7 Tips to Rock the Baby in a Bucket Pose: Last Week in Studio

Houston Newborn Photographer, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography, offers stunning portraiture for brand new babies & their family. See tips for posing babies in the ever so popular parent requeted set up: the bucket.

Favorite pose of parents

When booking a newborn session, parents are sent a styling questionnaire in which they're able to share their favorite props, colors, and also must have poses. It never fails: every parent requests a bucket shot because what is more precious than a newly earth side little one perfectly tucked into an adorable bucket? 

As a professional baby portrait studio, I truly love working with my most petite & darling clients, particularly when it comes to a floor prop set up, such as an antique bucket. I have a huge array of props on hand, all of which are available to you. They're all vintage-inspired, often purchased from local antique shops. 

When posing a baby in these rustic pails, parents often ask, "How do you achieve this look?" Have no fear! I am happy to share some tips on this so you, as a potential client, can be informed on how I safely pose little ones.

Moreover, this blog posts also showcases babies who visited in the last week so you can see variety in how I style my dreamy, timeless and stunning newborn sessions. 

7 Tips for the bucket set up:

1. Baby must be in a deep sleep for these images. I keep my heat on 77 degrees so baby is nice and warm, but also mold-able and peacefully slumbers so we have serene, gorgeous galleries! Part of being one of the Best Houston Newborn Photographers is providing parents with amazing galleries. The foundation of an amazing floor prop set up must always be a warm room so we have a sleepy, sweet baby.

2. Place weights in the bottom of the bucket. This keeps it from toppling over and helps baby stay in place.

3. Don't pose baby naked in the bucket. You see, we want to create the "illusion" that baby is naked, however, if their legs are out, this could be a danger to baby's well being because newborn babies are much stronger than they appear! They could push forward with their legs, thus launching baby out. This would be a disaster so in order to avoid this, keep baby's legs wrapped and their arms out.

4. Select a bucket, pail or another floor prop that coincides with baby's size. I know, I know: all buckets are the same, right? Actually: this is not true! I have different buckets for different sized babies. 5-pound babies, to elaborate further, will need a different bucket than a 10-pound baby. The baby should fill most of the prop and you should not be stuffing tons of items in the bucket. To ensure we have the perfect prop for your precious, sweet little baby, I send a questionnaire once little one has arrived so you may share details such as their weight.

5. Make sure baby is fully supported. You do so by using posing beans.

6. Pose baby's arms before placing them in the bucket. You do not want to be picking the baby up and moving them around whilst in the bucket. The placing of the baby should be seamless: pose their arms, while the baby is in your lap, and then move them into the bucket. This keeps their head supported and you're not jolting their ever so fragile limbs.

7. Get those elbows hooked. Essentially, this means that you have to hook their elbows over the rim of the bucket so baby does not slip downward. This is why it's ever so important to place weights (such as 20 pounds) inside of the bucket so it will not be top heavy.

Joshua's aquamarine set up

Isabella's neutral bucket pose with galvanized pail

Gorgeous Aria's Mint and Seafoam Green Rustic Pail

Mia's ivory, lavender, and warm wood classic baby in a bucket pose

Chase's feminine and girly lavender & purple floral styling

Desmond's Pale Green & Spring Greenery Newborn Portraits on barn wood flooring

Are you currently pregnant and expecting your own bundle of joy? Let's connect so I may more information about the newborn collections I offer. 

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.

Kind Words from April Portrait Sessions: Sweetest Clients in Houston

See what real clients are saying about their newborn, family, or maternity portraiture experience with Houston Photographer Sarah Borchgrevink. 

Last month on the calendar: 2018 April Testiomonials and Reviews

Good morning, friends! Thanks for visiting! Today's blog showcases all the beautiful new babies, parents, and even a few baby bumps for that I had the honor of documenting during the month of April. 

“Sarah is very professional. She has a lot of experience and her studio is fully equipped with all the materials, fabrics, head pieces and little extra unique pieces that will make your session super special. Even when her studio is located at home you won’t even notice it. I know is hard as a parent let other people to handle your newborn especially if you are a first timer (like I am) but trust me! Sarah is very delicate and she handles babies with all care and patient. The pictures are beautiful and honestly this is an investment you won’t regret.”

