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!  

When a Photographer Forgets to Print Her Own Photos.... Or, happy second anniversary!

I debated for awhile on the title of this post.  I wasn't sure if I should make it more about celebrating our second wedding anniversary, or keep it photography-related and tell you how it took me almost TWO YEARS to design & print our wedding album.

So I chose to do both.

You see, I'm just like you and every other person who has countless files of digital images from their own lives.  Tiny JPEGs sitting in a folder on their hard drive, rarely seen and never enjoyed.  And just like you, I had no time to print them.  

But wait, you're a photographer!  Your job is to print photos!

That's true.  I spend my weeks designing albums for other families, ordering boxes & boxes of prints from my photo lab, wrapping up custom birth announcements, and receiving more photo shipments in the mail than I can possibly count.  The UPS guy knows me by name, and I recognize the sound of the delivery truck pulling into my driveway like a dog recognizes their owner's car coming down the street.  

Yet it took me more than a year and a half to finally sit down and design our wedding album after our perfect wedding day in 2015.  Why?  Time.  Indecision.  Distractions.  Procrastination.  Not wanting to begin the task of narrowing down the hundreds and hundreds of photos in our gallery to choose a few favorites to feature in our album.  You know, all the same reasons it takes you forever to print your own photos, right?  

But I finally did it.  And now we have a leather-bound keepsake of our beautiful day surrounded by our closest family & friends on a brick patio with twinkly lights and rustling leaves overhead.  It is so perfect, and as Jeff & I celebrate our second wedding anniversary today, you can bet we'll be flipping through the pages of our wedding album to relive the day we said "I do."  

A huge thank you to Hope Taylor Photography for capturing our day so beautifully.  P.S.  I know you didn't offer albums to your clients two years ago, but I'm so happy that you do now because this is definitely a task that all newlyweds should leave to their photographer so that they can enjoy their heirloom albums right away!  

Print your photos, friends!  #printsnotpixels

A Rustic Winter Wonderland Cake Smash | Saratoga Springs, Albany & Boston Baby Photographer

I first met sweet little Addison Elizabeth exactly one year ago at the hospital when she was only twenty-four hours old.  Addison was my very first Fresh 48 session that I ever photographed, and it was such an honor when her mama (also a photographer!) invited me to capture these moments for them in the hospital as they got to know their baby girl.

Following babies and their families throughout their journey during the first year always makes my heart so happy.  I have loved watching Addison grow this year.  Getting together for coffee dates with her mother and FaceTime calls where Addi would get so excited and start clapping her hands to see the screen -- those are the moments when I feel so lucky to have clients as friends, and friends as clients.

For Addison's first birthday we planned a rustic winter wonderland cake smash.  This was so much fun to put together using neutral tones and natural materials -- burlap & wood were the perfect combinations to add a little bit of texture to her backdrop!  I love the hanging snowflakes, and Addi was definitely intrigued by them, too.  

But before the cake smash, we pulled out my teepee for some airy and whimsical portraits of the birthday girl.  She may or may not have been bribed with puffs to stay on the rug when we were taking her pictures (seriously, puffs and Cheerios save the day at every single session!).

Love the teepee?  Check out our DIY tutorial to make your own!

When your mama is a photographer, of course you get a few photos together with your wooden camera toy!

If you loved Addison's rustic winter wonderland cake smash and her portraits with the teepee, you will love this boho-inspired cake smash with twins!  

We're Moving!

You already know how much I love stories… hearing stories, celebrating stories, capturing stories in photograph form.  Well, let me tell you a story…

My husband, Jeff, lived in Saratoga Springs, NY when we first started dating.  I lived in Boston, and we spent a full year crossing state lines and putting thousands of miles on each of our cars while driving back and forth on the weekends.  We spent countless hours walking the streets of Saratoga Springs and enjoying their small-town festivals and incredible restaurants.  It’s the town where we fell in love, but it’s also the town that stole our hearts.  We were completely head-over-heels in love with Saratoga Springs.

