2022 Holiday Sessions in Saratoga Springs

Happy holidays!! I’m so excited to share a little sneak peek into our holiday sessions this year. I was so happy to see a lot of repeat families this year, and I love when they visit the studio year after year for their holiday portraits. It’s so much fun watching the kids grow, and this year I loved when the children walked in and asked right away about the toy corner and told me, “I remember this toy! We played with this last time!”. It’s seriously such a special moment for me each time a family comes back to my studio. 

The all white studio is so versatile for these classic holiday portraits, and I keep adding to our furniture collection of chairs, benches, and loveseats with linen upholstery and weathered wood.  Every year I add more trees or greenery, and I love how it all comes together so beautifully and I can mix and match furniture, wreaths, and trees across the setups while still keeping everything classic and minimal with the focus on the family and not too overwhelming with props. This year, I created three different setups. 

The one I was most excited about was a collaboration with a talented local floral designer, Samantha Nass Floral Design.  She absolutely nailed the design with the inspiration photos that I sent her and incorporated the most beautiful greenery, winter stems, and a hint of red flowers.  

I’ve been wanting to do another giant wreath setup.  The last time I did an oversized wreath was in 2017, but since then I’ve refined my studio style and I am in love with flocked evergreens, so a flocked wreath with frosted berries mixed in was just the perfect look for the studio.  This was so much fun for some casual family & sibling portraits, and the perfect spot for fun Christmas pajamas!

I added the ornament wall the day before our sessions began when I saw that we had enough room for one more simple setup.  I love everything in muted neutrals like gold and champagne, and this wound up being a favorite setup for just about every family! I love that I have the flexibility and space to do that for families in the studio. 

Happy holidays! I hope everyone has a cozy year with their loved ones. 

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Grayson's 2021 Holiday Portraits

You’d think that as a photographer, I’d spend more time getting my son in the studio for portraits than I actually do. It’s hard to balance motherhood and the business some days, but I’m grateful for the memories I make with Grayson every day. He’s a great little studio helper - and was wonderful with me while I setup all of our holiday minis this year. I made sure to capture his holiday portraits, as impromptu as it was, this year.

I’ll be honest: taking photos of a fiercely independent 3.5 year old is much harder than taking portraits of a baby, but it’s so much fun to spend time with my little guy and capture what he’s loving about the season. Grayson was excited to wear his “fancy Christmas photo clothes” and he got to listen to Frosty the Snowman on repeat on Alexa during our session together. Like many parents, I bribed him with snacks from my snack cart - and it worked! Grayson was all smiles and giggles for me. Although it might have been trickier than years past, I’m so pleased with the portraits I captured of my son this holiday season! I hope they bring a smile to your face, too! :o)

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2021 Holiday Portraits in our Saratoga Springs Photography Studio

Holiday portrait sessions are some of my favorite moments to capture in our Saratoga Springs studio! I wait all year long for these days to arrive because they’re always so much fun and filled with joy. This year, I chose to offer three new setups for holiday portraits. We had a white snowflake room, evergreen seamless paper with a loveseat for the family and some flocked trees and a holiday bed. Everyone LOVED getting in the holiday spirit here in the studio.

I welcomed lots of longtime clients and families to the studio over our holiday sessions. It was so great to see everyone again and catch up. I also had the chance to meet plenty of new families too. I’m so excited to have been part of their holiday tradition this year!

Thank you to every family that chose to come celebrate with me this year. Here’s a little sneak peek at some of my favorite holiday moments in the studio this year!!

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Oh, What Fun! A Peek at This Year's Holiday Sessions, Saratoga Springs Family Photographer

This is one of my favorite blog posts that I wait all year to share! The holiday session recap!

Today’s post is FILLED WITH HOLIDAY MAGIC, sharing a peek at some of my favorite images from our Deck the Halls Holiday Event in the studio. This year we held holiday sessions over two weeks in November, welcoming so many beautiful families into our Saratoga Springs studio for their holiday portraits.

This coincided with moving into a new house & studio! We moved in and renovated the studio only two weeks before our first session, and it all came together so beautifully just in time for portraits. Our huge new studio had space for FOUR DIFFERENT SETUPS this year, and I absolutely loved capturing a variety of portraits for all of the families that came to the studio.

