Where to Find the Perfect Dress | Slay During Winter Family Photos

Houston Portrait Photographer, Sarah Borchgrevink, shares how to slay during your winter family photography session + where to find the best gowns! 

Have no fear: styling is now here!

Good morning, gang! Thanks for visiting my blog to see where to find an awesome gown for a photo shoot! If this is your first time here, welcome! Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sarah Borchgrevink (Bork-grey-veenk) and I'm married to the coolest dude on the planet, Kevin! Together we have three little girls (Lucy, Emma and Amelia) who we like to call the Tiny Tribe of Wild Women (yup, click that link to see our pregnancy announcement & gender reveal, ha). 

However, just over a week ago we welcomed our son, Jack Alexander, into this world! This in mind, because I am a mommy and LOVE having photos done with my sweet little family, I do know what it's like to book the session and then say, "Okay. Yikes. What should I wear?"

I can attest that often, Moms put themselves last. It's part of the care giving nature. I find myself picking out my kiddos clothing first and then the hubby. Afterwards, I sit in my closet and think, "Does anything even look good on me?"

Stop. Right there. I, Sarah, totally give you permission to slay during those family photos! You are a awesome mommy + domestic goddess, HA! You deserve the coolest gowns that are soft, feminine, timeless and stunning. You are taking these photos not only for yourself, but for your little ones. This is also a fantastic way to connect with your spouse and significant other. Document the joy of your lives together. Give something tangible to represent all that is beautiful about your family. They're a wonderful way to preserve the love of your family and showcase darling milestones, such as an annual family photography session. Also, it's great for your little ones to see you feeling sassy, confident, and loving yourself. 

Now: let's talk about winter. If you live in the south, like me, you know that the winter is the best time to take family photos because it's the only time of our calendar year it's not hot as heck, ha! Even the fall can still be in the 90's and as women of the south, we are just used to being warm. What to wear then?

TA-DA: Presenting the best dress!

• This Olive Green Draped Gown with 3/4 Sleeves is the perfect dress for either a maternity session or family photos due to the adjustable waist. This dress, however, comes in a huge variety of colors such as black, burgundy, light blue, light pink, mauve, navy blue, olive, peach, periwinkle, pink, purple, and royal blue. So while I *did* select this as a winter choice, thanks to the sleeves, this could easily be used for any season.
• This dress is the bomb dot com, too, because it's meant to transition into motherhood. You see, as mentioned above, I have four kids and quite frankly, it's nice there is gown that makes motherhood a little easier. You can wear this during pregnancy thanks to the polyester blend but also can use it afterwards as it is breathable. 

Here's what Mom had to say about this gown:

I loved the dress because it's a soft wrap dress that was very comfortable to wear. Being a new mom and need to be able to move without feeling constrained is a big selling point to me. I did not feel confined during the shoot and could enjoy my time with Sarah and my family. I chose the olive green color because I love earth tones like brown, cream, and greens. This made coordinating with my husband a breeze! I cannot recommend this dress enough!

 5 Reasons to love this gown

1. Perfect for date night, baby shower, maternity photos or family session.
2. Flattering style with a solid pattern that is versatile 
3. Great dress for transitioning into motherhood as there is an adjustable waist (score!)
4. Sash tie adds super cute detail but also allows you to cinch to fit as needed
5. The draped v-neck is perfect for nursing moms too - we all need our life to be a little easier!

Pink Blush Boutique is a great vendor! 

The artistic part of me, however, loves this vendor for several reasons. I adore sending clients here, so check out their site, Pink Blush Boutique. 

The selection is fantastic! For example, you'll find clothing for every occasion from spring, fall, summer, winter, and even holidays like Valentine's Day or your special celebration, like a baby shower. Better yet: they also offer a selection of accessories sure to complete your outfit such a shoes, jewelry, hats, bags, scarves, etc. They all coordinate together perfectly and it just makes things easier. 

Moreover, they several sizes from size 2 to 3x. This is great they cater to many sizes and shapes! As we all know, everyone is different. They also have free shipping on all U.S. orders + a coupon for 10 percent off your first purchase! Wow! 

Allow me to introduce this stunning client

The D family is a baby plan membership client of mine. We also did a gorgeous maternity session, too, so check out more of their beautiful natural light, sunset pregnancy portraits. Mom is especially a sweet client because she inquired before she was even pregnant! One day, I was working at my desk, and she asks all about my packages, explaining they are going to try for a baby soon.

A few months later, she contacted me to let me know baby is cooking! We scheduled a maternity session (linked above) and then also a baby plan membership, which means they reserved the first year of life + family photos for their sweet baby! It includes a full newborn collection, 6 month sitter + family session, and also a 12 month cake smash + family photos. 

