How to prepare for a Cake Smash / Birthday session

How to prepare for a cake smash/ birthday session?

First, we want the happiest baby possible, so it’s best to schedule a session at a time of day when they baby is the happiest. This is usually right after a nap. Tired babies are cranky and less likely to give us those adorable smiles. If your baby is well rested, they will do much better for their session.

 

Be prepared to get silly for your baby. The sillier, the better. A baby will smile much better for their parents than the stranger with the camera. Come prepared with music the baby likes. Babies love to dance to their favorite tunes! A lot of babies love Miss Rachel. If you haven’t heard of her, you can check her out here.  Little toys that the baby enjoys are also a great way to get them to smile.

When choosing a cake for the smash, it’s best to get plain white cake in the middle, and filling should also be white. It looks better this way. Chocolate cake can look like (you can probably guess) and if you have any sort of red filling like strawberry or raspberry, you make look like you have a tiny little vampire. Cakes that match the theme are great or you can go with a simple classic cake like the one below. These sorts of cakes always look good.

Some babies don’t enjoy cake or don’t like the feel of it on their little fingers. When this is the case, a good trick is hiding little snacks like Cheerios or Puffs in the back of the cake. This way it looks like the baby is enjoying their cake even though they are just grabbing their little snacks off the back of it.

Some babies don’t enjoy smashing their cake. This is normal! However, pretty much all babies do enjoy bath time, so I love to include a splash after the cake smash. I usually get the best smiles during this portion of the session. It also gives us a chance to get the baby cleaned up for one more set up.

Below is an example of a simple set up that we can do after the smash and splash. It’s just a backdrop with a cute little prop.

View more of my cake smash / birthday photos here

@gretchenbarros

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+ 3609896292
gretchen@gretchenbarros.com

Camas, WA

Fine art newborn, cake smash and maternity photographer serving greater Portland, OR.

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