I Love Your “Beary” Much | Teddy Bear Bonnet is Most Requested Prop

Sweet, vintage, and adorable teddy bear hats make for a precious newborn session! 

Hi, friends! When designing custom newborn sessions for the cutest babies in Houston, I send a curated styling questionnaire to all of my Moms and Dads who are going to be visiting! There are a set of questions that ensure we have a fantastic session together; on one portion, nevertheless, there's a spot in which you may request a prop you've seen in my portfolio.

Newborn Baby Hats | The Must Have

Oh, my goodness! The bear hats, by far, are the most requested prop by parents! I have several adorable colors: grey, beige, blue, purple, and white. I also have a pink one but I have not yet photographed it, ha! This is the cutest prop because what is more precious than a baby animal?! Every newborn photographer needs to have these hats on hands. Not only do they have a classic, timeless, and vintage feel to them, but they perfectly frame your baby's face and showcase all of their darling features such as a button nose, full lips, perfectly plump cheeks, lashes for days, soft tufts of hair, oh my gosh! Too adorable for words! 

Beige | For the love of neutrals

This beige bear hat bonnet is absolutely adorable on Colt William! His parents requested earth tones and neutrals; for instance, beige and tan look wonderful with khaki, grey, white, light brown, ecru, etc. If you're a fan of all  things natural and muted, this bear bonnet would be the perfect addition for your new arrival. In this particlar set up, I paired a precious vintage bed, hand made by my favorite prop vendor, with organic textiles and the rustic wood floors. All of these textures work together to create the best Houston newborn photography.

Light Blue | Little Gentlemen's Cap

Dylan Jacob visited my Houston Newborn Portrait Studio at just 15 days old for a wrapped newborn mini session. This is an affordable newborn package featuring stunning macro images, three rustic and vintage-inspired floor props such as buckets, crates, bowls, etc., as well as three cozy styles of newborn wrapping that will forever preserve trhis incredibly special time in your life. This package is perfect because full styling is provided, such as this adorable set up seen below, in which Dylan's sweet parents requested blue hues, such as periwnkle for their little gentlemen. This bear bonnet is stunning against his skin!

White | Gender Neutral for either little ladies and handsome fellas!

Of all the newborn color schemes, white may be the easiest to add to a girl or a boy newborn session simply because it pairs well with any color, light or dark, vibrant or muted, girl or boy. In this case, beautiful Isabella is rocking a white teddy bear hat during her full newborn session at 7 days fresh and new. She is wrapped in the darling potato sack pose, in which baby is perfectly round and oh so adorable! 

Purple | Lovely for Little Girls

Ella is showcasing all things all things purple such as orchid, mulberry, mauve, and plum. Purple is a great color to consider for your newborn session because it's different than pink. While pink is totally classic and darling, purple is a little more vibrant and may I say unique. Purple looks much better against newborn skin, too, and creates dewy skin tones whereas pink often washes out a newborn girl, since babies are typically very rosy. This purple bear hat is adorable with all things in the purple family and any hue from lilac to violet. 

As always, friends, thanks for visting to see a fun topic such as what props are most requested by parents! If you are expecintg your own little bundle of joy, please contact me so we may discuss what type of props you'd like to have in your session!

warmly,

Sarah

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.

Jack Alexander is 7 Months Old & I’m Obsessed | Dapper Baby Boy Photos

Cutest Baby Boy in Houston | 7 Month Studio Sitter Session by Sarah Borchgrevink Photography

Greetings, friends! Today's blog post is totally going to be biased because Jack, my sweet angel, is 7 months old and I cannot help but think he's the most handsome baby in all of Houston, ha! Of course, because he's mine, I cannot help but be super biased. First things first: I'm TOTALLY obsessed with him! There, I said it! He is my last baby and smitten does not even begin to describe how much I adore him. 

If you follow me on through social media, you may know I have four kiddos total. I just keep having babies, ha! Can't stop, won't stop - well, until now, ha! My little ones are named Emma Olivia, Lucy Rose, Amelia Charlotte Ann, and then our grand finale is Jack Alexander. When announcing the pregnancy, we did a super fun gender reveal in the studio so everyone could share our joy! 

Anyway, as one of Houston's Top Rated Baby Photographers (2016, 2017, and 2018), my studio is the perfect place for having your little one's photos taken! Not only do I have an amazing set of newborn props, I have a huge variety of gorgeous items for babies who are 3-12 months old; The first year of life is full of precious milestones! I offer fully customized baby milestone sessions to all of my clients. Everything is provided such as hand-created attire and all props/styling, such as buckets, bowls, etc. Check out a sample view of my client closet to see if these timeless, classic and adorable outfits are a good fit for you. :-) 

All of this information in mind, I could not wait until Jack is sitting up and able to take sitter photos. As of 7 months old, he is 24 pounds, 28 inches long, and is truly the happiest baby on the block! Of all my kiddos, he may be the most laid back. He loves snuggles, playing, rocking, visiting the park, spending time with his big sisters, and of course, he is still downstairs in the master bedroom. I have yet to move him into his nursery! I recently told my husband, "It's like another zip code upstairs, I cannot sequester him away to there!" He still fits into his pack 'n play so no worries. Sometimes he sleeps through the night, other times he is up about 1-2 times and drinks huge bottles. Jack is a complete joy and I'm super proud to be his mommy!