Because of this, it's truly been a joy to meet their family and work together. Here are a few super cute shots of their darling baby girl. Here she is at just a few days old.

Now she's 6 months old + sitting up all on her own, wow!

See more of why this dress is a great choice

Thank you for stopping by the blog to see a great dress for outdoor winter photos! I hope you enjoyed reading about the perfect dress plus how to find it!

If you enjoyed reading about how to slay during your own family photos, you may like reading about these topics, too:

• Cutest Family Sessions from the 2017 Fall Family Photo Season
• 8 Awesome Tips for an Amazing Outdoor Maternity or Family Session
• Bringing Your Fur Baby to Photo Shoot

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.

 

Three Free Cloud Storage Systems to Keep Your Session Safely Archived

Located in Northwest Harris County, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography shares the easiest ways to keep your high resolution digital files safe through free cloud storage systems.

Sarah's Top Three Picks for Safely Archiving Your Session

Greetings, friends and welcome! As 2017 comes to a close, it's time to start thinking about keeping your digital images safely archived. As a professional newborn photographer in Houston, my collections are fully inclusive and digitally based: this means I offer lovely galleries of digital files you may download, share, print as many times as you wish, and treasure for years to come.

I keep final copies for generally 6 months and then clear out my hard drives to make room for new sessions.

However, once your session is photographed and on your computer, there are risks to losing your precious images. External hard drives may fail; laptops are dropped, computers die, and sometimes a USB stick is simply lost. Moreover, technology is constantly changing so even things like a disc drive is becoming obsolete. To elaborate: I have a custom built PC my darling & dashing husband built for me. There is not a disc drive because I have no need for one. Furthermore, Mac users typically don't have a disc drive either. 

Everything You Need to Know about the cloud

You may be reading this and think, "What is the cloud?" Don't worry! When I first heard the term "cloud storage" I had to Google it, too, ha! The cloud is synonymous with the internet.  It sounds foreign, kind of like something we should all know and be privy to, but perhaps are a little unsure of. In the most simple terms, cloud storage means you store your data and files (such as your precious newborn images!) over the internet instead of a computer hard drive. 

Perks of using a cloud storage service for photo or data back up

• Great for sharing images seamlessly with your loved ones such as family or friends

• Reliable due to fast internet connections

• You can access files from any device like a PC, Mac, tablet, or phone

• Essential in case your hard drive is damaged or stolen

• Often secure with many affordable and free entry level options

How I selected the top three cloud storage options

Before I begin, it should be noted there are a plethora of wonderful choices for consumers to consider. After all, you can reduce your purchases of hard ware and worrying if there will ever be a technological failure. For instance, since I work full time as portrait photographer, I often hear horror stories from other professionals about a hard drive failing, one of which holds an irreplaceable session such as a wedding or baby's first photos, such as newborn photos. In this business, you cannot afford to lose a session! If you're a professional photographer, you may be interested in a subscription that houses enormous amounts of space (such as 3 T) but if you're a parent looking to keep your files safe, these options are the easiest to use. 

1 ) Google Drive

Since Google is extremely popular, you probably already have a Gmail account which means you have access to the fantastic Google Drive. This is a safe place for all your files and includes 15 GB of free online storage which can keep all sorts of things, such as your photos. Your files can be reached anywhere, too, so there is a nuance to having access to special memories at any moment, all from the click of a mouse or the scroll of a screen. You may also effortlessly invite others to view, share, or download your files without an e-mail attachment; this is extremely convenient if you'd like to share your newborn session, for instance, with grandparents who perhaps do not reside in Houston TX. No matter where your loved ones are, the photos follow. 

2) Microsoft One Drive

With 5 GM of free storage, this is an awesome choice if you're an outlook user. While you only receive 5 GB of space, which is three times less than Google Drive, the appeal of Microsoft One Drive is that if you have a subscription to Office 365 you're automatically upgraded to 1T (wow). This is a great perk for someone who is very comfortable and committed to using Microsoft office.  You can also share files with individuals who are not one drive users as well as a handy dandy mobile app to make things easier to access when you're out and about. 

3) Drop Box

Beginning with 2 GB of online storage, free of charge, drop box is extremely user friendly, which is why this has made the top three. When choosing online storage systems, part of my selection was choosing based on how known a product is, how easy it is to use, and if you're required to actually purchase storage in order to access the free storage.

2 GB is not impressive, but what may appeal to the younger crowd of folks is that if you link your Dropbox account to social media & refer your friends + family you can have 16 GB, which is awesome! We all have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tumbler, ha! This is the digital age after all.

