You might have heard of ‘Cake Smash Photography’. But just in case you are not familiar with it, we’d like to explain what cake smash photography is before we share an adorable cake smash session.
Typically cake smash photography is a baby photography session to celebrate the baby’s 1st year milestone (but some clients love to do it again at 2, 3 or even 4 years old milestones). It is a fun way to capture that milestone. Your baby sits with a cake and we capture whatever he/she does with the cake and that whatever can be from ‘doing nothing with it’ to ‘completely smashing it’.
What to expect from your baby’s Cake Smash Session
Babies respond very differently to the cake as most of 1 year old babies have not been introduced to a cake or sweets. We’ve had babies:
crying as soon as being placed next to the cake – who knew a cake could be the scariest thing to the baby?
- sitting there but not touching the cake at all
- loving to play with it but not being a fan of the new sweet taste
- not wanting to touch it (not liking the messy feel in the hands) but eating the cake with her mouth
- full on smashing it good and eating until we pull the baby away from the cake.
We need to prepare you for the worst case because there is an extra investment – cake, special outfit, some decoration materials, etc. – but you can expect one of these scenarios. As long as you are prepared to be ok with whatever your baby does with the cake, the session can be quite enjoyable exciting fun experience. Mom and dad also might get a bit messy to help the baby to dig into the cake.
Things to prepare
For the cake smash photography session, we do eleborated decoration with banners, balloons, pom pom, etc. Also getting a right cake is so important. It has to be soft enough for the baby can smash. There are a few cake makers we recommend who make cakes specifically for a cake smash session:
If you want a specific theme (i.e. Winnie the Pooh theme, Mikey Mouse theme, Sesame Street theme, etc), you need to bring some decoration materials for the theme. We do the cake smash part at last. We start with regular set ups before we get into the messy part of the session. With our cake smash package, you get family photos, sibling photos, and even photos with grandparents at no extra charge.
When is a good time to do the cake smash photography session?
Depending on the clients, the timing can vary. Our recommendation is when your baby can cruise around holding on to things but not walking unsupported yet. It will be typically before your baby turn 1. We would love to capture the milestone of standing. But once your baby is set for the cake smash, we want him/her to stay so we can capture all the interactions your baby makes with the cake. And it will also keep the mess contained on the set. We provide baby photography props at our studio to use for your baby to safely hang on to stand. Another benefit of doing the cake smash session before your baby turns 1 is that you will be able to display those cute fun images at the 1st birthday party.
Some tricks we play for more successful cake smash photography session
We’ve done a lot of cake smash sessions and there are a few tricks we play for your baby to feel comfortable and allow us to capture some special moments.
When we bring your baby to the cake, we start to sing happy birthday song as if we are celebrating her/his birthday. Babies love songs. Once we place your baby next to the cake, we ask you to stay with your baby instead of leaving the scene too quick. Think about the case that your baby might be scared of the cake. You are confirming it is a scary thing by moving away from it right away. You want to stay there, be curious and excited about the cake. If your baby wants to sit on you to feel safe, that is ok, too. We take time until your baby feels safe and ready to explore the cake on her/his own. And your help is so important as babies feel the most safe with mom and dad.
Slowly your baby’s attention moves towards the cake and tests it out. Your baby might not touch it and keep clinging to you. In this case, we put some little animal toys on the cake so there is something else interests your baby. It is the first step to have your baby explore the cake. Of course if your baby is adventurous and get into the cake as soon as you put him/her next to the cake, you can move out of the scene right away and start to entertain your baby to bring out the smiles.
If your baby doesn’t want to eat the cake, we use your baby’s snack. We will put small puffs around the cake so your baby reaches for them and eat them instead of the cake. So don’t forget to bring puffs or similar snack.
Ready to book?
Are you ready to book a cake smash photography session or have more questions? Feel free to contact us. We offer cake smash sessions on Saturdays and limited weekdays. The Saturday spots can be booked up a month in advance. Please book and secure a spot when your baby is 9 to 10 months old if you need a Saturday spot.
