Cake Smash

Cake smashes are SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

I'll share some information below, but first... check out these photos full of #TotalCuteness! 

 

 

WHEN TO BOOK: 

Some families book the cake smash the week of the baby's birthday to show the milestones of standing/walking at exactly a year.  Others will do it 4-6 weeks early and use the photos for birthday invitations, 1-year announcements, or to display at the party.  

Time of Day: For kids, usually mornings are best between their two naps, but you will know your child's best time of day. The other thing to think about is what time the bakery can have the cake done for you in the morning, which sometimes isn't until 9 or 10 am anyway.  (It's best to pick it up that morning so that is has been freshly frosted and soft for the baby to dig into).  Since these are most often done in the studio, we can be flexible and don't have to work around the sun.  

Tips for Booking your Cake: You will also need to give the cake place about a month's notice or so in offseason and sometimes 2-3 months notice in the summers around wedding season or other holidays like Valentine's, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I've had a few clients have a bad experience when the cake place was too rushed to do a good job, but still tried to squeeze them in.  Sometimes they cut corners and spray paint the cake instead of coloring the frosting all the way through (which is important for the frosting to show up on the skin in the photos).  The moral of the story is to plan early and email them a photo of the exact colors you want and the style or decoration you want to clearly communicate what you are going for.  "Sugar Shock" is the real deal and can ruin a cake smash session. We have a favorite cake vendor with a recommended flavor and type that we've had the best success with... just ask us for tips once you are ready to order!

HOW DOES THIS AWESOMELY MESSY SESSION WORK?

My cake smash sessions are about 1 hour long with the viewing to follow.  The first 15 minutes, we do some regular 1-year portraits. I have a little horsey, a Baby Leather Couch, a baby carriage, a riding wooden firetruck, plenty of "ottomans" and things to lean on if they aren't standing on their own yet and lots of other pretty toys that are fun for them to play with while we snap some pics of them sitting and standing. Then we change outfits and change sets and bring out the cake for the last 45 minutes or however long they last and are having fun with the cake.  We capture the whole story from the first touch of curiosity to the delicious mess that is made at the end.  After the cake smash, there is a bathtub in the studio that you can bathe the baby while I download the images. Once the baby is all clean, we go through the images together and you pick out your favorite ones!

Message me for package options and more details!