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!

---

Save this post for later:

A Simple Woodland Cake Smash Setup for Baby Boy’s First Birthday

How is Lucas already a one year old?! This was our fifth session together thanks to our Collective Membership, and Lucas absolutely loved the camera! He was so comfortable in the studio, and he had a blast digging into his cake to celebrate turning one. Seeing babies be super comfortable with me is definitely a huge perk of being a part of the membership! 

For Lucas’ first birthday portraits, his mom and dad wanted to keep the setup super simple. We brought in elements of the woods, including the gorgeous pine tree trunks and greenery. With lots of fairy lights intertwined with the leaves on the floor, the setup became more whimsical and fun for this sweet boy. His outfit was also simple, but Lucas looked absolutely adorable in his overalls! 

My favorite portraits from his cake smash are actually where Lucas is smiling up at his mom and dad. His eyes just light up when he sees them, and I hope they always look back at these portraits and see the love that they reflected right back on to him. It was so precious to see those moments happen in real life and to have saved them forever for Lucas and his parents is beyond special to me! 

Happy first birthday, Lucas! I can’t believe you’re already such a big boy!! 

---

Save this post for later:

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Cake Smash with White and Gold Backdrop

Sofia is one! We celebrated this sweet girl’s first birthday with a gorgeous cake smash in my Saratoga Springs studio this year. I’ve done Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star setups before but they’re always fun to create and I love to find new ways to make them unique to each baby in the studio. For Sofia’s session, we focused on a light and airy feeling in her setup. I’m a huge sucker for any setup with gold stars, and that was a great place to start for her backdrop! The end results are so timeless and just perfect for this little birthday star! 

Before we dove into her cake though, Sofia and her family met with me in Congress Park – one of my favorite Saratoga Springs parks. We managed to find the last flowering bush in the park. It wound up being the perfect spot for their new family portraits! Sofia and her big sister Ella were fantastic for me. We had a blast! Mom and dad played along with the girls, and everyone looked absolutely amazing. It was the best way to kick off their session. 

When the portraits were done, we headed to the studio and Sofia got to get into her cake. She looked adorable with a simple headband and ivory outfit for the smash. This little girl loved when she got to play with the wooden spoon and cake. It was adorable! Our session ended with her little bubble bath – a favorite among the babies in the studio. She was so cute and happy the entire time for us. It was truly a dream cake smash session!

---

Save this for later:

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!! 

---

Save this post for later!

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!

---

Save it for later:

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

Celebrating Grayson's Third Birthday with a Mail Truck Cake Smash

Our son Grayson turned 3, and we celebrated with a cake smash in our Saratoga Springs portrait studio!

Grayson had been begging me for a cake smash for months, naturally forgetting about the two he already enjoyed for his first birthday and second birthday! He loves hearing stories about other babies smashing their cakes and he gets such a kick out of seeing their pictures on my computer and in print when I am packaging orders up for my clients. He kept telling me that he wanted to do a cake smash, so I told him that he had to help me get it ready.

We chose a mail truck theme because this little guy is obsessed with vehicles. While school buses continue to be his #1 love, mail trucks are a close second. Since he was a baby he has been able to recognize the stop-and-go engine of the mail truck from many blocks away and tell us that it’s coming. He loves watching the mail get delivered and going to check the mailbox. Naturally, this was the perfect cake smash theme for our curious three year old!

Grayson loves helping me set up for other people’s sessions, and he always asks to come down into the studio to get things ready when he knows a baby is coming in for their session. He loves helping me make balloon garlands for cake smashes, so Grayson helped me make the balloon garland and all of the other decor for his session! Because of food allergies, we aren’t able to give him cake from the local bakeries and we make all of our own baked goods for him to enjoy, so my little baker even helped bake & frost his cake, too! It all came together for a perfectly adorable mail truck cake smash, and he was one happy little birthday boy!

Check out Grayson’s earlier birthday portraits here!

We always try to go for a unique theme that represents his interests and is meaningful to him and to our family’s story. Three years in and I would say we’re doing pretty well with the one-of-a-kind ideas!

An Ice Cream Cone Cake Smash for Ella's First Birthday

The first solid food Ella ever tried was ice cream, so naturally we chose an ice cream cone theme for her cake smash session! This sweet girl’s first birthday portraits were delayed due to covid closures, but we got her in the studio as soon as we could to celebrate the start of the toddler years. This little cutie pie LOVED the camera, and I can’t get over how adorable her little pigtails are!

Ella dug right into her cake, and kept looking at her big brother and sister to see if they were going to sneak in there for a bite! We let them join in at the end, and it was so cute watching the three of them together enjoying the birthday girl’s cake.

