Ready, Set, Smash: Top 10 Tips for a Successful Cake Smash Photo Session!

Let the messy, giggly, and utterly adorable chaos begin! I LOVE cake smash sessions to celebrate your baby’s first birthday! A cake smash session isn't just about capturing cute photos; it's about embracing the sheer joy and whimsy of your little one's special first year. While they’re super fun, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years to ensure that your baby has a great time and so you get the portraits you’re dreaming of to celebrate the end of this first year!! 

Before Your Cake Smash: 

Give your baby a cupcake or a bowl of frosting a week ahead of time and let them play and get messy. 

So often the feeling of frosting stuck between their fingers is a new sensory experience. Many babies need some time to adjust to that, and it’s easier (and happier!) if they get that experience before the camera comes out. Plus, if they know that they’re allowed to play and have fun, you’re going to have even better photos! 

Let your baby eat a snack or a meal while sitting on the floor in the week or two leading up to the session.

If they are used to being in a high chair 100% of the time, they will not know what to do when we seat them on the floor in front of a cake. Practicing this ahead of time lets them know that there are many different places where they may be able to eat, and not just in a high chair.

Bring your cake to room temperature so that it is soft and easy to smash. 

Cold cakes are rock solid, and babies always hate touching them. If your cake is soft, they’re more likely to dive right in and enjoy this special treat. Don’t forget to pack finger foods like puffs, yogurt drops, or cheerios to hide in the frosting if they are hesitant to try the cake.

Try on their outfit ahead of time. 

Not only is it important to make sure it actually fits, but it’s important to make sure that they can sit, stand, and crawl comfortably. We want to capture your little one moving around! 

During Your Cake Smash

Show that you can eat the frosting! 

Give your baby a taste of frosting on your fingertip, and show them that you can eat the frosting/cake, too! This helps them feel safe because they trust you, and it piques their curiosity in the cake. Anything that helps your baby be more comfortable with this new food is key.

Be patient. 

Most babies take a little time to really get comfortable during their cake smash. We will never force a baby to eat the cake, and we will take as many breaks as they need. Some babies dig right in, but others need a little more time. Don’t worry, and just remember that however your baby reacts, IT IS NORMAL and we’ve seen that in dozens of other babies before.

If your baby is a walker (or a super speedy crawler!), be prepared to get messy. 

Your job is going to be baby-duty to bring your baby back over to the backdrop every time they crawl or walk away. Just be sure they are always turned with the front of their body towards the light source when you place them back down on the setup. This will help us capture more photos quickly throughout our time together. 

Follow the photographer’s lead. 

Your photographer has a flexible workflow to introduce baby to the cake and to ensure they capture all of their standard shots, and your photographer will adapt to whatever mood your little one is in and whatever situation arises. Stay calm, and have fun!

Don’t panic if your baby cries. 

I promise you, we’ll help them get comfortable or move on to the next part of the session. And anyways, those always wind up being some of the cutest photos that parents love when they put on their crocodile tears. ;o)

Savor this experience. 

Really pause and take a moment to take it all in and remember this celebration of your baby’s first year. Look at their little smile, watch the way their hands grab at the cake with those tiny finger dimples, and listen to their joyful giggle as they clap and cheer. This is such a huge milestone for your family, so make sure you slow down to enjoy the experience. 

Don’t worry about getting your baby to smile or calling their attention – your photographer will handle that part. For now, just enjoy these moments as a parent and love on your little one who is about to celebrate a whole trip around the sun!

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A sugarplum fairy winter wonderland cake smash with Saratoga Springs baby photographer

Happy 1st birthday, Ella Kate! We’ve been documenting all of her milestones during her first year as part of the Collective Membership and yet, I can’t believe she’s already one! To celebrate the end of her first year, we created a beautiful Sugar Plum fairy winter wonderland cake smash inspired by her mother’s ballet memories! 