A quick review of Jack's Newborn Session | Posed So Sweetly

Because I am a professional photographer (yes, it says that on my W-2 ha!), I was really excited to photograph Jack's first few days of life through a beautiful & stunning set of images. I did hire a great friend to photograph the family images, but my goodness, it was a complete honor to work with my own earthside cherub. Macro images are some of my absolute favorite photos from each newborn session I photograph so I cannot help but share a few. These are the up close, precious details that set your baby apart. Unique aspects and features are privy to your baby you spent 9 months dreaming of. As a mom, these are special to me because you think you have memorized every details such as their full lips, button nose, tufts of hair, and sweet serene sleeping face, but when you look at images of their first week of life they have changed so much!

Jack's Favorite Activity | Visiting the duck pond

Since I work full time, my husband is the stay at home parent to our little ones. It's also really warm in Houston right now. We've had a super high heat index of about 104 degrees lately, so it's not until evening can my kiddos got outside and play. To give my husband a break (it's true: stay at home parents work so so so so so hard!), I will often take my little ones to the duck pond, which is in my neighborhood. My kiddos love to say hi to the animals such as the turtles and ducklings. We also like to watch people walk their dogs and also get to say hi to some of our neighbors. Our routine has now evolved into going on a walk to get some much needed energy out, and when I tell Jack we're going to visit the ducks, he claps his hands and smiles so big! It's his favorite activity at  7 months old. 

As always, friends, I am excited to share information with you! If you enjoyed reading about Jack's 7 month old photos, you may also be interested in your own session. Check out the links below for information on Houston Newborn Photography, Cake Smash Photography, or even Little Sitter Sessions, which are a 6-8 months old.

• Newborn Photography Houston | Sample Gallery of Boy versus Girl

• 12 Month Cake Smash | Capturing Baby's Precious Personality

• 6 Month Sitter Milestone Sessions | How to Schedule

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.

Editing a Posed Newborn Session in Adobe Lightroom |Before & After

How to Edit A Newborn Photo in Lightroom | Effective and Easy Tips

Tutorial by Sarah Borchgrevink | Professional Editing Software

Howdy, friends! Today's blog post shares some effective tips and tricks for editing a newborn session in Adobe Lightroom. First and foremost: please allow me to introduce myself! I'm Sarah! I'm a professional newborn photographer in Houston TX; I specialized in posed baby sessions within a studio environment. Because my sessions are affordable and have completely transparent pricing, I am often booked well in advance. I have around 20 new arrivals in my studio monthly, which means I've learned how to edit my sessions very quickly! The best way I have learned is through Lightroom. Let's get started!

The sample photo I'm using today is of a sweet little girl named Layla. She visited my Houston Newborn Portrait Studio at 7 days old and her parents booked my 'petite' package, which includes those oh-so-adorable naked poses. This means all of her skin is exposed, so she's a great example for how to quickly streamline your editing when you have a ton of work on your desk!

Before & After | How to Achieve This Look

White Balance Adjustment

To foundation to an amazing newborn portrait is always having the perfect white balance. In my studio, I use professional lighting, and specifically use constant lights. You may be interested in this post sharing how I create a natural light look through studio lighting. I tend to prefer warmer white balances, such as 5300 degrees, or so. Whether you prefer warm or cool temperatures, make sure it is very consistent throughout the entire session. Don't jump around - it'll make the gallery lack cohesiveness. Here you will also look at the magenta and adjust as needed. I tend to prefer rosy images so I was a 50 on the magneta slider.

Creamy Skin Development | Reduce Red, Yellow, and Orange Skin Tones

To create those gorgeous creamy skin tones, I use my sliders in Lightroom. This is my next step after adjusting white balance. I will always start by removing the colors that are too strong in the images; for instance, newborn babies typically have a yellow, red, or orange undertone to their skin. The best place to begin would be by increasing luminescence, which gives baby that beautiful glow, reducing saturation, and adjusting hue. I placed a screenshot above. Of course, you are going to have different settings for different babies, but the sliders in Lightroom will give you full control of the babies skin as far as color.

Fun tip: you can create skin presets on your own without even having to pay for them.

Once you find the look you prefer in your own studio, developing presets will not only make your editing lightening fast, but will give you a very consistent look. Each gallery you send to parents should be very similar to the galleries earlier that week. This is part of your brand and being one of the Best Photographers in your area! 

 

Smooth Skin

I do not do any skin smoothing in Photoshop for any of my newborn sessions. With the exception of the froggy pose, (check out a free step by step tutorial on how to safely pose a baby) all of my editing is done in Lightroom. After fixing white balance, adjusting baby's skin tone, and cropping my images, I will then skin smooth the baby. Babies can handle a reduction in clarity; I also will reduce the contrast a little bit, such as by -8, and will increase my highlights by +3, so baby still has beautiful contours and shadows to their face without the light look flat.

I will use the brush for this portion or (k) on a PC. Generally, the density is about 50-55, and I'll smooth different parts of the baby more than others. Their face, for example, always gets around 3 sets of brush strokes. Make sure you "erase" the brush on their lips, nose, and hands, however, so you do not lose detail.

Sharpen

After this, I sharpen the image last because I want to make sure it's not too sharp, but may also need more sharpening after the skin smoothing. This entire process takes me about 2 minutes/image, which means I can fully edit a newborn gallery in less than an hour. For sharpening, I prefer it to be around 70, with noise reduction at 12-15, depending on my ISO. Of course, these items will depend on what your own camera settings are. In my studio, my camera settings, according to my lights and how I like the images to look, are usually 1/160, f/2.2, and then ISO 320. I use a Sigma ART 35 mm f/1.4 and a Sigma ART 50 mm f/1.4. You'll also find a gorgeous 100 mm f/2.8L macro lens, which creates those super dreamy macro images, so sharpening of photos will always depend on your camera settings.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to read tips on how to edit newborn sessions in Lightroom!

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.