Nicole's Maternity Leave

Can you believe it's June already?!?!

Our sweet little baby girl is almost here, and Jeff, Grayson, and I are so excited to meet our newest family member that we’ve been dreaming about and planning for during these past nearly-40 weeks!  The nursery is just about ready, our hospital bags are packed, and we are counting down the days and just waiting to welcome our new baby into the world in the next few weeks.

Of course, I’ve been busy behind the scenes to start preparing for maternity leave!  For a business owner, taking a break is a pretty big deal.  Luckily I learned a lot before & during my 2018 maternity leave when Grayson was born, and getting ready for time away from the business for baby #2 is a whole lot easier.

So, let’s get into the details!

When is it happening?  

It’s been a busy spring as I’ve been fitting everything in before the baby arrives. I have finished my last sessions, and I’m currently wrapping up client appointments and orders now so that everything is all set before our baby arrives. With Grayson, I was induced 3 weeks early and it was quite a surprise as first-time parents, so this time I’m making sure to leave even more time as a buffer before our little one’s due date just in case an early delivery happens again.

I will be on maternity leave for June, July, and August. My email auto-responder will be on for the whole summer as we spend time bonding as a family of four.

How do I reach you?

Email is best!  I imagine that the first few weeks I won’t be logging in much, but eventually I will be checking in every couple of days to stay on top of my inbox and get back to any urgent messages and new inquiries for fall portrait sessions.  

When you send me an email, you’ll receive an auto reply with more information about timelines and maternity leave, and I want you to know that I truly appreciate your patience as we spend time putting our family first. I will definitely get back to your message to help you plan your session, just know that it will take a little longer than usual while I’m juggling a baby and a preschooler at home.
 

When are you taking sessions again?

The fall calendar is filling up!  I am currently booking sessions for September 2022 through next winter. If you’re hoping for outdoor family portraits this fall, be sure to reach out early to get that on the calendar because dates are extremely limited. I also have studio availability this fall, so plan ahead for your cake smash, newborn portraits, maternity, or milestone session.

Wait a minute… why do I see new posts on social media? 

There are so many amazing tools out there for business owners to plan ahead and automate their businesses, so although I might be rocking our baby to sleep, my blog & social media accounts will still be churning out new content! 

With the help of my incredible virtual assistant, I’ve been prepping plenty of sessions, new blog posts, educational posts, and so much more to stay fresh online even while I’m on maternity leave. 

The best part?  I imagine I’ll be taking LOTS of photos of our two little ones, and I can’t wait to start sharing those with you, too!  Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all of the baby cuteness!

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So, that's the plan!  I can't wait to get back into our sessions this fall and to celebrate all of your babies' milestones with your family.  I am so excited for September already -- we have a bunch of birthday babies on the calendar for their cake smashes, and it's going to be such a fun month with all of those birthday sessions to look forward to!

Plus, it’ll be November before we know it, and that means holiday portraits are right around the corner! Be on the lookout for our holiday event announcement coming this summer!

And they're off! A Saratoga Springs Race Track Themed Cake Smash

You want to know the funny thing about our first year with our son? Most of the baby friends we’ve made were all born right around the same time as him. We have had playdates where literally all of the babies were born within days of each other, and some of us were even down the hall from each other at the hospital! It’s funny how it works out like that, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s been amazing being able to connect with other parents whose babies are going through the exact same stage that our son is in, and it’s truly been one of the best parts of this first year — you know, in addition to the thousands of incredible moments and laughs that Grayson has brought to us, of course!

So we decided to get a bunch of the babies together for one big cake smash!

Because we live in Saratoga Springs, New York, I’ve been eager to design a backdrop to go with the Saratoga Race Track that is so popular every summer when the town is flooded with people that visit just for the horse races. All of these birthday babies live right here in town, so of course we did a Saratoga Springs race track theme for their joint cake smash!

We dressed them up in the most dapper outfits with little bowties and hats on the boys, and ruffles on the girls. How sweet are they?!?!

Meet Grayson, John, Charlotte, and Corinne. Birthday buddies in Saratoga Springs.

We put four babies in front of four cakes, and it was hilarious watching them attack their cakes (or their neighbor’s cake!).

Corinne was truly the master smasher, and she demolished her cake! This sweet girl was all over the place, up and down and crawling on and off the set. She was absolutely amazing and we had so much fun and so many laughs watching how excited she was!

Haha! I just love how Charlotte is going in to swipe Grayson’s cake topper here!