We welcomed many repeat families, and I always love seeing them year after year and watching their children grow! Plus a few new families, and even a family that drove 3 hours to get here that I’ve been photographing since 2012!

It was a wonderful event and I truly enjoyed every magical moment! Enjoy a peek at some adorable kiddos and families, and so much holiday cheer!

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Love these classic holiday photos? Pin this image or any from the post above to save for next year!

A Baby Milestone Portrait Session with Christmas Trees

Although it’s early January, we can share one last Christmas session on the blog, right?

I absolutely loved that this family chose to incorporate holiday lights & colors into their son’s milestone portraits, and we made it a whole family session to celebrate their little 6 month old!

Of course baby Ronan slept through the first part of the session, and these cozy family portraits are just so cute with him all curled up in his daddy’s arms!

Ahhhhh!!! Cutest sibling photo of the holiday season!

This six-month old cutie LOVED the camera! Doesn’t he look like a little model?!?!

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Inspired by these Christmas milestone session? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Holiday Portraits for the Whole Family plus a 6 Month Milestone Session

When your baby turns 6 months at the same time as our annual holiday portrait event, you combine your family’s holiday portraits with a milestone session at the studio, of course!

I loved seeing this sweet family again, and I can’t even believe how much David has grown since his newborn session!

These three siblings are always so adorable together, and I was so happy to capture this twinkling Christmas portrait for them!

We did a few more casual sibling portraits on the studio bed so that they would have some photos to hang on their walls year-round, and then lots of individual portraits of the baby to focus on all of his new skills and his blossoming personality!

You might not be able to tell from the photo below, but that is what his happy shriek looks like!!

David LOVED sitting on the tiny bed, and we captured the very best smiles from him!

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Inspired by this fun holiday session and milestone portraits? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Sneak Peek of Our Holiday Mini Sessions with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

It was another magical year of holiday mini sessions at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio! I look forward to these Christmas sessions every year. I love seeing the babies & children all dressed up in their holiday plaid, fancy dresses, sweaters, and bowties, and it’s always so much fun watching them cuddle up in their cozy holiday pajamas, too!

Here’s a little peek at some of my favorite portraits from our 2019 holiday sessions. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and as always, a huge thank you to all of the families for trusting me to capture these beautiful memories for their families this winter!

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Inspired by these classic holiday mini session setups? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Carter's Milestone Portraits - A Sitter Session at our Saratoga Springs Portrait Studio

Does this little cutie look familiar? That’s because he’s one of our Baby Plan clients, and he had the cutest newborn session earlier this year! Do you remember the photo of him posing with his great-grandfather’s coal mining helmet? It was one of my favorite stories ever!

Carter joined me at the studio for his milestone session at 7 months old, and he brought ALL OF THE CUTENESS AND ALL OF THE SMILES! I mean, seriously, how adorable is this baby boy?!?! I could photograph him and his sweet smile every single day!

A few of my favorite features to capture at this stage?

• that round and soft belly

• grabbing those little toes

• the cute elbow dimples & finger dimples

• the first teeth peeking through

• all of the ROLLS on their arms and legs!!

Peek-a-boo is always a hit with babies during their milestone sessions, and Carter loved cuddling up underneath the blanket!

The whole family joined in for some holiday portraits. I just love that they’re going to have these magical photos to remember his first Christmas forever!

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Inspired by this adorable milestone session? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Merry Christmas from Baby Starr | Grayson's Gingerbread House Smash

A few things I’ve learned as a photographer and now first-time mom this year…

Before having a baby I said that I would have a million photoshoots of Grayson this year. My husband joked throughout the pregnancy that he was putting a limit on how many photos I could take of the baby. One thousand photos… PER DAY. ;o) I remember saving a few ideas last Christmas and thinking I would love to do so many of them next December when our little guy was here.

And then I had a baby. Once I went back to work and started juggling work & a baby, I realized that if I didn’t carve out time for documenting my son’s first year it wouldn’t happen. So I started putting it on the calendar and I am so glad I did! Grayson’s first holiday photo shoot is one of my favorites that I have done with him this year, and I am so excited to share it here on the blog!

