Celebrating baby sister’s arrival with family portraits - saratoga springs newborn photographer

Welcome to the world, Ava Margaret! This sweet baby girl’s arrival was much-anticipated! Her mama went two weeks past her due date, and everyone was so excited when Ava finally arrived. I couldn't wait to meet her at their studio newborn portraits in my Saratoga Springs studio. This family is absolutely the sweetest and I loved every moment working with them. 

Ava was welcomed to the world by her big siblings, Adam and Ellie. I loved watching her big brother and sister with her! They were so gentle and nurturing, and their interactions were adorable. Plus they loved being involved in the session and even wanted to pose for their own individual portraits, too! I call that a definite win in my book - both as a photographer and mom of two littles of my own. 

For Ava’s portraits, we chose a beautiful neutral palette featuring ivory, tan, and some peach accents for her solo portraits at the end of the session. Most of our session was spent capturing this sweet girl with her parents and big siblings, but I loved being able to slowly transition down to her portraits. We focused on simple setups, with some cozy knit blankets and some of my favorite props to show off Ava’s adorable little features. 

Congratulations to this beautiful family! I’m so happy that your newest member has arrived and is so loved!!  

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Neutral newborn portraits with soft gray accents for Baby Roland

I recently had the joy of capturing Baby Roland and his wonderful parents in my Saratoga Springs studio to celebrate his arrival! Roland was so adorable our entire session! He gave us lots of cute expressions when awake, and also so many sleepy snuggles. His parents decided on a neutral color palette - focusing on soft grey accents. Dad wore a light blue shirt and Mom’s cream dress was perfect to complement the pastel choices. They both looked amazing! The portraits of all three of them are honestly some of my favorites from the session. Holley and Michael are incredible and I know that Roland will love looking back on these moments in years to come. 

Holley and Michael came to me after Roland was born to book their portraits. While many families book their newborn session while they are in their second or third trimester, every now and then a family contacts me after their baby has already been born. They often find that they got caught up in all the preparations for baby’s arrival (car seats! onesies! diapers! swing! bassinet! alllllll the things!!), and then once the baby arrives the days pass by in a blur for the first couple of weeks. Often they look up from the chaos and realize how quickly their baby has grown and changed already in just a few short weeks, and that’s when they go, “Oh my goodness, we never booked a newborn session!” And so begins the hunt for a newborn photographer for their little one.

If that is you, don’t worry! We’re sometimes able to fit in last minute newborn bookings because of openings in our schedule, and we’re always able to capture stunning portraits of your brand new baby no matter how many weeks old they are. As you can see from Roland’s portraits, anything is possible - and in the end, you’ll have stunning portraits to remember how tiny your little baby once was! 

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Newborn portraits for Julian’s Baby Sister

Welcome to the world, Baby Lucy! I photographed Lindsay’s maternity portraits earlier this year and now her little girl has arrived! She and the family came to my Saratoga Springs studio for newborn portraits and I was so happy to get to meet Lucy! She’s absolutely precious. 

During Lucy’s newborn session, I had some flashbacks to capturing her big brother’s newborn portraits 2 years ago. It was fun to have them all back in the studio for new portraits. During his mom’s maternity session, Julian was a bit hesitant about being on camera. We managed to get some smiles. But, the studio is stocked with lots of toys and snacks (turns out he loves Goldfish!), so we had a good time for his sister’s newborn session. He was amazing - and even came to check on his baby sister while she was swaddled up for her portraits. It was adorable! 

I absolutely love the color palette that Lindsay chose for Lucy’s portraits. We focused on beautiful neutrals and introduced some soft pinks to round out the color palette. Her mom wore a beautiful pink gown from the studio and I loved how the texture photographed. Lucy wore some sweet floral headbands, too. She looked so perfect throughout the whole session!! 

Thank you to this sweet family for allowing me to capture another newborn session. I’m so happy to meet Lucy and thrilled we got to work together to document your growing family again! 

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Classic newborn & family portraits in our saratoga springs portrait studio

Welcome to the neighborhood, Kiran! Another beautiful baby was born in our neighborhood this year. We’re now up to SIX babies born within the neighborhood in the last year. I love that these little ones are going to grow up together. This newborn session was also special to me because I photographed Kiran’s big brother’s newborn portraits in 2019, too.