Ella Kate’s Mom was a ballerina as a child, and she brought her old ballet slippers and pointe shoes to incorporate into the setup. I loved that sweet personal touch to the winter setup - and it was fun to sneak in something that means so much to her mom, too! Winter wonderland is always a popular theme for babies, so I love that we learned more into the Sugar Plum fairy inspiration for Ella Kate’s portraits! The setup really came together with soft whites, peachy pink, and the sweetest ballet dancers lined up across the backdrop.

As always, I incorporated some portraits of milestone portraits of Ella Kate before we even got to the cake. I’ve fallen in love with using my white wooden high chair with my babies in the studio! It’s always been one of my favorite props because it’s so classic, but it’s fun to be using it regularly again. Paired with the wooden cake (a popular prop for the babies, too!), it’s a great touch to any cake smash. After Ella Kate got to play with her cake, we also wrapped up with my favorite bubble bath setup. I’m all about sending you home with a clean baby! Plus, who doesn’t love a little one playing in bubbles?! Parents always love these portraits! 

Happy birthday again, Ella Kate! Thank you for allowing me to capture another beautiful milestone for you!

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Timeless First Birthday Portraits with a Cake Smash

Baby Kennedy isn’t such a baby anymore! This little girl is now a year old! We celebrated with timeless first birthday portraits in my Saratoga Springs studio. Mom wanted a simple and classic session and to keep the focus on her birthday baby, which I totally get. With that in mind, we wanted to create really timeless portraits. I think we did it - and I hope you’ll think so too. Kennedy’s session really reminded me that sometimes less is more when it comes to a cake smash setup! 

We chose to do a simple backdrop of super white seamless paper, and let this baby girl be the star of the show! I’m a huge fan of simplicity, and I loved how timeless these portraits turned out. For some of the session, she got to sit in my favorite white highchair for her cake smash - with my infamous wooden birthday cake. Afterwards, we got her down and in her sparkly blue dress, she dove into the simple white cake we had for her. Kennedy was absolutely adorable and I LOVED watching her figure out how to get into the cake.  

It was also important to capture new portraits of her and her parents in the studio. Honestly, family portraits in the studio at this age are always so much fun! There’s also lots of laughs, big smiles, showing off their personality and new milestones achieved. Look at the big personality in the photo of Kennedy walking! Love it!!

Happy birthday, Kennedy! I loved planning and capturing your stunning timeless birthday photos. Enjoy this next year!

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Pink and Silver Winter Wonderland Cake Smash

Gabriella is one! To celebrate her first birthday, I had the chance to photograph her and her family again, as well as her winter one-derland cake smash! Andrea, Gabriella’s mother, is a member of our Collective Membership. We’ve documented all of her milestones with 4 sessions that follow her family from maternity all the way through the first birthday! It’s been so fun to watch her grow into the sweet little one-year-old she is now! PS. We’re currently  booking membership clients for 2024! This is perfect for your family if you’re planning to do 2 or more sessions over an 18 month period (not just for baby’s first year clients, either!).

Winter wonderland is a super popular theme in my studio. I loved the chance to put together another classic version of the winter wonderland cake smash. For Gabriella, we focused on a pink and silver color palette. I even got to bring in my new blush pink backdrop fabric that I have already used many times this winter (ha!). The sparkly cone trees were the perfect addition to her winter theme. Gabriella looked adorable in her pink and white tutu, complete with a silver crown. She was a winter queen for her winter wonderland smash, for sure! 

As I always do with cake smash portraits, I captured new family portraits for this sweet family of four. They chose a beautiful blue and white color palette, which was the total opposite of the pinks and silvers we used for the cake smash. Side by side, the entire session looks amazing together and I hope that this family will treasure the portraits forever! 