Her little dress was from our studio wardrobe. Isn’t it the perfect color on her?

All of our cake smash sessions begin with family portraits, and in the warmer months we’re lucky enough to head outside to nearby parks for family photos! We captured a good mix of portraits of the whole family, letting each child’s personality shine. These are going to look amazing on a new gallery wall above their sofa!

---

Inspired by this pastel ice cream cone cake smash? Pin this image or any from the post above!

A Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Cake Smash for Carter

Another Baby Planner celebrated his first birthday with a cake smash at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio! I loved celebrating Carter’s first year with his family, and it’s hard to believe that this sweet boy is already ONE! Actually, he’s one and then some — we had to postpone a few times due to covid, but it was definitely worth the wait to capture these adorable portraits!

We planned a timeless and neutral Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cake smash theme for the birthday boy, using all cream and gold in the decor. It really makes Carter pop as the star of the show, don’t you think?

Read more about my obsession with neutral colors in the studio here!

Carter wore the cutest outfit with shorts & suspenders, and I love how classic it looked with the setup. These portraits are going to be timeless 20 years from now, and they will never go out of style!

He dug right into his cake and he really smashed it! The wooden spoon was a big hit and kept him busy!

We finished Carter’s session with a bathtub splash in our white clawfoot tub. Carter loved his bubble bath, and this cute photo of him singing (below) will be hanging on the wall in his family’s bathroom to make them smile every day.

---

Love this Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star cake smash? Save this image or any from the post above for inspiration later!

How to Choose a Cake Smash Theme for Your Baby's First Birthday Portraits

When my son turned one I had the hardest time deciding what to do for his cake smash theme. I mean, seriously, I’m a cake smash photographer so you’d think this would be easy for me! But no.

I went back and forth with so many ideas and finally settled on one that tied into our family’s story. My husband and I spotted a llama in downtown Saratoga Springs on our very first date, and over the years it became a lucky find for us whenever we spotted a llama. So llamas were kind of our thing years before they became “trendy”, and we settled on a llama theme for our little boy! It worked out perfectly because he had so many llama books and toys, and it was now his thing, too!

So if you’re like me and you’re wondering how in the world to pick a theme or an idea for your child’s first birthday portrait session, don’t worry! This blog post is filled with ideas to inspire you!

---

Just pick a color - no theme!

I love working with just a few colors and incorporating them into a festive setup with balloons, confetti, garlands, and cutouts.

PRO TIP: Choose the nursery colors and you’ll have the perfect spot to hang your portraits!

Pick a favorite song or book.

Baby Shark, Oh the Places You’ll Go (travel theme), Peter Rabbit, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are just a few that we’ve done based on books and songs!

Special Holidays

Was your baby born on a special holiday or in a particular season? Incorporate that into the cake smash! Christmas, New Year’s, Winter Wonderland, Fourth of July, Spring, Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving (with a pumpkin pie smash). These are all a few fun ideas!

Nautical - always a popular theme!

This is definitely one of the most popular requests I get for boys, and I love customizing it for each baby!

Florals - another popular request!

Blush pink florals and peonies are always a popular request for little girls, and I love coming up with new ways to design the cake smash setups so that each one is unique. Here are a few favorites!

Favorite toys

Maybe your child has a favorite stuffed animal and you’re planning his birthday party to match. That’s how we came up with this panda bear theme!

Favorite family activities

Does your family love to go camping? Bake cookies? Have pool parties? Travel? Visit the farmer’s market? Make that a theme for a very unique session!

Still not sure what to choose? That’s why I’m here! I love helping families come up with the perfect idea for their baby’s cake smash, and I’m happy to help you, too!

But if you need more inspiration, here are a few on my wish list this year:

• Ice cream shop

• Farmer’s Market/Flower Market

• Cookies & Cream/Oreos

• New Year’s Eve

• Little aviator

• Pastel balloon wall

• Ballerinas

• White & Gold

---

Love these cake smash ideas? Pin this image or any from the post above!

A Sailboat Cake Smash for Baby Jonas with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

It’s always such an honor to watch babies grow and photograph them throughout their first year, and it amazes me every single time just how quickly a year can pass, and how much these little babies can change in twelve months!

I feel like it was just last month that we were snuggling Jonas during his newborn session, and now he’s ONE!

We celebrated his first birthday with family portraits at the Hall of Springs in Saratoga. The studio is only two miles from here, and it’s one of my favorite spots to meet at before the cake smash because there are so many gorgeous and unique locations within the park for family portraits.

