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 our Denver portrait studio, we coax baby a bit while honoring where baby is in the moment.
Our tips for the best cake smash portrait.
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.
Styling your cake smash session.
Edit, edit, edit!
It might seem festive to add in lots of props, balloon arches, toy themes, and such. However, in our experience, it’s best to edit the clutter:
Keep props to a minimum by starting with a gorgeous cake stand, a cake, a little cake decor, and a baby in an adorable outfit (more on outfits later.) This will allow for some negative space in your imagery. See my next point about negative space.
Negative space is anything but negative. “Negative space” is a term we photographers and artists use to explain balance. Negative space allows your eye to focus on the most important part of an image, in this case, your baby’s happy face. Negative space also creates artistic interest in an image.
Outfit choices.
Again, I will emphasize soft textures, neutral colors, and unfussy outfits. Leave the bow ties and crinoline at home and opt for cozy outfits!
Cotton, linen, and knit are all great choices.
Rompers, a pair of linen shorts (with no shirt), or a simple diaper cover work beautifully.
Tread carefully with dresses. Dresses get stuck under the knees making it difficult for baby to crawl. Quite frustrating!
Color choices should be neutral or pastel. Cream, white, blush, light gray or blue will all photograph well and keep baby the star.
I hope this guide is helpful to you in planning your Cake Smash session. Just keep this in mind when choosing your photo elements: soft like baby, minimal props, less fuss.
All cake stands and props shown are available and complimentary to cake smash sessions in our Denver baby portrait studio.