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Best of 2023 Milestone & Cake Smash Portrait Sessions in Saratoga Springs

I have been a baby photographer for more than a decade now, and there is still something so special about welcoming these tiny little babies into our Saratoga Springs portrait studio to capture their portraits. I adore the baby phase, and I know all too well just how quickly it passes. That’s one of the reasons that I feel like our milestone portraits are just so classically “baby”. Timeless and simple, with a focus on the little moments that I know their parents are going to treasure looking back on years from now — the way they grab their toes, their puffy little hands pushing up on the floor, those tiny feet, their elbow dimples, and their gummy smiles and first teeth peeking out when they belly laugh. I’m a mama to two little ones, and there are so many stages that pull at my heartstrings, which is why I love slowing down time with my camera and documenting these moments before they’re gone.

2023 was a beautiful year in our studio, and I loved welcoming so many babies (and Collective Membership families!) into our studio for their milestone and birthday sessions. We did cake smashes, tub splashes, tummy time, rolling over, and everything in between!

Enjoy a peek at some of my favorite moments captured in 2023 of our older babies, and then go back and check out our Best of 2023 Newborns and Best of 2023 Family Sessions, too!

Just look at how adorable these milestone babies are! We typically do milestone sessions between 6-11 months old when babies are sitting up, playing with their toes, and learning to crawl. I just love this happy baby stage!

2023 saw some really beautiful cake smash themes in our Saratoga Springs baby photography studio. I loved creating unique backdrops for each session, and our new giant metal ONE letters were a popular with our families this year. My favorite new addition to the studio was a new pre-cake smash setup with a vintage wooden high chair and an adorable wooden cake with candles. So classic & beautiful, and it wound up being a favorite setup for nearly every single family, too!

And of course, every cake smash finished with a splash in our baby-sized clawfoot tub! The bubble bath always brought out the best smiles in the birthday babies!

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Did these portraits brighten your day? Maybe inspire you for your own little one’s upcoming session? I’d love to chat and create some beautiful portraits for your baby!

A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs

Happy birthday, Ivy! This darling little girl was born last year during the famous annual Whitney Race and upon her arrival, Heather immediately knew what her first birthday portrait theme would be: horse racing! I always love a chance to break out this uniquely Saratoga Springs backdrop and setup, and to do so in honor of a Whitney Race baby was even more special to me. Ivy’s mom not only used the theme for her portraits, but planned the entire birthday party around this theme too! SO fun. 

Before our cake smash, I met Ivy, Heather, and Lee in a wildflower field that they’ve grown to love over the last year. It’s a field the family frequents to gather their fresh fruit and veggies, so it holds a lot of meaning to the three of them. Ivy had the cutest little blue and white dress for our portraits in the field. She looked absolutely adorable, and everything just had this soft flowing vibe to it. 

After our time in the field, we headed back to the studio for Ivy’s first birthday portraits. Heather loved my vintage high chair and big ONE letters made of metal, so we made sure to incorporate them in our studio time. Heather chose the sweetest blue linen dress for Ivy to wear during her smash. She actually pulled some of the pastel orange and peach out of the backdrop for her cake, too. Such great attention to detail! It really helped everything for the smash come together. 

Ivy was gentle with her cake but had a blast. I loved seeing her little smile come out as she touched the icing and even got to play in our bath after the smash. She was utterly adorable and I had a great time with her and her parents marking this major milestone! Happy first birthday, Ivy! 

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A horse racing themed cake smash in Saratoga Springs NY with New York cake smash photographer Nicole Starr Photography

A Neutral Beige & White Balloon Garland Cake Smash

Happy first birthday, Westin! To celebrate this sweet boy’s first birthday, we planned a neutral beige and white cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio. This session was a blast - and so gorgeous, too. I loved bringing Mom’s vision to life to celebrate her little boy!

Before we got into the cake smash, I captured updated mommy and me portraits of Westin and his mom, Chanel. Chanel wore a beautiful gray dress and Westin had a cream hand-knit outfit. He looked absolutely precious! I loved the texture on his sweater - little details like that always look perfect on camera and bring some depth to your portraits. 

Afterwards, it was time for Westin’s cake smash! Mom wanted a boho feel for the setup with all neutral colors and a classic balloon garland. I loved designing this set with beige, white, and cream balloons. I also pulled out some of my classic white lit ONE lights and with his cream colored cake, we were ready to go! Westin wore the cutest little crown with a cream outfit and he looked absolutely adorable while he figured out what to do with his cake. During the session, he also took his FIRST steps! I was able to capture that special moment on film for his family and I am so grateful I could. 

