries.

• Zero stress. Because I know how the light will look, I can also focus more on posing, wrapping, working with clients, and perhaps putting energy where I am needing to improve. I know the light will be nice no matter what I am doing.

Light is Light, no matter the source.

When I first began photographing newborns, full time, I thought I needed a huge natural light studio. While this is nice if you happen to have an unlimited budget, north/south facing windows, and many other factors, now that I've been working with artificial light, I would never switch over. Light is light, no matter the source. I don't even use an expensive or complex set up. I am currently using constant lighting, which means they're not strobes. They have several bulbs which are always on. It does make my studio a little bit warmer, but during newborn sessions I want the room to be 80 degrees so this is not a huge factor to me. 

In my studio, I have 4 lights. They are inexpensive and I purchased everything from Amazon. 

• I purchased (2) sets of these at $164.95 and removed the softboxes so I could use bigger ones

• I purchased (4) Black and Silver Reflective Parabolic Umbrella with Neutral White Diffusion Cover

I placed the PLM (references above) on the lights linked above and bam, instant lights.

In my studio, I have 20x20 feet of space, thus giving me 400 Square feet. It's just a big white room. 

I had a 5" PVC Pipe installed across the ceiling and use these curtains to diffuse all of my light. The lights are behind the curtains at all times and diffuse the light to create soft images, shown below. I purchased about 30 pairs of these inexpensive, Ikea curtains. 

When I am not working, the lights are off and it's pitch black, as there is not a single window in my studio space. 

How to set up artificial light for back lit sibling portraits 

Sibling photos are often requested by parents. I have three little girls so understand completely how precious it is to see your babies together! As a mama, it makes my heart sing to have photos of my own kiddos taken, so believe me: I want these images to be magical! Back-lit family or sibling images are my favorite to do during your newborn sessions. 

To set up artificial lights so they look like natural light is very simple:

• Make sure your lighting set up is diffused behind curtains, like the sheers I linked above. This will mimic windows, thus resulting in a natural light look.

• Lower lights via your stand so they're close to the ground. Child will be sitting on the ground.

• Place whatever type of rug underneath child, in this case, a white flokati rug I have.

• Photograph little one and encourage them to interact/pose newborn however suits your taste. Since this blog post is about lighting I won't bother you with how I wrap newborns for their sessions, but we'll talk about that next month I'm sure, ha! For now, let's stick to lighting.

When working within my studio, I use professional grade equipment, so the settings I am going to list are based off the type of equipment I use such as (2) Canon Mark iii bodies, a professional grade 50 mm lens, 35 mm lens, 24 mm lens, and 20 mm lens, plus a 100 mm macro lens.

For these particular shots, my settings are typically 1/200 (to allow light in), f/2.0 (with the focus point on baby's face), and then ISO 1/800. This is with 2-3 lights, depending on how large I want my set up to be.

Then I raise my lights again when I move to family or parent images, but use the same settings of course. That way the background is blown completely out and when we get into processing, there is very little work to do on the actual image.

For side-lit images, my settings are a little different. As you can see from the photos below, the curtains are still there diffusing the light, but the subject is standing perpendicular to the light set up. My subject is always around 3-4 feet from the actual light.

These sets up are typically photographed at ISO 400, F/2.5 and shutter speed of 1/160.

And that's it! Creating a natural light look through the use of constant lighting kits does not have to expensive or difficult. I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit of my creative process and how I set up for your newborn sessions! If you're a photographer, feel free to let me know how these worked for you, too! 

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