Courtney + Seth have been friends of mine in the wedding industry for years, so I was so honored when she asked me to do their baby’s 1 year old photos! Most little ones are happiest in the morning, so we planned for a 7 am shoot and I just love the morning light streaming through the trees in their neighborhood park. PS: doesn’t Courtney look amazing? I can’t believe she managed to do hair and makeup, put on a cute dress, get her baby up and ready and meet me somewhere that early in the morning! With my own journey into motherhood approaching quickly, I’m gonna have to take some tips from her!
I like to start my 1 year old sessions with 30 minutes of family portraits, followed by the baby’s outfit change and a cake smash. Courtney and Seth brought a cute little cake, a Happy Birthday sign to stick into the top of it, a pink glass mini-cake plate, and a blanket they didn’t mind getting messy for easy cleanup. For cake smashes, it’s important for the cake to be made with buttercream or some sort of soft frosting (rather than fondant) so they can get their little fingers in there and make a mess! As you can see, baby Quinn certainly enjoyed her first few bites of the sweet stuff. She particularly liked raising her little leg in the air and using that to smash down on the cake, haha. You can really see a baby’s quirks and personality traits with how they approach a cake smash (my nephew ignored the cake in favor of putting nearby rocks in his mouth). However, cake smashes almost always end in a few crocodile tears, so I always tell parents to be prepared for the point when the baby is totally over the messiness and all the attention! 😂 That’s my finale shot and it’s always priceless.
I love cake smashes and I think it’s the perfect way to commemorate your little one’s first year of life. Congrats to Courtney + Seth on their perfect little girl!