I loved seeing Ravi as a big brother. He was soooo excited and 100% into cuddling up with Kiran and taking pictures of the two of them together. We got the cutest sibling portraits! Amy and Raj also loved watching their boys together. I had a wonderful time catching up and hearing how the adjustment from three to four has been going for this sweet family.

For Kiran’s newborn portraits, we chose a classic setup and color palette featuring white and ivory setups and blue accents. Kiran looked so sweet nestled into all of the blankets and wraps during our portraits. He’s so precious and I adored the chance to meet him in my studio! Congratulations to this sweet family. I can’t wait to watch Kiran (and Ravi!) grow up!

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Baby Girl Newborn Portraits with Pops of Color

I had the best time welcoming Baby Katelynn Carol to the studio for her newborn portraits! She brought along her parents and big brother, Cameron, to help welcome her to the world. Katelynn Carol was already 2 weeks old when she came to the studio - which is totally fine! I love photographing older newborns. There’s something special about their sweet little hands and feet, even as they start to fill up and curl up a little bit less.

Her big brother did such an amazing job in the studio and was so happy to be in front of the camera! He also loved playing with my toy wooden camera and pretending to take pictures of his family with it, and he had the biggest smile any time I turned my camera towards him to take his picture. I loved photographing him with Katelynn Carol, especially with one of my favorite props: the Moses basket!

We picked some beautiful pastel setups for this sweet girl to end the session. She looked so sweet in the different setups and some of my favorite headbands! I’m so thankful this wonderful family chose me to capture Katelynn Carol’s first days!

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5 Props I Use in Every Newborn Session

As a studio newborn photographer, my style is all about minimalistic setups and focusing on your baby! Your baby is perfect just as they are, and I don't want to distract from that in your portraits.  I use neutral colors and natural textures to create a clean, timeless, organic look in your baby's first portraits. To create these natrual setups, I do use a few props. Today, I’m sharing 5 props I use in (almost) every newborn session. Many of these props blend right in and you don't notice them at first glance (like the wooden crate and the bowl) because your eye is drawn right to the newborn baby.

Swaddle.  

This is a must-have for every newborn photographer, and the first thing you learn when posing newborns is how to wrap the baby snugly so that their arms and legs don't wiggle out of the wrap.  The swaddle keeps them calm and happy, and it helps them feel secure.  This plus heat and white noise or a shusher app all come together to lull the baby to sleep and make it easy to pose the little one.  I like to use what I call "baby spanx" underneath the swaddle to keep baby extra snug, plus it makes it easy for me to change out the top layer for a new look while baby stays calm and happy while all tucked in.

White crate.

I start all my individual portraits with this one prop!  I like to layer it with whites and creams for neutral portraits, and then as the session goes on, I will add in colors through additional wraps, bump blankets, and layers.  I typically begin with the baby fully swaddled, and then I bring out their arms and flip them to their bellies once they're settled into a deep sleep.

Wooden bowl.

From there we move to the wooden bowl!  I love the round shape of it for overhead shots, and these always look so beautiful printed on our round wooden wall art pieces.  I also like surrounding the bowl with greenery or florals to accentuate the shape, plus it works well for posing babies on their bellies and capturing the head-on-hands pose.  

Bed or cradle.

I love these wooden props for sleepy poses!  We make sure to capture a few overhead shots, full body, and close-up.  Plus, I always enjoy backlit a profile view of the baby, too!

White or cream blanket.

I have so many different white blankets with different textures, and I love using them in a variety of ways in my portraits.   Sometimes I use it on the posing bed for traditional posing.  Sometimes I layer it spilling out of the wooden crate.  Other times I will use it as a soft texture underneath the bowl or bed to add a little more dimension to photographs.    

I’m always of the mindset that less is more when it comes to newborn portraits. I hope that these five props show you that you can truly create beautiful (and long-lasting) portraits for your baby without a lot of involved setups.

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Baby Starr | Adelaide's Newborn Portraits

Adelaide Olivia

June 17, 2022

We welcomed our daughter in the middle of June, and somehow an entire month has already gone by! I don't remember time going this quickly when our son was born, but the weeks have all blended into one another and time is disappearing faster than we can keep track of it. I swear I barely blink and another week has passed in a blur of feedings, naps, and doctors appointments!

Sweet little Adelaide Olivia was born on June 17, 2022. She is our rainbow baby, and we waited a very long time for this beautiful baby to join our family. She's finally her, and we are over the moon.

