Ya know that joy you feel when you’re on the beach and it’s perfectly warm and sunny? What about the joy you feel when you get a cake all to yourself (like that ever happens!)? Put those together and you’re living life right!
Katie had the absolute pleasure of photographing this baby love living her best life with a cake smash session on the beach this summer.
These guys are new locals, living in the same town as both Audra and I! I was super excited when I heard that our kids would be attending the same preschool together. Community is everything here. If you want to live somewhere where everybody knows everybody, move to Southern Shores.
Anywho, we started out our session with some family photos. When she booked her session, “A” told me she definitely wanted to get some photos of the four of them, as well as some sibling photos. We needed to do those first because, trust me, nothing will happen after the cake smash…when Sugar goes into effect!
The “T” family cuddled near the dune, walked on the beach, and found a fish in distress! They “rescued” the fish by tossing him back in the water. Oh what an adventure!
We found some shells and practiced stacking. For “S” stacking was too easy so daddy shook things up a bit whith an impromptu “airplane” ride!
Then it was time for some messy play. Time for the cake!
I love how the photos from her session capture “S” in all her 1-year-old glory. Loving airplane rides and snuggles from mommy and daddy. They show her stacking skills and, most importantly, her mess making skills. All the easy-breezy, wibbly-wobbly, messy fun it is to be one!
Tips for a successful Cake Smash session:
Cake smash sessions are usually done six-ish weeks prior to a child's first birthday. Allowing lots of time to order photos for their party, invites, or thank you cards. But in reality they can be done anytime around a baby’s first birthday. Even a couple months afterward (I won’t be looking at their driver’s license if you know what I mean!)
Some of my recommendations to make a Cake Smash session a success:
1. Bring water. If your babe seems cranky during the session, they are probably thirsty. Who wouldn’t be with all that sugar and dry cake!
2. Bring some puffs or Cheerios. Having a small snack is a good trick for when littles are slow to smash. We’ll stick their favorite snack in the back to get them to “explore” the cake.
3. Try to stay away from chocolate cakes. If you’re a mom you probably understand why. Chocolate all over hands, feet and baby's cute little face looks a little too much like…
4. Colorful cakes make for vibrant images. But try to stay away from too much red. Light blues, corals, pinks in small amounts look great. Think of colors you see in a beach background. Those colors on a cake will bring out all the colors in your beach images. Also, you can always Google cake smash and see what you think looks best.
5. No Fondant. It’s too hard! Buttercream icing, and even whipped varieties, are easier for baby to manipulate. Fondant can also be a choking hazard.
6. Leave out the choking hazards. When it comes to decorations, make sure there isn't anything to worry about if baby puts it in her mouth.
7. Prepare for the mess! Bring an extra outfit for baby, towels, water bottles, wipes, bag for dirty clothes, the whole arsenal. The “T” family dunked “S” in the ocean afterward!
8. Relax. This is all about fun! It doesn’t have to be perfect but it should be all about your baby and who he or she is. If she doesn’t like cake after all, that’s okay. We will still get beautiful images showcasing her wonderful 1-year-old self!
We love capturing the joy of a one year old baby during a cake smash photo shoot!
We hope this provides answers to your questions about cake smash sessions.
If you’ve already scheduled your session with us, we hope you are as exited as we are.
If you haven’t and you're looking for Outer Banks family portraits, give us a call! We are Corolla family portrait photographers and we love what we do! We also capture OBX family portraits in Duck, Nags Head and everywhere in between! We're excited to help make this a fun vacation experience for your family! Book your OBX photo session today!