My favorite time of year for outdoor portraits is coming!

In Saratoga Springs, New York we begin shooting portrait sessions outdoors again at the beginning of May, and it is my absolute favorite time of year for portraits! Everything is starting to bloom, the colors are soft and beautiful, the trees are fluffy, and it’s not too hot out yet (so no one is sweating or red-faced in their portraits!). Plus, we can finally break out the gorgeous summer dresses and the cute little rompers and shorts for the kiddos. It is literally a dream and the spring provides the perfect backdrop for portraits - milestones and family sessions alike. 

I love this season for family portraits so much that I have already scheduled my own family’s portrait session for May! I can’t wait to capture some sweet portraits of the four of us just as the seasons are beginning to change. To be honest, I will always, always opt for spring and summer portraits over fall portraits for my own family because the colors are so much softer and they are more year-round for displaying in my home. 

Our home is filled with neutrals and blue accents, and the red and orange leaves of fall just don’t look quite right on our walls. But the muted greens, soft pinks, and whites of spring fit right in (and then of course the blues of the ocean during our time on Cape Cod every summer are perfect for our decor, too!). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with fall colors and for many families, the palette works better for their home and life! But if you’re someone who loves neutrals and pastels, springtime portraits are going to look beautiful in your home! 

If you’re like me and lean towards spring colors for your portrait session, reach out today! I have limited available dates in May and June, when the colors are soft and the weather is warm. I can’t wait to see some of my favorite faces and many new families this spring - I hope you’ll be among them.

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A Tour of Our Brand New Portrait Studio in Saratoga Springs

Ahhhhh, I am so excited to share this with all of you! Welcome to my new baby portrait studio in Saratoga Springs!

I have had a home studio since 2015 when we lived in a tiny little apartment in Boston. That was the year I decided to leave my full-time teaching job to focus solely on my business. Back then we turned our living room into a full-time studio and I crammed way too many props into that itty bitty space. I look back at photos of that first studio now and think, “Really?!?! How did we do that?!”

But the space didn’t matter and my clients were happy, which is all that really mattered!

Then we moved to Saratoga Springs in 2016 and I had a larger, separate studio space in our basement. It worked great for what I needed, but it still had its limitations and things that wish I could change in an ideal world. However, moving a fireplace and getting rid of necessary doorways wasn’t in the cards for our starter home, so I made it work the very best I could and it was a wonderful space where I welcomed so many babies and families over those 4 years!

Then in October 2020 we moved into our dream home in Saratoga Springs, and that home has my DREAM STUDIO SPACE!!! When we first toured the house I realized that the huge basement had so many possibilities for a portrait studio in terms of layout, shooting space, and prop storage. There is a lot more wall space, which is perfect for backdrops and displaying samples, plus the drop ceilings are my favorite way to hang props and garlands for a 3D effect in our cake smash setups.

Everything about the space is truly a dream come true.

When we moved in we had to give the entire space a facelift. It had green walls and red vinyl flooring, which we tore out the very first night we bought the house. We spent 1.5 weeks painting and installing new flooring, and setting everything up just so before my holiday sessions in early November. It was crazy how quickly we were able to get it done, and the transformation in such a short period of time was truly mind-blowing!

Now a few months later I have put the finishing touches on most of the studio space. There are a few more changes and additions I will be doing this winter, but when I look at the studio now I still can’t believe it’s mine. All of these years of hard work, all of these years of pinning studio inspiration photos and saving beautiful studio posts on Facebook, and I have pulled it all together and brought it to life in my very own home. I am truly grateful and still in disbelief that it’s mine!

Without further adieu, welcome to the new home of Nicole Starr Photography, my boutique portrait studio in Saratoga Springs, New York!

The studio is filled with wraps, handmade outfits, and tiny headbands and hats for your newborn session. This is the posing bed where we photograph your newborn baby, and when you arrive at the studio you are able to choose your favorite layers, wraps, and headbands for your little one’s portraits.

All of my props are natural textures and colors, and I favor wood, whitewashed wood, natural fibers, and woven baskets for truly classic and clean portraits. Learn more about why I love neutrals for baby portraits here!