I hope this sweet little boy has the best birthday! I loved having him in the studio for this adorable boho inspired cake smash. 

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A Tiger Jungle Themed Cake Smash with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

 I can’t believe Rhys is a year old! It seems like just yesterday, we were planning his newborn session and then he came in for his milestone portraits. Now, he’s a one year old and we had to celebrate with a fun tiger and jungle themed cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio. I have worked with Rhys and his family to capture all three boys’ first year - so I knew his mom wouldn’t disappoint with another fun theme! I absolutely loved creating a playful jungle setup for Rhys to smash some cake!! 

Like his brothers, Rhys’ cake smash centered around an animal: a tiger. Both of his brothers also had animal inspired cake smashes, each one had a special significance for the baby. Rhys was born in the year of the tiger, so we incorporated a tiger into both his newborn & milestone portraits. We made sure to bring the tiger into his cake smash, too. I absolutely love how this came together with the jungle leaves and the stuffed tigers! His mom brought him in a super cute tiger outfit to tie it all together, too! 

During the cake smash, Rhys wasn’t super into his cake, but his big brothers loved digging in! It’s one of the reasons I always say “yes” to big siblings who come to join us - so someone will enjoy the cake!! Happy birthday, Rhys! I’m so happy I was able to watch you grow this past year. You’re such a little sweetheart!! 

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A Girly Woodland Cake Smash with a Hint of Pink

Happy birthday, Reilly! Reilly is turning the big ONE, so we planned a sweet cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio to celebrate this darling girl. When we began planning, her mom sent me an inspiration photo from Reilly’s nursery (which is gorgeous, by the way!). She knew that they wanted to incorporate the birch tree trunks, greenery, and a hint of pink into her cake smash setup. I immediately LOVED the idea - and I was thrilled she wanted to use inspiration from their home.

We were originally going to do Reilly’s session in November, but thanks to daycare germs and multiple illnesses, we had to postpone and wound up finally getting together in December. While I had initially planned a hint of pink with flowers and a few blush pumpkins, the holiday season found me changing it up a little bit with some rose gold ornaments and this gorgeous sparkly felt flower wreath. Either way, I absolutely adore the final results and this sweet family did, too.

After their session, Reilly and her parents had their reveal. We designed a gorgeous heirloom album with all of their favorite images. I love knowing that Reilly will get to turn the pages and look back on this celebration for years to come! It’s one of Grayson’s favorite activities and to think of other little ones doing the same with their own photos means the world to me.

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A Party Animal Cake Smash for Rocco

Happy birthday, Rocco!! I can’t believe that Rocco is already a year old. He was my first newborn session for the year. Now 2022 is almost over, and this guy is ONE! Time is flying by, seriously. We planned a fun cake smash in the studio to celebrate his milestone birthday. Leah, his mom, asked if we could plan a theme that matched his party invitations, so we designed a “party animal” theme! 

Between Leah and I, we were able to create a gorgeous setup for this little guy. We used lots of fun confetti filled balloons to create a garland backdrop and Leah brought in some stuffed animals she’s planning to use for the birthday party. While everything was colorful and bright - perfect for a one year old - we still managed to keep a pretty clean style, which I absolutely love (and am known for!). This style allows us to really focus on the birthday boy during his portraits!

As with all of my cake smash sessions, we made sure to capture some updated family photos of Rocco and his parents. We also got the most adorable updated photos of him alone in a sweet little plaid shirt. He even had a baseball cap for one photo! I love when we do these milestone photos, because it’s a great time to photograph your baby’s personality and new skills. Once those were done, it was time for cake! Rocco loved digging into the icing and even knocked his cake off the stand at one point. I’m here for it!! We ended their session with a little bath for him, which he loved. He was seriously so happy the whole session and that makes me super excited! 