— gretchen o

“What can you say?...Sarah is an awesome photographer. We did outdoor family photos for a large family and she was very patient with the kiddos. She is very kind and knows her stuff! We look forward to many more family photos using Sarah!”

— Larnell Nolan

“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 Peterfeso

“Sarah is excellent! Very professional and easy to work with. She recently did our baby boy’s newborn pictures and we couldn’t be happier that we chose her for such a special time in our lives. We look forward to working with her again in the nearest future. Thank you Sarah!!!!!”

— gloria okocha

“Sarah is absolutely amazing to work with. We had the best experience with our first family pictures. She was so patient and kind with our 6 month old. The photos turned out absolutely beautiful!!”

— Skylar Kahla

“Sarah was awesome for our newborn shoot! I found her via Google search and loved the gallery on her website. What sold me was how responsive and friendly she was via email and the fact that she offered full rights to the digital images versus many of the photographers I researched who require you to purchase all of your printed images through them. She answered every question I had, most of them before I even thought to ask and even ordered a special prop just for our session based on our conversation. On the day of the shoot she was super friendly and warm and so easy to work with. She handled our little man with such care that I was at complete ease and just sat back and let her do her thing. We just got our pictures back and I am obsessed! We will treasure these pictures forever and I am so grateful to her for helping us capture such a special moment in time. I wholeheartedly recommend Sarah for your newborn photography. She will take such good care of your family and your new addition and provide you with priceless memories to last a lifetime.”

— April Borrego

“From the maternity session to the newborn session, Sarah was very open and accommodating to what we were trying to achieve and made the whole experience pleasurable and exciting. Her work speaks for itself, and she has the knowledge and skill to capture those important moments in life for future generations to cherish”

— Shawn Croat

“Sarah took newborn photos for us and did an incredible job. She incorporated family photos and was excellent at getting shots of our toddler as well. She definitely put us at ease and was very flexible to accommodate our sons need to eat during the session. She requested specific information prior to the session and used that to tailor our time to exactly what we wanted. Our photos are amazing and we would happily use her again!”

— Rachel Gauthier

“Clear and informative communication from start to finish. We are thrilled with the results from our first shoot with Sarah and already looking forward to future sessions!”

— Taylor Robinson

“Working with Sarah was a complete blessing! We chose her for our maternity and newborn pictures based on the amazing reviews and we were not disappointed! Starting with our maternity pictures, Sarah was very professional and clear about what to expect. She brought a very pretty quilt and gave helpful advice on wardrobe selections for me and my husband. She was punctual, polite, and energetic at the photoshoot and her positive energy helped to renew my energy (which had been drained from the pregnancy). The photos were STUNNING! We absolutely could not be happier with the maternity photos she captured. After our son was born, Sarah did our newborn photos. Oh. My. Goodness. I am so thankful that we chose her as our photographer. Her prep guide was INSTRUMENTAL in having an amazing photoshoot. She was so kind and thoughtful during the process too, which is super helpful to a new mama. She took my pose requests and made them a perfect reality. Her newborn props and wraps are gorgeous too! Basically, if you want your once in a lifetime pictures to be stunningly beautiful, Sarah is the photographer you need in your life. The entire experience was transparent, professional, peaceful, and memorable. We truly could not have had a better experience with anyone else... of that, I’m convinced. She is worth every penny and then some. I really don’t think I could ever use another photographer now that we’ve been spoiled by her! Thank you, Sarah, for providing my family with the most gorgeous images during these once in a lifetime experiences.”

— Brandie Croat

“Sarah photographed our newborn 2 years ago and I loved her work so much I came back this year to get baby #3 photographed. Our gallery turned out amazing! My favorite part of our session was watching her work her magic and wrap my baby into beautiful poses. She is so gentle, patient, kind and nurturing and her talent shines through her images. I can’t wait to frame and decorate my house with pictures we will cherish always. Thanks, Sarah!!!”

— Jessica Valdez

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.