Of course it was going to be clean & simple with a very minimalistic look. I adore stripes, and the majority of my closet AND Grayson’s closet is stripes. So Jeff and I picked out this cute red and white striped pajama set for our little guy’s portraits, and I chose a few bottle brush trees for the decor. The gingerbread house was enough to add some color and make it all come together!

Confession: I had never made a gingerbread house before this one! I scoured Pinterest for ideas and found out that they can really get quite intricate. I stayed up late decorating this little house and listening to holiday music with a Christmas candle burning on the counter. It was one of my favorite nights so far this holiday season! Now I think that gingerbread houses are going to have to become a holiday tradition as our son grows and can start adding his own creative confections to the houses!

Grayson loved his little gingerbread house smash — even though there wasn’t much smashing that happened because that icing held everything together like cement! He also loved practicing his new favorite skill — blowing raspberries and making us laugh!

He’s my favorite little elf.

2018 Holiday Sessions

It’s my favorite time of year! The studio has been filled with twinkly lights, Christmas trees, and plaid accents for weeks now, and holiday music has been playing nonstop on the Alexa. Santa gets mentioned at least once every session, a couple of jingle bells have been my go-to trick to get little ones to look at the camera.

That can only mean one thing…

It’s time to share a peek into our 2018 HOLIDAY SESSIONS!

We did sessions in both the Saratoga Springs & Attleboro studios, and so many families joined us for lots of festive portraits. As the years go by I tend to favor simpler backdrops that keep the focus on the family with just a touch of festive cheer. This year we had a bit of a farmhouse touch to our holiday backdrops inspired by some Joanna Gaines decor — boxwood wreaths, plaid throws, a rustic hand painted sign, and a wooden ladder, yes please!

All of the families brought their A-game in CUTENESS! So many Christmas cuddles and lots of adorable smiles!

The More the Merrier! A Peek at our Holiday Sessions | Saratoga Springs and Boston Family Photographer

I love Christmas.  Every year I look forward to the holiday season because it is filled with twinkly lights, delicious aromas, cozy family traditions, and so much festivity everywhere you look. 

That's why our holiday sessions are always some of my favorite sessions of the year here at our studio.  So many families come and visit, and many are families that I have photographed for years, plus there are always a few new families that I'm excited to meet, too!  This year we did holiday portraits with families in Saratoga Springs and in Boston (at our Attleboro studio), and it was so much fun creating a little holiday magic with these babies and children!

Our set-ups were simple & classic this year:

A fluffy red and white bed that was adorable with Christmas pajamas.
And a huge wreath filled with twinkly lights for some family portraits.  

CUTENESS OVERLOAD with these adorable twins!!

We're planning limited edition holiday sessions!

These two gorgeous backdrops just arrived to the studio, and we can't wait to start using them for our holiday sessions!  We're excited to offer two weekends of holiday sessions, one for our New York families and one for our Massachusetts families!  These are the ONLY dates that we will be offering holiday sessions in the studio.

Attleboro, Massachusetts
Saturday, October 29
Sunday, October 30

Saratoga Springs, NY
Saturday, November 5
Sunday, November 6

Here's are sneak peeks of both sets that we'll be offering -- aren't they adorable?!?!

Full details and session reservation details
will be coming your way on
Monday, October 3!

Mark your calendar!

Making Spirits Bright | Our Studio Holiday Sessions

Fa la la la laaaaaa, la la la laaaaaa. As I type this post, my studio smells like a Christmas tree, tiny lights are twinkling behind me, a peppermint marshmallow candle glows on the table, and Ella Fitzgerald is singing Christmas carols on Pandora.   There are presents to be wrapped, cookies to be baked, and cards to be mailed.  And there's definitely a mug of hot chocolate waiting for me somewhere.  It's mid-December, and our holiday cheer is officially at 100%.