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A tugboat themed cake smash for Baby Walter

Happy first birthday, Walter! We celebrated Walter turning one with a sweet tugboat themed cake smash in the studio. When we began discussing possible setups for his birthday portraits, Walter’s mom told me that his dad works on tugboats and she had a sweet tugboat romper that she wanted to pick up for him. Originally, we were just going to do a nautical theme for the smash – but once I saw that romper, I knew that we had to focus on the tugboats! Everything came together perfectly after that and I’m so happy with how these portraits turned out. 

During the smash, Walter was seriously one of the happiest cake smashers I’ve ever had in the studio. He was all smiles and very interested in his cake. At one point, his big brother Caleb jumped in for a few bites. It was hilarious seeing how quickly he was able to demolish the cake after his baby brother had been delicately picking at it for awhile before that.

Before the smash, we also captured updated family portraits in Congress Park! This is one of my favorite spots for portraits in Saratoga Springs. It’s important to me to always document the entire family – and a few non-cake smash portraits of the birthday boy or girl – at the start of each cake smash. Cake smashes are so much fun, but it’s nice to have a sweet and simple portrait of your little one, too! 

Enjoy a look into Walter’s tugboat cake smash today! 

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First birthday portraits with a sage green and beige balloon garland

Happy first birthday to Kodah! We celebrated his first birthday with a stunning cake smash in the studio this spring. Like many babies, his cake smash decor was inspired by his nursery decor - which I absolutely love! There’s just something wonderful about using the colors and themes you already know and love for your baby! His mama sent me her mood board from when she designed his nursery and we used a similar color palette of soft green, beige, and white. With a few greenery accents, the setup was complete!

During our session, we photographed a few family and milestone portraits without the cake first. I love starting sessions this way because I get to immediately capture how you are as a family - and your little one has time to warm up to me before we try the cake! Kodah looked so cute in his little white button up and his parents looked so proud of him!!

They had even more to be proud of during our session. Kodah had a huge milestone - he fed himself for the first time during our portraits! His mom and dad were so surprised and happy, and it was such a fun way to celebrate him taking his first bite and bringing food to his mouth all by himself. Apparently cake was the magic food he was waiting for all this time! ;o)

Happy birthday again, Kodah!

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Cake Smash Portraits with Inspiration from Wedding Decor

I can’t believe Grace is one! I feel like she was just here for her newborn portraits 12 months ago. Now, we’re celebrating her first birthday. She (and her two big brothers, Charlie and Henry) came to the studio recently for her cake smash portraits and we all had a great time.

When I began talking with Grace’s mom about a theme and setup, she told me that she wanted to include similar colors and textures as they used at their head table in the wedding. First off, I LOVE that idea! How special and unique is that theme? The pictures had peach peonies, birch logs, eucalyptus and twinkle lights. I tied everything in the studio together with a beautiful wooden arch. The best part of this setup was that her Dad had no idea that would be the theme, so when he walked into the studio for portraits, he exclaimed, "Wow, this looks just like our wedding!". It was such a wonderful moment!

Grace had a lot of fun with her cake smash, especially once Charlie and Henry came to help her. They tried to feed Grace some icing and cake, then helped her smash it into the floor. That was when she really got into it. It was perfect!

Happy birthday, Grace!!!

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A cake smash with muted blues

Happy first birthday, Baby John! I loved photographing John’s classic first birthday cake smash here in the studio. It was a simple setup featuring a balloon garland of muted blues… and it was perfect for this little guy. When I began chatting with his parents about the theme and setup for his portraits, we knew that classic was the way we wanted to go. With a simple and muted color scheme, it was easy to achieve that look!

His parents decided on two sweet outfits for his portraits. John looked so grown up in his button down during his milestone portraits! And the little romper he wore for his smash reminded me of what we wore as kids. Definitely classic! With a taller and simple white cake from Kelly’s Kitchen, the setup was complete!

