So let’s talk about cake smashes! Everyone these days wants to book a photographer to capture their little one’s cake smash to celebrate their big day, but what fun is it if you can’t get your little one to actually dive into that cake? Most babies at this age are not yet used to eating cake, unless they have an older sibling feeding them treats when mom and dad are not looking!

Although some kids have no problem diving right in, a lot of babies have no idea what to do when faced with a big cake placed in front of them. I usually place the cake in front of baby and give them a few minutes to start exploring, hoping they get curious. For the ones who don’t, mommy usually has something in her diaper bag that will do the trick.

When booking the session, I give parents a list of things to bring along to the photoshoot. On that list are puffs or Cheerios, a small snack that isn’t too messy for baby. When babies don’t want to dig into the cake, I hide these familiar snacks directly into the icing. This encourages baby to start picking at the icing so they can find their snack, creating that wonderful messy fun we all want to capture. Usually this trick gets baby interested in the cake. In case they don’t go digging for the puffs and are too busy licking icing off their teeny tiny fingers, rest assured I will edit out any visible Cheerios in Photoshop.

I have another little secret for you that may deter your cutie from eating the icing: bitter food coloring. Not all icing tastes as good as it looks! You can choose almost any color, but the two colors I recommend avoiding are bright red and deep black. Those two particular dyes tend to taste bitter, and most babies will not enjoy licking them. The cake in the photo above features only small accents of black on a vanilla base, which gave this little guy no trouble enjoying his cake.

Here is another helpful tip: avoid feeding your baby carrots on the morning of your session. Carrot-flavored baby food can easily tint baby’s skin and lips, and the camera picks up every nuance. If you happen to forget, don’t worry too much, as careful post-processing can correct it, but skipping orange foods beforehand makes a big difference!

I hope you find these secrets helpful and enjoy your baby’s very first birthday! If you are looking for a milestone photographer in the Baltimore area, feel free to get in touch with me to learn more about booking a cake smash session.

Yours truly,
Chana Mirel Photography