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.

Baby’s Unique Features| Macro Details Included for a Soulful Gallery

Creating Stunning works of Newborn Fine Art through the Use of Impeccable Macro Images

Breathtaking images of your sweet little baby

Before I was a mama to four little ones, I thought all babies were the same once born. However, now that I specialize in posed newborn portraiture, I can attest this is anything but true. Newborns are absolutely perfectly, wonderfully and fearfully made. They are all unique, individual and even from the first few days old, have their own spirit setting them apart.

This inspires me to focus on macro images in all of my posed sessions. You see, having a soulful final gallery is of the utmost importance to me. I set your galleries apart by including unique color schemes, cozy wrapping, newborn safety, and also focusing on spectacular macro photos of your precious bundle of joy. 

Parents often ask, "what's a macro image?" The answer is simple! Macro images are a type of photography. The skill is photographing the objects very close to the lens, thus showcasing all of the special details. You use a special kind of lens for this, as a typical portrait or telephoto lens cannot do the trick. Here's the Canon 100 mm f/2.8L professional grade I keep on hand in my studio.

Macro images make my mama heart so happy because this makes you baby's features truly unique! Your baby has their own profile, set of toes, sweet chubby chin, and darling eyelashes. Their tufts of hair and lips beckon to be photographed. Your little one will never be this small. the newborn stage is only the first few weeks of life. Macros are included to preserve this stunning time in your life. You will look back on your gallery and enjoy reminsicing over the time in which baby is just becommong part of this world.

Recent macro images | favorites from in studio

Thanks for visiting my blog to see what type of macro images make baby have a special and unique final gallery! Since you enjoyed this topic, you may like reading about the following topics, too!

• How to Wrap a Newborn Baby: Three Great Styles

• Sarah's Favorite Newborn Baby Bean Bag Poses

• Family, Sibling and Parent Photos during Baby's First Photoshoot

• Where the magic happens: Houston Newborn Portrait Studio

Are you in IG? Me, too! Let's connect. 

JJ’s Tan, Saddle, Ecru, and Bronze Session | Special Requests by Mama

For the love of all things neutral: natural, simple, timeless newborn boy color scheme.

Unique and Dreamy Baby Session Styling By Sarah Borchgrevink

Hi, there! When sweet JJ's mama booked his posed newborn session, she mentioned she loves neutral colors stemming from a tan color pallet. While tan is gorgeous, there are also other neutrals to consider that add warmth and simplicity to the stunning baby portraits I create. For example, a few colors to consider, if you're a fan of all things neutral, would be:

• beige

• bronze

• brown

• suntan

• olive-brown

• tawny

• ecru

• cream

• buff

• biscuit

• khaki

These are also different hues of tan and make neutral lovers hearts' soar! For each newborn session I document, I send a styling questionnaire to parents filled with details so they may share their preferences. This way, the colors you love make their way into the session and the colors you dislike won't make an appearance. I love creating the Best Houston Newborn Photography and do so by treating my clients like individuals. 

Here are some stunning style options for all things his mama likes! 

This style of newborn wrapping is absolutely a favorite of mine. It makes them look like a perfect little package and the tan color is pure, fresh, natural and rustic. I like to remove distracting props and do so in order to make sure baby is the star of the photos. His little feet and toes, oh my! 

Unique newborn photography styling is a specialty of mine. Instead of using props you can find in your local home decor stores, I pull inspiration and items from vendors all across the world. :-) This crate was made in the UK and this farmhouse bowl came from a vendor in Poland. Even though I've been photographing newborns since 2013, I am still working on collecting the best props for your sessions. 

Texture is an amazing way to style your neutral and natural newborn sessions! The layer under baby against the wooden bowl is a great contrast. 

Potato sack pose, oh my goodness! Parents also chuckle at how perfectly round and precious baby is. This style of wrapping is truly a bundle of joy. This ecru textile is also the best organic way to wrap a baby because the fabric flows and is timeless. I also love adding adorable newborn accessories like this bonnet because it emphasises baby's features without detracting from who baby is as a person. :-) 

Finally, this rustic galvanized bucket is such a dream and is often requested by parents. I originally bought this for my sitter 6 month milestone sessions, but overtime I have started using it with newborns, even though it is on the large size, haha!

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see a little preview of JJ's tan, saddle, ecru and bronze newborn session with gunmetal accents. I hope you liked seeing a bit of neutral and natural session styling inspiration! If you're on Instagram, keep scrolling to see the latest babies I've had in studio.