Amanda contacted the studio to schedule a First Birthday session for her daughter, Sophia with the whole family included as well. We sent Amanda our style guide, Pinterest inspiration board, and our cake tips sheet to review as well! The sheets we send over are super easy to read through. Our style guide is applicable to pretty much any type of session you have with us. If you need more assistance, we’re here for you! We can schedule a visit in the studio to go over your wardrobe (whether you are borrowing from the studio wardrobe or wearing your own) or exchange a few emails in advance of your session.
THE BEST TIME TO DRESS FOR YOUR SESSION AND WHY
Some moms find it it easier dress their child beforehand because they’re in that fun (ha!) stage where a change instantly equals a temper tantrum, and it’s just not worth the hassle. You know your little one best, so I defer to your judgment in that department! If you choose to dress them before heading over, I STRONGLY suggest having your child in a bib or something to protect their clothing just in case a random bout of carsickness occurs, or they manage to find a chocolate m&m lodged somewhere in the car seat. You may scoff at this and think it’s ridiculous overthinking…but this actually happened to one of my clients. Fortunately, they had NOT dressed their child in their planned outfit for the drive over so a few baby wipes later, and they were good!
WHERE TO GET YOUR SMASH CAKE IF YOU’RE INCLUDING ONE
Amanda brought along a simple white cake with buttercream icing that had a pink border. She made it herself! I love when mamas make their baby’s first cake, but if you don’t want to do that, there are plenty of other options available to you. Publix, Kroger, and Whole Foods are all great options to pick up a simple smash cake or cupcake. If your baby has egg allergies or needs a vegan option, we highly recommend She Takes the Cake as our preferred baker and are happy to connect you with her! She offers a delivery service where she’ll drop your cake off at the studio in advance of your session so it’s one less thing you need to worry about the day of, and her cakes are GORGEOUS. Over the past four years, I have worked with Christina to develop the optimal buttercream consistency: soft enough to interact with and smash, but not so sticky that it gets everywhere and makes cleanup a nightmare for parents. Pro tip: most babies don’t enjoy being wiped down, so the less elbow grease you have to apply to get icing off their skin, the better.
Regardless of where you choose to get your baby’s smash cake from, we’ll send our cake tips to you. We also list a popular place in the Atlanta area that we do NOT recommend getting your baby’s smash cake from because of the icing’s incredible stickiness reminiscent of GLUE. Below is a list of our top tips!
SIMPLE is the name of the game - the focus should always be on your baby, not their cake. Avoid fondant or tons of added objects for decor.
6 inch diameter size or less and no more than two layers at the max. If it’s too high, it limits angles for photography since their face can be obscured.
Real flowers are beautiful on cakes, but you should plan to remove them after initial photographs - they will most likely end up on your baby’s mouth. This goes for anything on your cake - candles, decor, etc. It ends up being a distraction from the task at hand and can also obscure adorable facial expressions during their session.
Neutral icing color (off white, cream, or pastels) is best - steer clear of neons or super bright colors that may permanently stain clothing and cause color casts in your photos
Don’t use shaved coconut as a topping - it’s beautiful, but there there has not been a single baby that has liked it, and it usually ends exploration of the cake as soon as they put it in their mouth.
Use buttercream icing. AVOID whipped icing and fondant. Whipped icing is a slippery greasy mess that is resistant to being wiped off skin and results in a screaming baby while desperate parents on the eleventeenth baby wipe mutter under their breath, “For the love of all things, why won’t this stuff COME OFF?!?!?!.” Fondant is very thick, and difficult for babies to break through with their fingers and eat. How do I know this? Because I’ve had sessions where parents brought cakes like this watched the mentioned scenarios unfold.
Skip writing a message on top of the cake (save it for the party cake instead) - it doesn’t photograph well.
FIRST BIRTHDAY SESSION FLOW
First Birthday sessions are what I call my 3-in-1. We have solo portraits of your little one, family portraits, and cake smash portraits all in one session. I started the session photographing Sophia with her parents, and she was just the CUTEST little baby girl. She was a little bit shy at first but gave me lots of smiles. When I have a baby that is on the shy side, I always start the session with them in your arms because this helps them know they are safe and secure, and that everything is ok. Once she was comfortable with me, we moved to solo portraits of Sophia. Sophia doesn’t mind being changed in the least bit (a rarity!) so she wore two dresses throughout her session, and mom changed her into a sweet little First Birthday onesie for the cake smash.
A NOTE ABOUT FIRST BIRTHDAY ONESIES
I love personalized onesies and think they are a great option for babies, but there is a major caveat to be mindful of before you go all out! You cannot see the onesie when baby has the cake in front of them and sometimes they aren’t cooperative to allow for us to get an image with the onesie in full view before we get started. I always try to get at least one image where you CAN see the onesie before we start with the cake, but at this point most babies are over being photographed and need the distraction of a cake being put in front of them to continue.
THE CAKE SMASH
Amanda changed Sophia into her onesie for the cake smash, and as mentioned, I took a few quick photos of her in our Eames chair to fully show it off. After we finished with that, I pulled out one of our antique high chairs (we have three in the studio!). I demonstrate exactly how to present the cake to your baby (sounds silly, but how you do it does matter!) I physically model what I need clients throughout during my sessions as needed, so you never have to worry about what to do or how.
When Sophia saw her cake, she immediately dove right into it, and mom and dad joined in on the fun too. If your baby isn’t super interested in their cake, parents getting into the photographs can help a lot. Babies love to “feed” their parents, and modeling feeding each other cake for your little one goes a long way. Once they’ve become sufficiently interested, parents can slowly back out of the frame and I’ll get those solo images of them enjoying their cake!
Enjoy a few of my favorites from sweet Sophia’s First Birthday session!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
