Preparing For Your Cake Smash
Wow, it’s been a whole year! Hopefully you’ve documented every square inch of life between those first few days to now.
But the first year portrait is special.
It’s the culmination of so much growth, not just for baby but for you as a parent. Whether this is your first baby or your 4th! Each child brings a new dynamic, a new beauty, a new personality to the family dinner table. Let’s pause for a moment and celebrate this sweet babe and all the wonderful ways they have made your life special.
First, set expectations.
You never quite know how a baby will react to a cake, balloons, and a cheering peanut gallery. Some babies will dig right in while others are a bit more modest. Both reactions create beautiful portraits. For Cake Smash Sessions in my Deerfield Beach, Florida studio, I coax baby a bit while honoring where baby is in the moment.
My tips for the best cake smash portrait session.
Schedule your cake smash session at a time when baby is least tired, either morning or just after the morning nap.
Make sure baby has had a good breakfast or lunch before your cake smash session. You might think they’ll be more likely to eat cake if they’re hungry. But most babies don’t eat cake for lunch or even at all. So fill that belly first. Then let baby discover cake!
Leave the audience for the birthday party. More than one or two people in the room cheering baby on can cause performance anxiety and confusion. Seriously, we’ve seen this quite a bit.