Everyone comes into doing a cake smash imagining their baby having this dream session where they immediately dive for the cake and everything is just oh so cute. For the best session possible, check out these sometimes funny things NOT TO DO!
I don’t write this to be mean, in any way. These are just things I have learned through trial and error!
- Chocolate ice cream, fudge, or icing. When it comes to babies, we parents get to deal with blow outs enough as it is, and while chocolate is a favorite flavor of ice cream— just don’t do it. LOL.
- Animals in the session. Kids are hard enough to get focused, throw in some animals and it’s likely a recipe for disaster. Your kid may run off, but the pets, on the other hand see a free meal!
- Shirts with words on them. It’s hard to get a good photo of shirts on a kid. Their bodies are sooo little and then having them at the perfect angle to see the words (even just O-N-E) can be a nightmare.
- Balloons. No seriously. I occasionally use them, but they can be a nightmare. Especially the number ONE balloon. It turns, it’s never at the right angle and THEN, kids are much more interested in playing with balloons then getting messy.
- Wearing only fancy clothes. Seriously. Those messy fingers will come after you! And even if they don’t, you’re going to have to wash your baby off, and icing sometimes is really greasy and sticky! If you’re coming in for portraits, make sure you have an extra pair of grungy clothes you can change into just before the smash. You don’t want to worry about whether that icing will stain!
- Red icing. It can look like your child is a vampire, no seriously. But, on the other hand, if it’s a vampire themed smash–great idea!
- Hats. I don’t know a single kid that likes to wear a hat. Unless you get one on your kid’s head almost every day without issue, don’t spend money on a birthday hat, ESPECIALLY the ones with the strings that go around the chin, the kids throw them off.
- Gels and things that have color (that you haven’t tested). We did a strawberry smash one day and it went REALLY well. I made a strawberry short cake and added strawberries and a red strawberry gel stuff I got from Publix in the produce department. Figured it would give it more of a mess. The problem was, after we washed the baby, she still had a red stain on her face. I do all my family photos before the smash, so it wasn’t too much of an issue, but on her bath photos, I had to clean it up in Photoshop. so it didn’t look like she had a rash.
- Bow ties, ties and suspenders. Pretty much anything fancy your kid doesn’t wear on a normal basis is likely to tick them off, trust me!
- Wait until the day of to give your kid cake. For the first year of a baby’s life they are RARELY given sugar and parents usually clean them up fast, so sweet things and being messy are usually things that make babies upset. Start giving your little one cake (cupcakes with icing work great) about a month or so before their smash session. Let them play with it. Try different flavors and such to see what they like the best. If all else fails, go with a fruit or food smash (like Spaghetti). Those go over MUCH better and are soo cute!
Looking for a photographer for your little one? Christy Whitehead is located in Jacksonville Florida and specializes in bellies and babies. Call 904-891-0359 or email her to set up your own session.