I love the holiday season.  Could you tell?  ;o)   The lights, the traditions, the scents, the cozy foods, the gatherings with friends & family.  There is nothing better than those first few weeks of December when the world is a truly magical place.  These are the weeks when everyone is talking about their elves, Santa, and flying reindeer.  The tree in your living room inspired breathtaking wonder, and the colorful lights in your neighborhood fill your evenings with cheer.  The magic of childhood is more tangible than ever.  That same magic that I adore capturing all throughout the year is on full display this month, and I feel so, so lucky to be able to preserve that for the families that I work with.

We hosted our first in-studio holiday sessions, and I had so much fun creating the perfect dreamy set up for our little ones.  We turned the studio into a winter wonderland, a soft cloud-like space where children sat beneath golden stars and told me all about their wishes for Santa and what their elves had been up to lately.  There were giggles, jingle bells, Christmas jammies, candy canes, and songs.

Our holiday sessions were short and sweet, and allowed just enough time for a simple rustic set up, too!  After all, I acquired a vintage sled from another photographer over the summer, and I couldn't let a holiday season pass without using it for some adorable photos!

Wishing you all a magical holiday season!  Take the time to slow down, create memories, and start a new tradition with your family.

Create magic, and inspire wonder.  After all, that's what childhood is all about!

Fall Photo Specials!!

How about some fall photographs? I know, I know -- it's the middle of summer!  The dog days of August are just beginning.  It's 100 degrees outside.  Your #1 mission is avoiding the back-to-school aisle at Target (trust me, I am too!).  You can't even imagine warm sweaters, crispy leaves, apple picking, and pumpkins when your days are filled with sprinklers, air conditioning, beach trips and kiddie pools.

I get it.

BUT......  I'm so excited to share this beautiful fall season with you.  There are so many gorgeous, colorful, sun-dappled and laughter-filled moments to be created and captured on camera.  Let's do it!

New season, new school year, new backpacks and books... why not some new photos on the walls, too?  Real photos of your kids laughing, smiling, playing together and showing the world their personalities.  You can't get those with a school picture against a tired blue backdrop.

And let's not forget about the family photos for the holiday cards.  I love lights, and when the last delicious rays of autumn sunshine go away, there is nothing more beautiful than those sparkling holiday lights.  Put them in a photograph?  Challenge accepted!

So as a natural light photographer, my autumn days fill right up squeezing in all of those beautiful sessions with the last rays of sunlight and color.  Last fall filled up quickly, and after having to turn a few clients away because of a busy calendar this spring, I want to give you all a heads up to start thinking about your sessions NOW so that we can plan them together and not miss out on capturing these precious fall days that will slip right by.

NOW ANNOUNCING.............  FALL SPECIALS!

Here are some ideas of how THESE sessions and packages can work for YOU:

Package One: This is great for senior photos to get that one shot for the yearbook and a few for your walls, or for your baby's developmental milestones (tummy time, sitting unassisted, walking, first teeth).  Capture them before they're on to their next milestone!

Package Two:  This package is great for the whole family if you want a few fresh updates to your walls and a few stunning images for your holiday cards.  This is also a great package for a maternity session if you'd like to incorporate a big brother/sister and your significant other, giving you a few photos to share and a few photos to hang.

Package Three: I offer stunning canvases that will draw everyone's attention straight to your walls to exclaim, "Wow, what a beautiful family!"  Save the artwork for yourself, or give it as a gift to the grandparents this winter.  Then you can use the print credit towards a few images to frame for your family.

Package Four: This is my favorite package, and it is a great bargain since many families often purchase the CD with all of their images from the session.  This is a great option for those that would like to make photo books with their images from our session together.  Plus it includes print credit, because after all, photographs are nothing if they're only on your computer and not in your hands or on your walls.

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Do you like what you see here?  Are you thinking about it now?  See, it's never too early to plan for your next portrait session.  Tell your friends, tell your family, and then email me at nicoleschwalmphotography@gmail.com to start planning your fall session today!

One more thing!  Let's put our minds together early and head to some great locations -- apple orchards, pumpkin patches, barns, open fields, a woodsy area, a nearby lake that will reflect the foliage, a garden center... the options truly are endless!

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***Please note that these specials are not valid for newborn photos (under 3 months) or event photography.  These are both unique situations and shoots that require a great deal of care and planning, and I like to give them all the attention that they deserve.

***Also, additional family members can be added on to the packages at $25 per person.