John was a little hesitant to dig right in, but he made the most amazing expressions and he was very careful not to get too messy. I love how he crosses his little legs and tastes his cake with just one finger of frosting at a time!

Grayson wasn’t really into his cake. He was more interested in his cake stand or in his friends’ cakes! Either way, he was a happy boy surrounded by cake and babies! (Ha, that’s basically how I would describe myself! He is definitely my son!)

Charlotte was very dainty and methodical with her cake. She stayed put and focused on just her cake (but sometimes her neighbor’s, too!). She loved just reaching in for one tiny little bite of frosting at a time, and was happy as can be!

These four were an absolute blast! I loved this session, and I can’t wait to watch them all together as toddlers this year!

Behind the Lens: A Photography FAQ with Nicole Starr Photography!

Hey, photographer friends!

I’ve compiled a list of some of the questions that I get asked most often by other peers in the industry, and I wanted to share them on the blog today!  Enjoy a peek into some of my favorite things!

What’s in your camera bag?

I shoot with a Nikon D750.  I’m a huge fan of prime lenses, and over the years I’ve sold off all of my zoom lenses because I just didn’t use them often enough.  My favorite lens for outdoor sessions is the 85mm 1.4, and for my indoor sessions I often use the Sigma Art 35mm.  The 35mm comes with me to all of my Fresh 48 and lifestyle sessions, too!

A few unexpected items in my camera bag are a little rattle to catch babies’ attention, a stash of Smarties candies for a quick little bribe, and I can usually find slips of paper with everyone’s names written on them from past sessions so that I don’t forget anyone’s name!

My camera bag is a Kelly Moore bag that I've had for YEARS!  It's beautiful, durable, and it fits everything that I need.  Usually it carries 2 bodies, 2-3 lenses, and a few other odds and ends.

What studio lighting do you use?

I started using studio lighting two years ago, and it was a total game changer in my studio.  I use an AB400 with a PLM, and I sync it up with Cyber Sync triggers.  I highly recommend the studio lighting course, “Illuminate” by The Milky Way for anyone who is just getting started with studio lighting.

How do you get babies to look at the camera?  

Seriously, guys, I finish my sessions completely winded and exhausted after working so hard to get the babies to look my way!  I have a little rattle that I love using, and I also use a couple of squeak toys to get little ones looking my way.  If they’re on the floor, I’ll get down to their level and tickle their toes and chin, leaning back to catch their reaction on camera.  If mom and dad are in the room, I ask them to stand right over my shoulder to be sure the baby is looking towards me and not away from me.  Sometimes I have to resort to holding mom or dad’s phone above my lens with their favorite song playing on Youtube.  I avoid giving the phone to little ones at all cost because let’s face it — you’ll never get it out of their hands, and you don’t want to edit it out of every single image!

What are your favorite props?

I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to props (which is rare for a baby photographer, I know!).  I recently shared this blog post that lists the props I consider most essential in my studio.  I hope you find it helpful!  Just remember that these babies are so perfect just the way they are, and they don’t need to be surrounded by clutter that overwhelms the photo and takes away from the real focus of the portrait — them!

What are your favorite places to shop for DIY backdrop materials?

For my newborn sessions, I love buying jersey knit fabric by the yard at the fabric store.  Get something with a good amount of stretch, and buy at least 2 yards for the beanbag.  If you’re making your own wraps, you can do a 1/4 yard in a pretty fabric with good stretch.

I get all of my seamless paper through Amazon because of their Prime shipping.  Savage Seamless is truly the best.

For cake smash decor, become very familiar with the scrapbook paper aisle at the craft store.  I have bought nearly every color to create bunting, banners, hanging garlands, and elaborate backdrops for our birthday sessions.  Invest in one of those 12x12 plastic cases to store the extra paper in, and after each session you can fold the garlands up and store them in clear plastic bags for easy access next time.  The more you can reuse, the more profitable your sessions become, plus the less time you’ll have to spend making new decor each time!

How do you edit your images?

I spend most of my time in Lightroom doing adjustments to the images. I started out with LR years ago, and it's just the software that I'm most comfortable with and that works for me!  I've created a few presets that I use on nearly every image, and batch editing helps to speed up the process. 

In every session there are a few images that need to be taken into Photoshop for cloning, backdrop extension, headswaps, liquifying, or general cleaning up.  I do light retouching in Photoshop on these images, and then bring them back into LR to save them.  I find that I mostly use Photoshop for graphic design purposes, and I love it for that!  