Adelaide is perfect in every way, and we are so in love already. Grayson is the proudest big brother, and he lights up every time he's in the room with her and wants to be involved in everything that has to do with his sister. His grandma keeps saying that "he was born to be a big brother," and it's true that he is really doing an amazing job in his new role already. We love watching him in this transition, and it's so sweet to see how he interacts with his baby sister.

She spent the first couple of weeks sound asleep, and we couldn't wake her up for anything! She was literally the sleepiest baby I had ever encountered in my 10 years of posing newborns. But that meant that I got to enjoy multiple mini portrait sessions in the studio to capture a few setups each day. This was such a stark contrast to Grayson's newborn portraits, where he wouldn't settle into a deep sleep because he knew mama was close by, and every click of the shutter startled him wide awake. Baby girl knew what to do, and she snoozed and posed and smiled! I had so much fun capturing these first portraits of her, and now I'm excited to choose which ones to print and frame in our home, and many more to put into an album for our growing album collection!

For Adelaide's session I enjoyed lots of neutrals, and you all know I'm a fan of classic baby portraits on white backdrops and layers. I pulled out all of my favorite headbands and floral crowns from Polka Dot Poppy, and I added a few new ones with baby's breath as a nod to the baby's breath I wore in my hair at our wedding, and that my mother wore in her hair at her wedding in the 80s!

And of course, I couldn't resist using the same tiny camera prop that I used 4 years ago in Grayson's newborn portraits. Every photographer has got to capture her baby's portrait holding a newborn sized camera, right?!

I have so much more inspiration for Adelaide's portraits this year, and I'm excited to share more with you as she grows!

Thanks for celebrating our sweet girl's arrival with us!

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Studio Newborn Portraits for Baby Mihira

Meet Baby Mihira! This sweet little girl and her family came to my studio recently for her newborn session. Mihira was 3.5 weeks when she came for her portraits, so she was more awake than many of my newborns. Because of that, we got some truly gorgeous eye contact that comes from her being a little bit older – it was perfect!! 

When we began planning Mihira’s portraits, we discussed a simple color palette that focused on neutrals and a lot of ivory. This meant that we could bring in pops of colors through our props, like peach peonies and a beautiful purple wrap. I love being able to take a simple setup and add a bit of variety with simple wraps, props, or other pops of color because we kept everything else straightforward. Mihira looked so sweet in each setup, too! 

One of the most special parts about Mihira’s portraits is that her extended family came for portraits, too. I was able to capture her with her parents, cousin, and grandparents. I absolutely love when families come for newborn portraits – what a great reason to get the family together and update your portraits all at once! Enjoy a peek into sweet Mihira’s newborn portraits – she’s seriously perfect!! 

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Newborn Portraits with Teenage Siblings

Meet Baby Finnley and his big siblings Austin and Addie! I was so happy when Finn, Addie, and Austin’s parents reached out about scheduling a newborn session to capture their new arrival to the family. As they began to tell me about their family, I knew this was going to be a very special newborn session for all of us. Finn is lucky to be welcomed to the world by his incredible parents and his big twin siblings, who are just so in love with him. He’s one loved little boy, that’s for sure!

Posing Teenage Siblings with Newborn Babies

Photographing a newborn session with teenage siblings is unique, too. It was a lot of fun to work with Addie and Austin as we welcomed their brother to the world. These two are so sweet and it’s clear they love each other and their family very much!

While working with teenagers during a newborn session is much like working with an adult or a parent, there’s definitely a few differences. One thing I love is that we can do more of the poses I typically reserve for parents with a few adjustments. Not all big siblings are as comfortable holding or moving a baby as their parents are, so it’s easy to change things up so they’re comfortable. I always have my sessions follow the flow needed for the family - and tend to start with full family portraits so that the teens have a bit more time to warm up and be ready to hold the baby, though Austin and Addie didn’t seem to need that!

Once the teens are more comfortable and ready to hold their new sibling, we’ll get started with some of my favorite poses. I always check in with the kids to make sure they’re still comfortable holding the baby or moving them around. Sometimes, I’ll be more hands on if needed, but usually by just adjusting the poses to be seated, the teenagers often find much more confidence holding their new siblings! Having them seated just allows everyone to feel more confident and sure about holding the baby! The baby's safety is always the top priority in any newborn session, no matter who is holding them.