After John’s session, his family had their ordering session! They decided to order a gorgeous, hardcover linen album from his cake smash. It complements his newborn album perfectly! I love that they’re going to have both albums to enjoy for many years to come.

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Grayson's Fourth Trip Around the Sun - An Outer Space Cake Smash

I say it every year, but I can't even believe that our sweet boy is another year older! Grayson is FOUR. I don't know where the time goes, but it really does move at warp speed once you become a parent. It feels like we were just doing his other cake smash sessions not that long ago (check out his first birthday, second birthday, and third birthday portraits here!)

Every year I plan birthday portraits around a theme that is special to Grayson. When he was a baby, his favorite stuffed animal was a llama so we did a llama cake smash -- and it's still his favorite stuffed animal to this day! At age 2, he was obsessed with school buses, so naturally that's what his theme was. Last year at age 3, he was all about the mail truck.

But now this year feels different because he's not just into things with wheels anymore. As he likes to tell everyone, he's "really into space" and "obsessed with the planets."

Our little guy is super interested in learning everything he can about space. This future astronomer first saw pictures of the planets in a little card game a few months ago, and ever since then he can't get enough information about space!

It quickly turned into trips to the library to check out informational books on space and a visit to the planetarium. He asks to read his space books multiple time a day, and his favorite ones are called "Wonderbooks" and they have a read-aloud story built right into the book so he can listen to them on his own. Grayson loves them and plays them over and over. He draws the planets on his chalkboard and rattles off a million and one facts about the planets, their moons, which ones are gassy, which ones are bigger than others, and why some are so cold. He talks about asteroid belts and comets, galaxies and the big bang. It feels like we've been living in a seventh grade science class relearning all of this information alongside him, but he LOVES it and it's amazing to see what he has absorbed and understood.

Grayson asked me to do a cake smash with him, and I told him he would have to help me plan it. Naturally, we chose a space theme for his fourth birthday! He helped pick out the decorations, he chose his outfit, and helped me get it all set up. I make his cakes because of his peanut allergy, and we had fun baking this sweet concoction.

Now that he's getting older he wants to be a lot more involved in the studio, and it's really fun watching that excitement blossom inside of him. He's a pretty cool kid, and I'm excited to watch him come into his own even more this year as a four year old!

Planning your own little one's birthday portraits?

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A Music-Themed Cake smash for Baby Easton

I can’t believe Baby Easton is already one! It feels like yesterday that he came into the studio for his newborn session and now he’s a year old. I was so happy when his mom reached out to me to plan this cake smash for him. It’s the perfect way to celebrate your baby turning one! Cake smashes are completely personalized to your family and your baby, which makes them a great way to document this big milestone!

Since Easton loves going to weekly mommy & me music classes, his mom knew that they wanted to incorporate this into his cake smash. With a requested color palette of light blue, grey, and white, I was able to work on the setup. I love how all of the pieces came together - and I think Easton agrees. He was SO happy our entire session - and super chatty. We had a great time watching him enjoy his cake and crawl around the studio.

Happy first birthday, Easton!!

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My Favorite Balloon Garlands for Cake Smashes

I absolutely love balloon garlands! They’re such a fun way to decorate and build a setup for cake smashes in the studio. Today, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite balloon garlands so that when you start to plan your baby’s first birthday portraits, you’ve got some great ideas in mind.

Balloon garlands are an easy way to bring some color to the studio - especially if a family isn’t sure they want an actual them. They’re festive and celebratory! Paired with confetti, balloon garlands are a super fun way to celebrate your baby turning one!

Use Garlands instead of a Theme

Some families prefer to do a cake smash with no theme, but instead they have color inspiration they would like to use. A balloon garland pulls everything together and makes it festive. Just add a little confetti sprinkled on the floor, and you’re good to go!

You’ll see that we often use balloon garlands WITH a theme, too. It’s such a fun way to pull together a more theme (like the Easter Bunny, music, and a sports team, as you’ll see below!) by adding cutouts and other decor to complete the look.