Celebrating Motherhood Sessions with Boston & Saratoga Springs Portrait Photographer

It's hard to believe that we just wrapped up our THIRD year of Celebrating Motherhood sessions!  This was the first year I brought the sessions to Saratoga Springs, and my third year capturing these special moments for our Boston-area mamas.  (Check out the 2015 and 2016 sessions here!)

This year's event was extra special.  In Boston we enjoyed hair & makeup by Tiffany Cantin, HMUA of Six Bay Road Salon.  In Saratoga, Breeanna Nicholas Artistry and Laura Graver pampered our moms with hair & makeup.  

Sweet Ivie was one of our sponsors, providing lots of lovely headbands for the little girls to enjoy, while Simply Made created beautiful bandana bibs and bowties for the baby boys.  And special thanks to Crown City Bread Company for the sweet treats, and Butterfly Baby for goodies in the swag bags for the moms.  And of course, our beautiful and whimsical wardrobe was supplied by Rainey's Closet!

Now, let's get to the fun part!

Ohhhh, these moms & their babies were just the sweetest!  I always love capturing these sweet little moments between them, slowing it all down to celebrate the beauty of motherhood and of this sweet but fleeting stage of having little ones at home.  Pampering the moms with hair & makeup always makes them feel extra glamorous, and these moms were such naturals in front of the camera!  They showered their little ones in cuddles and kisses, and we captured so many beautiful moments for them to enjoy!

Waiting for baby is always such a special time filled with anticipation & love.  Laura joined us with her son, who is about to be a big brother!  He leaned in close to listen to his baby sister, and he was just the sweetest!  Plus, seriously now... how amazing does Laura look?!?!  She has such a beautiful glow about her!

Funny story behind this image below...  So often little kids lean in for a quick peck on the cheek, and they pull back before I can click the shutter.  Laura told her son to "pretend you're a zombie sucking brains out" to get him to slow down for a kiss.  I doubled over laughing, so surprised at this description.  But it worked!  

Sofia was an only child last year when she came with her mama to our motherhood sessions, and her mom was waiting on Baby #2's arrival.  This year I was so lucky to get to meet her little baby sister, Catania.  Their grandfather was there for moral support, and he truly saved the day by capturing the girls' full attention and getting them to smile for us.  They lit up the moment he walked in the room, and it's clear to see that he shares a very special bond with his granddaughters.

And the twins!  Bella and Finley have been coming to me since their newborn portraits, and I was so happy to see these girls at our Motherhood event this year.  Their mama appeared so calm & relaxed, which is definitely a feat for a mama of two little ones under two!  The girls looked like princesses in our dresses from Rainey's Closet, and we had so much fun capturing the sweetest cuddles of them with their beautiful mama.  

The last time I saw Michael and his mama, he was a tiny six-pound newborn baby!  Now he has such a big personality, filled with smiles and ready to give hugs to everyone in the room.  We had so much fun in their three-generation session, and his mother and grandmother were such a joy to capture together for their portraits!

This was Elyse's first year at our motherhood event with her son, after meeting at my DSLR workshop a few years ago.  Her little boy loved being the center of attention, and jumping on the bed was definitely his favorite part!  He curled right up into his mama's arms, enjoying lots of cuddles.  He won't always be this small, and he won't always come looking for hugs and kisses, which is why it's so important to enjoy every single one now while you can!

Heather came to our event for a three-generation session with her two little ones and her mother, and I loved capturing some sweet moments of all of them together!  Plus, their outfits were beautifully coordinated with the pops of pink and teal that went so well with her maxi dress.  Looking for more tips on how to select outfits for everyone in your family?  Check out this helpful blog post on wardrobe ideas for your session this spring!

2015 Year in Review Video by Nicole Starr Photography

2015 has truly been an incredible year, and I want to thank all of you for sharing so many magical moments with me!  

Enjoy this beautiful little video of some of our favorite images from the year.  I look forward to another beautiful year of storytelling in 2016!

To every family that asked me to tell their story: thank you.
To every mom who let me cuddle her newborn baby: thank you.
To every dad that wanted to surprise his wife with a keepsake gift: thank you.
To every creative entrepreneur that connected, laughed, shared, asked, taught, and learned with me this year: thank you.

And to every single person that connected with the stories in my photographs, commented on my images, shared their own stories with me, and let these beautiful families into their hearts through the images that I shared with you: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.