Apparently it’s cake smash session time here in my Houston studio and I’m not mad about it one bit! This Spring has brought so many new families into the studio to celebrate their little one’s first birthday milestone.
A common trend I’m noticing among these sweet families is that many missed out on traditional newborn portraits because baby was born right in the thick of the pandemic. So to make up for it, we’ve had a lot of fun planning first birthday milestone sessions instead!!
Prior to your session you’ll receive a thorough guide on how to prep for the session, but here is a quick recap of what you can expect!
What to Expect | First Birthday Cake Smash Session in Houston, TX
Consultation and Planning
When you book your child’s cake smash, I work to customize the entire experience just for you. My goal is to make the session easy, to where you can simply show up the day-of knowing everything is ready.
During your consultation, we will go over the different session options you have for the cake smash as well as colors, backdrop options and designs!
For signature sessions, like this first birthday session, we start with family portraits to ensure your family has a variety of updated portraits together, then conclude with the cake smash. Or if you prefer portraits of just baby like Bruno’s session below, the simplicity session is perfect!
Props and Design
The studio is perfect for first birthday sessions because of its simplicity- it’s truly a blank slate! It’s also a great space to let baby explore before we start and is free of distractions for baby.
Cake smash decorations provided for your session include a clean and classic white backdrop, first birthday banner and balloons.
For this baby boy’s simplicity session, we planned a silver, white, and blue color scheme with balloons. It paired so well with his adorable overalls!
What to Bring
Both the cake and cake smash outfit must be provided by parents. I’m happy to help you select an outfit for the birthday boy or girl though!
All signature first-year sessions with family start in a special outfit, often chosen from the Client Wardrobe. I recommend a separate outfit for the cake smash portion of the session because it gets messy really quickly! It also helps to have a change of clothes for baby to go home in and, if I’m being honest, another shirt for you too. Just in case!
For the cake, I recommend a classic three-layer cake with white frosting or a “naked” cake which has just enough frosting to let baby to dig into!
Timing
The cake smash itself lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. For signature sessions with the family involved, I usually allow for 20 minutes of portraits before we bring out the cake!
Session Day
In short- be prepared for a messy, but fun day! As with any session with kids, patience is key. When you arrive for the session, I tend to play on the floor with baby to start so they can get used to me. I have found this to be so helpful especially for the babies who have been at home for most of their first year due to the pandemic!
The cake smash itself moves quickly as it is baby-led. Some kids love it and dig right in, others take a while to warm up to it. It’s hard to predict how baby will react so don’t worry! That is completely normal. I do have a few tricks up my sleeves too if baby is not interested in their cake.
If you opt for a signature session with family included, we’ll start getting different groupings of family members with baby then transition to the cake smash.
After your session, we meet for the reveal! Scroll below to see the album cover for Bruno’s session… you’d think it was made JUST for this session!
After their session, Mom and Dad chose a stunning blue linen heirloom album to display their favorite portraits from baby boy’s cake smash. It could not have been a more perfect design option for them!!
They also ordered two custom framed 10×10 prints, with one going to the grandparents as a gift! Knowing that their images aren’t just sitting on a hard drive somewhere is really special.
Plus, with baby number two on the way, they chose to do the First Year Collective! The Collective ensures all of the baby’s milestones and special memories are documented. That means next year we’ll be planning his or her cake smash session in my Houston studio too!
Kelly of Lifetime of Clicks Photography is a newborn, maternity, and family photographer based in Katy, TX. Service areas include Houston, TX as well as Katy, Sugar Land, and surrounding communities.
Kelly provides a luxury, stress-free photography experience which includes a client wardrobe, hair, and makeup for your session, plus custom album and wall art designs for your home. If you’re interested in booking a session, contact me here!