Assembling Your Balloon Garland

As I prepare for birthday sessions, one of my jobs is assembling the balloon garlands. It’s much easier than you think! My number one tip is to make sure that you mix different sized balloons for a balanced look. I also love THESE balloon clips, which help me reuse my balloons for multiple sessions. All about low waste options! When you start to build the garland, bring your balloons really tightly together and then once you add it to your setup, you can re-arrange the balloons by flipping some forward and backward to get the look you want.

Below, you’ll find some of the most popular themes and color combinations - as well as a chance to click on some of the original blog posts and see the full setup!

I hope these portraits inspire you to include a balloon garland in your child’s first birthday portraits!

Pastels

Blues

Chromes/Metallics

White with Florals

Vibrant

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A Baseball Themed Cake Smash with tips for your next session

Happy birthday, Skyler! Skyler recently came to my Saratoga Springs studio to celebrate his first birthday with a baseball themed cake smash. His dad is a huge baseball fan, so we went with an orange and blue NY Mets theme. It was so much fun to plan a session that I knew meant a lot to Skyler’s family. While I’ve done other sports setups before, this was my first Mets inspired portrait session. To add a little dimension to my overhead shots, I added some cutouts of baseballs and bats to the floor for his session. It really created a super exciting look for Skyler!

After our family portraits and cake smash were complete, Skyler got to play in the tub to clean up and end our time together. Like a lot of babies, he loved the tub more than his cake! Either way, we got some super cute portraits of him to celebrate his first birthday. I can’t wait for you to see them all.

If your little one is turning one and you plan to do a cake smash, here’s a few tips to help get your baby interested in their cake for their portraits:

1. Consider hiding small food in the icing like puffs, cheerios, or yogurt drops. Asking them to get those foods may help get them to taste the icing.

2. Allow them to use a wooden spoon to play and touch the cake!

3. Take a break! There’s no pressure in my studio to get a little one to eat cake right away. Let’s have a snack or some milk and try again.

4. Distraction! Play baby’s favorite song or hold up their favorite toy. They’ll feel more comfortable!

5. Blow bubbles! If your little one won’t go near the cake, try adding some bubbles. As you can see with Skyler’s portraits, they add a touch of fun to the final images!

Above all, trust that your photographer will still capture all of your little one's adorable expressions and their full personality in their portraits, and maybe even a smile or two to surprise you! Cake smashes (especially!) are meant to be fun - so there’s truly no stress or pressure!

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A baseball themed cake smash photographed by Saratoga Springs NY cake smash photographer Nicole Starr Photography

Your Cake Smash: What to Expect

Celebrating your baby’s first birthday is such an exciting milestone! Not only is your baby ONE, but there’s so much you’ve achieved as a parent, too. It’s honestly one of the reasons I love photographing cake smash portraits so much. These babies are adorable and have some incredible new skills to show off. Plus, they’re just a lot of fun! But, cake smashes are a pretty unique type of session… and since it’s meant to be fun (and not stressful!), I want to make sure you know what to expect when you come into the studio.

Let’s celebrate together.

Today, I want to share a peek into what cake smash sessions are like, how you can prepare yourself and your almost one-year-old, and really enjoy this special time!

Choose a photographer that has plenty of experience with babies & toddlers.

Let’s start with the very first & most important thing. If you haven’t chosen a photographer yet, be sure to keep this in mind because all I want is for your little one to be comfortable and safe during their session, and for you to feel at ease the entire time.

A photographer who has plenty of experience photographing babies will be able to draw out the best smiles and expressions from your little one during your session. They know how to engage the baby and get them interested in their cake, the very best angles to capture your perfect little baby, and all of the must-have shots that will come together for a cake smash session that is more than just a smattering of portraits but that truly tells a story.

Choose a photographer who’s style and creativity you adore!

Cake smashes are one of the most creative types of sessions that baby photographers can do! Most photographers create their backdrops and props by hand, pulling together decor and other elements to bring your vision to life. Study a photographer’s portfolio to see which style you adore, and have specific requests for your cake smash setup. If you’re not sure of a theme or decor style, your photographer should be able to talk you through it to help you discover the perfect theme for your baby’s first birthday portraits.

