WHAT IS A CAKE SMASH SESSION ANYWAY? IF YOUR BABY IS TURNING ONE, YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW...
Over the past few years, cake smash sessions (also known as smash-the-cake sessions), have become increasingly popular as a way to celebrate baby’s first birthday & your first year of parenting.
It is a photoshoot focused on your baby playing with and eating their birthday cake. As a fruity alternative, I also offer watermelon or fruit smash sessions which are just perfect if you prefer to keep your baby off cake a little while longer.
My sessions consist of 3 parts, to give you a wide variety of images in your final gallery: some “clean” portraits taken before the cake comes out, with various birthday props and decorations in the background; the cake smash itself - the messy destruction of a birthday cake; and then images of your baby splashing about in a tub of warm, shallow water and bubbles to help clean the cake off. This last part tends to be a favourite with the babies.
For many families, this session is a brilliant addition or alternative to a big party. Families will often do their session on the day of / days around baby’s birthday, or a few weeks before - and treat it as a celebratory family event. Most families then choose an album or wall art to proudly display this memory of baby’s first year, as well as sharing the photos with friends and family on their actual birthday. Whether you do your session on the day or not, around 12 months is a brilliant age to have a photoshoot at, as it freeze-frames all your baby’s unique and varied expressions at this developmental stage, and captures the fun of being one, before they become walking, running and jumping toddlers!
Ready to book your session now? Get in touch or text BIRTHDAY to 07720885528 to check availability and discuss options for your little one’s cakesmash photography session at my purpose-designed East London family photography studio.
Want to find out more details of my sessions first; read on below…
So, how does a cakesmash session go?
My cake smash sessions usually last about 2 hours (timed around your baby’s nap and feed schedule) and take place in my comfy home-from-home family photography studio. I have a huge variety of birthday decorations, props and outfits which I use to design a decorated set to your tastes, before you arrive. Once you’re at the session though, we always start with a family photo on a timeless, classic background - because as you will well know - we have far too few photos of ourselves with our babies. Once we’ve captured the family photo, we then go into the three parts of the cake smash session…
Part 1: Pre cakesmash, “clean” themed portraits of baby
The cakesmash & splash session includes birthday themed photos of your baby before the cake comes out. I have a variety of different props in the studio which we use to complement your chosen set, and I always welcome you to bring along any particularly sentimental items like cuddly bears, favourite toys, or a special outfit you’d like to keep a memory of in your photographs.
Part 2: Getting messy with the cake
Once we’ve finished the pre-cake portraits, we’ll encourage baby to start playing with and eating their cake. Before your session I’ll give you lots of tips on how to prepare your baby for what is often their first taste of cake. If you prefer not to have cake, we can do an equally fun and messy fruit-smash!
Part 3: Splash time
Once your baby has had their fill of cake, we move on to splash time in a tub of warm water and bubbles (also known as “operation clean-up” ;-)). Most babies adore this part, playing with the bubbles, rubber ducks, peek-a-boo with a hooded towel, and generally splashing about in the warm water. I have a variety of different tubs to pick from, so we can match the tub to the theme. I also have a number of bathtubs big enough for twin cakesmash sessions.
At the end of the session, we get baby clean and dry. I have a change mat and towels and I’ll also prep you on what to bring from home.
After your session, I review all the images taken, select a shortlist of around 40 of the best and most varied images, which I will then edit and invite you to view at your gallery ordering and viewing session a couple of weeks later. At this viewing session you can pick which images you would like to purchase and how you’d like to display them. Check the products and pricing page for more details of the different album, wall art and digital options you can pick from. If you would prefer to view and select your final images & package on the same day as the session, this is also possible.
Want to know more? I’ve a number of other useful blogs with details on decorations, cakes, outfits and prep which you might like to read.
Want to check availability for your baby’s birth date? Get in touch or text BIRTHDAY to 07720885528.
(In addition to studio birthday shoots, I also capture key moments at birthday parties for kids of all ages. Get in touch for more details and to see sample images.)