With some patience and guidance, we’ll easily capture some incredible memories for you and your family - including your teenage children holding their new sibling! Thank you to this sweet family for trusting me with this special memory!!

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Newborn and Family Portraits for Baby Everett

The spring saw a baby boom here at the studio and I thoroughly enjoyed cuddling all of the sweet newborns that came to see me for their first portrait session.

Everett was one of the little cuties that came to the studio for his newborn portrait session, and we had such a great time with this sweet boy and couldn’t stop exclaiming over how adorably perfect he was. This sleepy baby boy was a dream to photograph, and we captured one pose after another with his mamas. I loved meeting this family and documenting this special time for them as they celebrated their son’s arrival, and I know they’re going to treasure their portraits (and the beautiful heirloom album we made with them!) for a long, long time.

Wondering what to expect during your newborn session? Check out the blog post below!

This close-up of baby sleeping in a parent’s hands is always one of my favorite poses during a newborn session! I love how small they look all curled up against their parent’s hands, and it’s always so sweet with their sleepy little smiles and their head resting on their arms like this!

Do you have a sentimental item you would like to incorporate into your newborn portraits? Bring it with you! We’ve had a lot of families incorporate jewelry lately (necklaces, bracelets), and this thumbprint necklace honoring the baby’s grandfather was an extra special touch.

Right after we got Everett changed and dressed to go home, he started showing off those stunning blue eyes. Of course we couldn’t resist a few more portraits, and his blue sleeper matched his eyes perfectly!

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Grayson Noah's newborn portraits with Big Brothers

This sweet baby boy is a NICU warrior. And so are his parents! His family waited a long time to bring him home, and when they finally did they celebrated with a portrait session to document his first days with his family & big brothers. We captured the sweetest family portraits of the five of them together at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio, plus plenty of baby Grayson all by himself. They did such a wonderful job coordinating outfits for everyone and I love how the neutral colors keep the focus on the family and the emotions. Don’t they look wonderful all cuddled up with their new baby boy?!

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Adorable newborn portraits with dainty flower headbands

Adorable Baby Melina joined me at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio for her newborn session, and I absolutely loved capturing these moments of this beautiful baby girl’s first days with her family. She had a head full of dark hair that looked so beautiful against all of the soft colors and dainty headbands in the studio and we had so much fun pulling together the blush pinks, creams, and neutrals for her first portraits.

Melina slept like a dream and was so easy to pose into those adorable, squishy baby poses. Her mama chose a mauve lace gown from the studio’s Mama Wardrobe, which is our closet filled with dresses for mothers to borrow during their sessions. It looked amazing on her!

Big brother Vincent was so excited to welcome his new baby sister into the family, and we captured his excitement through great big smiles and giggles and lots of snuggly cuddles with his new sister.

I love it when parents choose this lace bonnet from our shelf for their newborn girl! Doesn’t Melina look so sweet in this?!

Her mama brought her favorite baby swaddle (above) and we incorporated it as a peachy layer in one of her portraits. The theme of her baby shower was mermaids and she received a little mermaid tail as a gift, which we were able to use in two portraits of Melina as well!

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Sweet and simple portraits for a newborn baby boy

Oh my goodness. I loved Baby Ollie’s newborn portrait session so much! This little guy was the absolute sweetest, and he had a head full of hair that just popped against all of the neutral layers and wraps. His skin was so creamy and he was a dream to photograph. I used a new waffle-knit wrap and posing blanket for this baby boy, and I love how beautifully the texture photographs and that special little touch that it adds to his portraits. Scroll down for some of my favorites!

Those wide-eyed newborn shots are always a favorite for the parents! Ollie was so calm and cozy while awake, and we even captured a few portraits with his mama’s stethoscope as a nod to her profession — she’s a surgeon in NYC!

His mama had seen a recent cake smash of mine with mint & navy balloons, and she loved the look and wanted to incorporate those colors into her son’s portraits, too. I love the variety here!

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Giuliana's Studio Newborn Portraits

Seriously now. This is quite possibly the CUTEST newborn photo I have ever taken:

Giuliana was a little sweetheart, and I loved capturing all of her different expressions during her newborn portrait session in my Saratoga Springs portrait studio. She was wide awake and happy for the first half of her session, and then she fell into a deep sleep and she curled right up into all of the little poses and wraps. I absolutely adore the portraits that we captured, and I’m excited to share them with you, too!