Jonas was in the best mood, super curious and playful. And just so happy & smiley in every single photo!

Then we headed back to the studio for a nautical cake smash. This year we had a few coastal elements and colors in his newborn and milestone sessions, and it was perfect to weave those same colors into his cake smash so that all of his portraits will complement each other up on the walls of their home.

Jonas LOVED eating his cake with a spoon, and we captured so many cute moments of him enjoying all of the frosting!

Time for a bathtub splash, and so many more smiles! Honestly, he had to have been one of the happiest cake smash babies I have ever photographed!

---

Inspired by this cake smash session? Pin this image or any from the post above!

All Around the World - Kaylen's Travel Themed Cake Smash with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

---

Love this travel-inspired cake smash? Pin this image or any from the post above!

Some Bunny is One! Charlotte's Cake Smash

We have another Baby Planner graduate!

I can’t believe that Charlotte is ONE! Her mama first reached out to me early last year and we discovered that our due dates were only one day apart! Charlotte came early, and then our Grayson arrived early, and the two have enjoyed a bunch of play dates & walks together this year!

We had such a great time at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio for her birthday session, and I just love all of the cute family cuddles that we captured to celebrate their first year as a family of three.

Charlotte brought her favorite little elephant and she was so sweet and cuddly with her toy! This is what ONE looks like for their sweet baby girl!

With a spring birthday close to Easter, we planned a simple floral cake smash with a “Somebunny is One” theme to go along with her birthday party theme. I love how it came together with this cute bunny cake topper!

While dainty, she was definitely cute digging into her birthday cake for the cake smash!

I think the wooden spoon was her favorite part of the whole thing! Just look at that beautiful smile!

An English Garden Cake Smash with Peonies

Sweet little Ellie came to the studio for her first birthday session, and it was absolutely perfect! We started her beautiful session with family portraits, and this baby girl just lit up everyone in great big smiles and laughs!

I loved planning this session with her mama to bring her dream of an English garden and tea party to life. We used a white backdrop and billowy curtains, loads of fluffy pink peonies, and a few beautiful bird cages, too! We have an itty bitty tea set in the studio, and Ellie played with her favorite stuffed animal and shared a tea party with her elephant. It was the cutest thing ever!

Ahhhhh!!! Don’t you just love how excited she is about her cake?!?! I love when babies show off their clapping skills during their first birthday sessions!

Bathtub splash at the end! Guess who wanted to eat all of the soap bubbles?!

Natalia's Cake Smash with an Amethyst Balloon Garland

Balloon garlands are getting popular for our cake smash sessions, and this gorgeous amethyst purple one might just be my favorite balloon garland yet!

Natalia came to the studio for her newborn session last year, and we incorporated purple because that was a prominent color in the nursery. Naturally, we wanted to use this color for the cake smash, too! But first we captured some incredibly sweet portraits of Natalia and her big sister together .

This sweet birthday girl was a little hesitant about her birthday cake, and spent a good amount of time crawling away from her cake at first… but eventually she really dug in and really rocked her cake smash!

Haha, this little stretch of hers is my favorite!

Big sister joined in at the end!

A Baby Shark Cake Smash by Nicole Starr Photography

Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo…

Every family that comes to the studio knows this song, and just about every family with a little one under 5 recognizes the tune. The Alexa in the studio basically plays this song on repeat!

I was so excited when Wells’ mama asked for a Baby Shark/under the sea cake smash for his first birthday! This was definitely a fun theme to design, and I loved creating all of the ocean elements by hand and pulling them together for a perfectly cheerful set up with just a hint of “Baby Shark” for the sweet birthday boy.

Even the birthday cake was made to look like ocean waves with graham cracker “sand”!

Wells wasn’t totally into the cake, and we spent a good bit of time following him around the studio because he LOVED showing off his crawling skills during his cake smash session.

His big brothers and sister joined in at the end, which is always so much fun! Hahaha, he may not have been so happy about sharing that delicious cake, though!

Thankfully this baby boy LOVED the bathtub, and the smash & splash was an absolute success with so many smiles and lots and lots of splashing!

Happy Birthday Barratt! A Simple Studio Session

Family portraits during our first birthday sessions are always some of my FAVORITE portraits to take in a baby’s first year. This is when parents have just gotten through their first year of parenthood. There have been so many new and exciting moments, a lot of ups and downs, and plenty of victories as they get to know this tiny human they created.

These sessions are always filled with laughter and awe as they look at their little one’s budding personality, and when Barratt’s parents joined me in the studio for his first birthday session it was no different. They were so in love with their little guy, and these cuddly portraits are some of my favorites this winter!