With drop box, there are several great options such as 2 GB of free storage, has a great desk top app for Windows or Mac, which covers a large majority of the market. Another awesome perk is if you delete a folder or set of images, you can still restore these images up to 30 days later, which is truly fantastic since we all know things sometimes are deleted. Like Google and One Drive, you can share files with anyone, too, and no file size upload limit when using the desktop software. 

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.

 

The Magic of Froggy Position | Step by Step & How to Safely Pose

Located in Houston, Sarah Borchgrevink shares newborn posing tips on how to safely composite the popular & precious "froggy" pose.

“Sarah is AMAZING! The time and care she takes setting up everything for the newborn session to be perfect is great. She was so patient and careful with our son like he was her own. You can tell she has so much fun doing her job and loves what she does. Dont waste your time calling other photographers, Sarah is the person to go to document you little one. What Sarah does is truly a gift! She is outstanding!!”

— Deborah

Please note the following: This post is intended to show parents how we safely creating this classic newborn pose that is commonly requested. 

See Behind the scenes images of newborn posing in a studio atmosphere 

Greetings and welcome! Today's blog post topic is an overview on the popular froggy pose. This is the most requested pose by parents and one that I truly enjoy doing. There's something super sweet & special about baby's chubby cheeks being showcased and seeing their darling little tootsies! However, this pose is very advanced and requires special training.

Moreover, parents typically ask, "What do you mean by training?" Newborn safety and training, for instance, is mentoring and taking hands on workshops in which you learn how to safely handle and pose a newborn baby. While newborn photography should look effortless, as if baby posed themselves even, it is anything but. It requires much safety, skill and time.

As one of the best newborn photographers in Houston, I do pride myself on always being respectful of my most petite clients. Part of this is creating beautiful fine art images of brand new cherubs through the use of safety techniques. 

A few things to note:

• Not every baby likes froggy pose. If baby resists, we move on.
• This is best achived with a new baby who is 5-8 days new 
• If baby is not flexible enough, we do not force this pose
• This pose is ALWAYS a composite. 
• Do not EVER try to do this on your own. It is not worth the risk of hurting a new baby.

What is a composite?

Froggy pose is always done as a composite. A composite image is when two or more images are merged together in post processing software, such as Photoshop. It's sort of like building an image: you take multiple photos in which baby is fully supported and then through the magic of editing, a beautiful image is created in which we're able to truly showcase the stunning aspects of a new baby. 

Hands on Baby at all times

Once baby is in a very deep sleep, I place baby on my bean bag. I ensure baby is completely supported through the use of posing beans, which are the must have safety tool for all photographers.

Tips to ensure baby is sleepy:

• White noise machine playing (mimicking the sound of the womb)
• Warm environment - typically around 77 - 80 degrees 
• Lots of patience and soothing
• Pacifier is a huge help

Step One: Hands supporting baby's chin from beneath

The baby you see here is Sebastian. He was very laid back and easy to work with; because he was also very new and flexible, we were able to quickly pose him into the froggy pose perfectly. As you can see, he is sleeping peacefully and my hand is holding him in place. At no point did I ever remove my hand from the baby. I took two images here. He is supported on my bean bag and then has posing beans beneath and behind him to ensure he does not slide forwards or backwards.

Step Two: Hands Supporting Head From Above

After baby is in a very deep sleep, I place my hand on his head from above. I am holding his weight and he is supported beneath through the posing beans I linked in an earlier paragraph (above). 

Merge your images in processing through photoshop composite

Switch up the angles for more interest

When working with a newborn baby, it's fun to do a profile angle of baby during froggy. If they're very laid back, I am often able to  do more than one angle, such as straight on or side view. I like side view, however, because it shows off baby's face better and is more interesting, in my opinion. However, I do like front on, too, and this is the preference of most parents so I include both if possible. 

Check out other recent froggy poses that I've done in studio.

Thanks for stopping by the blog to read how to safely pose a newborn baby in the perfectly precious froggy pose! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about the magic of Photoshop and how we achieve these fine art looks! While froggy is a stunning image and makes for gorgeous portrait of your baby, please remember this is an advanced pose and should never be attempted without taking a workshop and hands on training. Parents: also remember this looks easy when you see behind the scenes photos, but it's not anything you should attempt at home. Do not ever risk your baby's safety for a DIY photo shoot. Always trust professionals like myself! :-) 

If you liked reading about newborn safety, these posts may pique your interest, too!

• Tricks to Implementing  Bean Bag Posing into your Workflow
• Striking a Pose: How to Add Vibrancy to a Newborn Color Scheme 

Specializing in posed baby portraits, Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer serving the surrounding areas including Houston metro area, Cypress, Katy, Spring, The Heights, Sugar Land, West University, Bellaire, and The Woodlands, TX. In addition to breathtaking newborn images, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting couples.