When we were looking for a place to get married last spring, we knew that we wanted to bring our family & friends to Saratoga to share this amazing little piece of heaven with them.  We decided to get married on the little garden patio at one of our favorite restaurants where we had been on a million dates.  With green leaves rustling overhead and twinkling lights filling the treetops, it was the perfect spot for our intimate celebration.  We said our vows underneath an old oak tree on the patio, and month later we returned on a warm summer night for a casual date night.  How cool that, for the rest of our lives, we can return to the exact spot where we said “I do” for a date!  (Wedding photos by Hope Taylor Photography)

We’ve been casually house-hunting for almost two years, and we were always trying to find a town “just like Saratoga” here in Massachusetts.  There are so many amazing and quaint little New England towns, but nothing was calling out to us as home.  Finally, as we were wandering through an adorable neighborhood in Saratoga last fall, it hit us that this town would be home to the next part of our story together.

I am excited to finally announce that Jeff and I are buying our first home in Saratoga Springs.  We are thrilled to begin this next adventure, and we can’t wait to see what stories will unfold in the walls of our new home.

My clients are, always have been, and always will be my top priority when it comes to running my photography business.  I am so lucky to work with such amazing, loyal, sincere, and fun-loving families, and it is because of people like you that I adore my job.  

You’ve invited me into your lives to cuddle your new babies and play games with your older children to get a bright smile out of them.  You’ve welcomed me into your homes to share laughter and memories as you fell in love with the images from our sessions together.  You’ve shared the most heartfelt thank you’s that truly mean the world to me.  

It is because of amazing families like yours that I will continue to work with families in Massachusetts and throughout New England even after we move to New York.  Nicole Starr Photography will officially start offering bilocational services.

NEWBORNS: Starting in May, our Boston-area newborn clients will have the option of either a Fresh 48 hospital session or an in-home lifestyle session as we close our studio to get ready for the move. 

BABIES: We will continue to offer Petite Milestone sessions to document your baby’s first year.  These will be in your home or on location outdoors, either lifestyle with your home as the backdrop, or with a simple studio backdrop and minimal props brought to your home.  As always, I adore a simple set up that keeps the focus on your baby.

FAMILIES: We will also continue to offer our popular Family Sessions at a location of your choice.  During the warmer months, I have many stunning locations that I love to share with families for their sessions.  From parks to beaches to farms to fields, there is something that fits every style while allowing your children room to run and explore.  

GALLERY PREMIERE: The reveal appointment where you view your images for the first time is one of my favorite parts of the portrait experience.  I love watching families fall in love with their images and helping them discover the perfect keepsakes and artwork to enjoy in their homes.  Lucky for you, we will continue providing this amazing service to our clients, either meeting in person when I am back in Massachusetts, or via Skype with online screen sharing capabilities.

With the weather warming up and signs of spring starting to blossom outside of our windows, we will continue scheduling Boston-area sessions as normal through the month of May.  Let’s get out there, shake off the winter blues, and capture some beautiful new memories of your family so that you can enjoy fresh artwork on your walls this spring!  

After May, I will be available for select dates in the Boston area, as well as with additional dates upon request.  Here are a few dates to start planning your summer sessions! 

June 23-26(Boston area)

July 28-August 2 (Boston area & Cape Cod)

More dates available upon request.

A huge thank you to all of the amazing families that we've worked with in the Boston area, and I can't wait to continue capturing your beautiful stories for you!  It means so much to me when you invite me back into your lives year after year to create new memories with your family, and we're certainly not going to let a little three-hour drive stop us from doing that!

Our calendar will be filling up quickly, and I would love to chat with you to book your family's session this spring and summer.  You can get in touch by clicking on the "CONTACT" tab up above, or emailing hello@nicolestarrphotography (dot) com.  

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Are you in the New York area?  Drop me a line to say hello!  I'd love to meet you, chat over a cup of coffee (chai for me!), and learn more about your family!  

We'll be opening our Saratoga Springs studio early this summer.  The studio is perfect for newborns, babies, and your little ones.  We will be accepting on-location family and maternity sessions in the capital region starting in May, and I am already looking forward to discovering many new location gems for our sessions in this beautiful region of NY.  

Come visit us at the Babies R Us Baby Fair in Latham next Saturday, April 2, to learn more about our three unique types of newborn sessions and to participate in our massive giveaway.  I can't wait to meet your family and capture these stories for you!