The cream sofa in the studio is one of my favorite spots for timeless images that really let your family and their personalities shine. I always love placing a one year old on the sofa by himself and letting him sit, laugh, crawl, stand, and explore. These make for the cutest portraits of your baby right on the brink of becoming a toddler!

We did a simple white and rustic cake smash for Barratt, and his mama requested that the only decor be our shiplap backdrop and bottle brush trees on the cake. Done!

Barratt, of course, wanted to make the trees go “timberrrrrr” right away!

Such a fun session with this sweet boy! Click here to see how much he has grown in the past 12 month for a peek into his lifestyle newborn session last winter.

Johnny's Cowboy Boots Cake Smash with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

When Johnny’s mom was trying to come up with a theme for his cake smash session, she casually mentioned that his dad had a ton of cowboy boots because he grew up in Texas. That was all the inspiration I needed, and we created a very fun BOOTS cake smash for the birthday boy!

Johnny was super excited about his cake, and he is one of only two babies EVER to completely demolish his cake during a session. Most babies pick a little frosting and cake off the top, but very few smoosh the entire thing into the floor and eat a lot, too. Johnny did! He’s a cake smash champ!

As you can tell, he REALLY got into it and took his birthday boy job very seriously!

The One with ALL OF THE CAKES! | Saratoga Springs Cake Smash Photographer

Cake smash sessions are one of my favorite ways to celebrate your baby's first birthday.  I love welcoming families to our Saratoga Springs studio (and our Attleboro studio!) for a very sweet portrait session.  You have survived 365 days of parenthood, so let's celebrate!

One of the things that I love the most about our cake smash sessions is unleashing my creativity on our custom-designed backdrops and sets.  Each session is unique, so I plan a custom backdrop for every baby based on the theme that their parents give me.  

This year we saw everything from superheroes & construction trucks, to Lilly Pulitzer & Cookie Monster.  Some parents use favorite books for inspiration (The Very Hungry Caterpillar cake smash, by Eric Carle), while others come to me with a favorite quote to incorporate into their session ("Love you to the moon and back").  

Just look at how CREATIVE parents were this year in coming up with themes for their little ones' birthdays!  I absolutely adore pulling their theme inspiration into a whimsical cake smash just for your baby.  I can't wait to take our backdrop creation to a whole new level in 2017!  Just wait until you see what we have in store for you this year!

One of the challenges that I enjoy in designing these creative sessions is that every single one is unique.  Even if a family comes to me months later requesting the same theme that another family used, I make sure to plan an entirely new set up for them so that their baby can shine in his or her own way.

This year there were some tears...   (Actually, a lot more tears than just these twins!  But this is my favorite image!)

And some helpers...  I think mom & dad always enjoy the cake as much as the baby, sometimes even more so!  

And there were a whole lot of cute babies (almost toddlers!).  Seriously, I can't believe I get to spend my days with babies, cake, and craft projects.  I must have the best job ever!

Need some inspiration for your baby's first birthday photo shoot?  Here’s a list of all of our favorite cake smash themes this year!

Lilly Pulitzer cake smash

Construction Trucks cake smash

Boho Chic cake smash

Cookie Monster cake smash

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star cake smash

Floral cake smash

Make Way for Ducklings cake smash

Where the Wild Things Are cake smash

Love You to the Moon and Back cake smash

Oh the Places You’ll Go cake smash

The Very Hungry Caterpillar cake smash

Cookies & Milk cake smash

And here are cake smash themes we'd love to do in the studio in 2017 to celebrate your baby's first birthday cake smash photo shoot!  Plus, any other ideas you have for your session!

Rocket Ship cake smash

Day at the Beach cake smash

Hot Air Balloon (Oh the Places You'll Go) cake smash

Rustic Woods cake smash

Winter Wonderland cake smash

Pirate cake smash

Unicorn cake smash

Jungle cake smash

Baseball cake smash

Glitter & Gold cake smash

Boho Chic cake smash

Airplane/Aviation cake smash

Under the Sea cake smash

Floral crowns with a "naked cake" (minimal frosting) cake smash

Nautical cake smash

And a few alternate foods/items we'd love to do for your session, because remember that not every baby is all about the cake!

Spaghetti smash

Watermelon smash

Pumpkin Pie smash

Finger painting smash

Muffin smash

One thing we added as an option to our sessions this year was a little SPLASH!  Our "smash & splash" sessions are becoming increasingly popular, and who doesn't love a little tub bath at the end of their portrait session?