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:
- The Three Free Cloud Storage Systems you should recommend to clients
- 5 Must Studio Newborn Props on Amazon Prime
- 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