When you arrive at the studio


When families come to my studio I have them take their shoes off at the door to keep the floors clean for the babies and toddlers that we have in our space. I let parents settle in on the studio sofa and I show them where the snacks and drinks are, and if big brother or sister is there we spend a little time in the toy corner to help them get acclimated to the new space.



Parents can change baby into their outfit for family portraits (this is usually a different outfit than we use for the cake smash). Sometimes baby will need a little more time to acclimate, and we don’t rush things! There is plenty of time for cuddles, a snack, songs, and playing before we begin your portraits.

First up come family portraits!


We start with family portraits to ease the baby into the new situation, and being in mom and dad’s arms helps make that a smooth transition! We capture a mix of family portraits, sibling portraits, and individual portraits of the baby. In the cooler months we do these in the studio in our white room setup and on the loveseat. In the warmer months we often meet at a nearby park for the family portraits before heading back to the studio for the cake smash.

Then it’s time for the cake smash!


After the family portraits we change the baby’s outfit. I usually capture a few portraits of baby on our setup without the cake before we bring out the cake. Parents are on baby duty to bring a moving baby back to the setup when they crawl off the backdrop, and we coax the baby to get comfortable with their cake. Sometimes a parents will sit right by their side if the baby prefers to be close to them, and often a parent will show them how to take a bite of the frosting or put a little on their lips to show them that it is food. Some babies need a little more help to dig into their cake, and we hide puffs or yogurt drops in the frosting to get them to dig in. I also have a wooden spoon that we pull out, and babies LOVE playing with the spoon. This always gets the biggest smiles!

Finish up with a bathtub splash!


The baby will let us know when they’re done with the cake, and we take off their outfit and get them ready for the bathtub. I fill the studio’s tiny clawfoot tub with warm water and bubbles, and then the baby gets in! This is an adorable opportunity for happy baby portraits, and I always love the smiles that we capture at the end of the session!



After we have captured a variety of portraits of your little one, we are all done! You have time to change and dress your baby, and if you need to give them a snack again before getting in the car you can absolutely do that, too!

After the session


If you’re comfortable with a sneak peek on social media, I usually share that 4-5 days after your session.

Then we will get together about 2 weeks later for your ordering appointment! We’ll choose your favorite family and baby portraits to hang on your walls, and select your favorite images for an album or a collection box. This is always my favorite part when families fall in love with the images we created of their birthday baby!

Once I send everything to print you’ll get it back in 2-6 weeks — certain products take closer to the 4-6 week mark, but others are always ready much, much sooner. When everything is ready I will either come drop it off or put it in the mail to you, or you can come pick it up at the studio. Then you’ll start enjoying your images right away at home!

Any questions? I’d be happy to chat with you about your little one’s portrait session. Click on the button below and let’s connect!

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Where the Wild Things Are Cake Smash

Well this was definitely a fun session! We planned a “Where the Wild Things Are” cake smash to go along with the theme of Jacob’s first birthday party. His mama found the most adorable romper at Zara and it went perfectly with the greenery in the decor. The little golden crown with fur (just like Max wears in the book!) was the perfect finishing touch for the birthday boy’s outfit. Find more tips for choosing a cake smash outfit here!

The last time I had this theme request was probably 5 years ago, so it was fun to pull together a brand new backdrop and create something beautiful for this sweet boy’s birthday celebration!

Wondering how to choose a theme for your baby’s cake smash? Check out these tips!

Jacob LOVED this cake, and he especially enjoyed it when his big brother Jonas joined in. I have been photographing this family’s milestones since big brother was a newborn, and it’s always so amazing to see how much they grow and change over the years. Look at how sweet he is feeding his little brother here!

We began the session with family portraits in Congress Park in downtown Saratoga Springs. Summertime colors were in full bloom and it was absolutely gorgeous!

The happiest baby you ever did see!

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