Her parents brought this little swaddle blanket from Caden Lane, and it was perfect as a blanket backdrop to show her name! I love when families bring beautiful swaddles from home to incorporate into their session. It always makes for extra personal portraits!

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Best of 2020 Newborn Sessions - Saratoga Springs Newborn Portrait Photographer

Wrapping up our Best of 2020 posts, I’m excited to share a peek at some of my favorite newborn portraits from last year! I was lucky enough to photograph so many sweet little babies, and I loved celebrating each one’s arrival with their family. Of course, the best part was the sweet little cuddles! More than 8 years into running this business, and I can still hardly believe that this is my job!

2020 was a little different because we were closed for three months in the spring at the start of the pandemic, but that gave me the opportunity to welcome so many older babies into the studio for their older newborn portraits in the summer! I loved working with these older babies. Their eye contact was amazing, they gave the sweetest smiles, they interacted with their parents, and they had gained a few pounds so those cheeks were beyond adorable! I fell in love with older newborn sessions, and I will definitely continue offering them for babies of all ages!

Loving the colors & the outfits in this blog post??? Me, too! Check out our wardrobe inspiration for newborn sessions here!

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Studio Newborn Portraits for Baby Boy and Big Brother

Can we talk about how awesome this big brother was?!?!

Luciano absolutely blew me away with how wonderful he was during his baby brother’s newborn session. Usually I expect toddlers to act like toddlers, which means I am always prepared for some hesitating, negotiating, games, bribes, possibly a couple of tears, lots of laughs, a few snack breaks, and more during newborn sessions with a new big brother or sister.

But Luciano? I couldn’t stop exclaiming to his mama how wonderful he was with his little baby brother, how patient he was for photos, and how cooperative he was the entire time!

So for all of the other mamas out there, let me repeat: I never expect perfect behavior and I never expect little angels during your portrait sessions. We capture them just as they are, but Luciano just so happened to be on his best behavior that day and it was a very pleasant surprise! We captured so many beautiful family portraits, and I love all of these!

Here he is shushing his baby brother with his mama!

Baby Antonio was so sweet and cuddly, and we captured so many adorable portraits of this sweet baby boy. I love the mix of neutrals and blues that we used in his portraits, and they will coordinate perfectly with their decor at home!

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Classic Newborn Portraits with Family Heirloom Knits

Ten little fingers and ten little toes. The most adorable little baby girl came to the studio, and we captured so many adorable portraits of her!

Wynn was wide awake when we started her session, and I loved capturing her curious eyes and wide-eyed stare in portraits. However, all newborns fall asleep eventually and Wynn did, too! We were able to capture some really adorable sleepy portraits of this sweet girl, and I love how beautifully they turned out with all of the neutral layers and headbands!

This one is my favorite. The bonnet and beige blanket were handmade family heirlooms passed down for generations. It was so special getting to incorporate them into her photographs! I love it when families bring sentimental items like these ones!

Of course, we couldn’t pass up the chance to do some pumpkin portraits for this fall baby! Blush pink and cream kept it fresh and girly.

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Henry's Newborn Portraits with Adorable Big Sister

I always love capturing family portraits during our studio newborn sessions. I love seeing how tiny the baby is in his parents’ arms, and the happy cuddles as everyone cozies up with the new baby. It’s always exciting when there is a big brother or sister and we can capture those adorable interactions, too!

Choosing what to wear is so important for studio newborn sessions. Neutral colors help the baby be the star of the show, and they are also classic so that they look amazing on your walls for years to come! More outfit tips here on the blog.

Henry’s newborn session at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio was absolutely perfect. We captured the cutest family photos and plenty of individual portraits of their baby boy, too. Just a few years ago we were photographing Emma’s newborn session, and now here she is with a baby brother!

Want to know what my favorite part about this session was? Big sister Emma.

She was sooooo excited to be in photos with her baby brother, and even more excited when I placed him into her arms (for the very first time ever!). The joy on her face was unforgettable, and she kept giggling and looking to mom and dad with the proudest smile. It was so sweet!

Her first time holding her brother! Just look at that huge smile!

This pose of baby in dad’s hands is always a parent favorite!!

Sleepy little yawns are always fun to capture on camera! Especially in tiny striped outfits like this one!

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