I have also amassed quite the studio wardrobe filled with adorable little outfits for babies and toddlers, and stunning dresses for mamas!

And yes, I have more cake stands than most professional bakers! Perfect for our cake smash sessions!

My ultimate goal is to make the studio a welcoming place for every family that walks through the door. That is why we have a comfy couch to relax on. A changing pad to make diaper changes a little easier for you. An allergy-friendly and kid-friendly snack cart. Coffee and tea. A toy corner to entertain toddler siblings during newborn sessions. I want you to be able to sit back, relax, and let me take care of you so you do not have to worry about a thing while you are in the studio. Just enjoy the experience!

This is the “white room,” my main shooting area. We do most family portraits here, as well as baby portraits!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into our studio, and I hope you’ll visit in person sometime soon! Be sure to reach out to plan your session a few months in advance since the calendar does fill up quickly!

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A Fine Art Album for Newborn Quinn Madlina | Saratoga Springs NY Newborn Photographer

Imagine curling up on the couch with your little one, pulling out their favorite book, and telling them the story of when they came into your family. 

Imagine their tiny little fingers turning the pages and pointing out "mama," "dada", and "baby", hovering over a sleeping newborn photo of your tiny little baby all wrapped up and cozy.  

Imagine passing this album down to them 30 years from now when they have children of their own, showing them just how small and how loved they were, and giving them a glimpse into your life as a new parent as they are about to embark on their own journey into parenthood.

That's why we create our Fine Art Albums.  That's why they are my FAVORITE heirloom product for families to enjoy from our sessions.  That's why I have a growing collection of them in my own home -- they are gorgeous keepsakes that will quickly become your most treasured posessions, telling your family's beautiful story through images.

The very first time I spoke on the phone with Quinn's mother, she told me right away, "We're album people.  We're definitely going to want to create an album after her newborn session."  They have albums from all of their family milestones, filling their shelves with memories.  So of course we created the most beautiful album of all to celebrate their baby girl's arrival.

The pages are printed on photo paper and are truly breathtaking -- you have to see them in person, and the quality will blow you away! 

I also give my clients durable and kid-friendly products that will fit their lifestyle.  Don't worry about keeping it in a box to keep it perfect.  The lustre coating on the pages protects against tiny fingerprints, and if your baby drools on it you can just wipe it off with a cloth without worrying about damage.  This heirloom will hold up over the years and it will stay looking as beautiful as ever as your child grows.

My favorite thing about our albums is that we weave together all of your session images to tell a story, YOUR STORY.  Just look at the excitement on these new parents' faces!  That's what you want to remember years from now as your baby grows up and doesn't fit so perfectly curled up in your hands.  

Check out a few of our other favorite albums on the blog!
 

A Pastel Springtime Portrait Session with Sisters: Albany & Saratoga Family Photographer

Last week I shared a tutorial on how to create this amazing floral backdrop with paper, scissors, and a hot glue gun.  You can find the tutorial here!

With each session, I get more and more excited about creating unique sets for our clients!  I love simple colors and classic styles, and anything 3-D makes my heart beat a little faster as it comes off of the backdrop and brings your images to life.  Creating this floral backdrop was certainly a labor of love and it took many, many hours of cutting and gluing petals together with Netflix playing in the background.  I love it so much that I can't bring myself to toss the flowers, so I look forward to mixing and matching them in new ways for upcoming sessions.  (Just wait until you see the cake smash that will use these for a sweet baby girl!)

When sisters Lily and Evvie came to the studio for their springtime portrait session, I was excited to capture some sweet photos of the girls together with their frilly dresses, pastel colors, and our paper flower backdrop.  These girls were a dream to photograph, and we had so much fun together during their session.  This session embodies everything that I love to incorporate into my photography -- a little whimsy, a little sparkle, and the sweetest moments shared between family.

Love the look of these girly-girl dresses?  Me, too!  I have been adding to our collection of ruffled and sparkly outfits in the studio.  More info and a look book will be coming soon!