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 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!

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Our Latest baby plan graduate - a pretty floral cake smash for Ella

We have another Baby Plan graduate! And ohhhhh my goodness, she is just perfectly adorable and the cutest little one year old you ever did see!

If you haven’t heard about our Baby Plan, it’s a way to celebrate all of your little one’s milestones with beautiful portraits throughout the first year. From a newborn session, to a sitter session, all the way through a cake smash with family portraits at the end of the year! We even include maternity portraits, making it FOUR SESSIONS to document all of the special moments in your baby’s first twelve months. I love working with our Baby Plan clients so much, and I only take on a few per month to give them all the attention they deserve!

Ella turned one, and she was very excited about it! We started with family portraits, soaking up the last rays of sunshine of the summer while celebrating her first steady steps with mom and dad.

Then we headed back to the studio for a very special cake smash filled with fluffy pink peonies and twinkle lights — two of my favorite things!

Don’t you just love those cute little rolls on her arms? And the finger dimples make my heart melt! So, so sweet!

We finished her session with a bathtub splash, and she loved getting all sudsy and playing with the rubber duckie!

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

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Lena's Simple Peony Cake Smash

All of our first birthday sessions start off with family portraits. During the cooler months, we do these portraits indoors at our Saratoga Springs studio. We always use a simple neutral backdrop so that your family photos will look amazing in any room of your home.

I love celebrating ONE YEAR of parenthood with families! Sessions are filled with laughs, baby cuddles, tickles, songs, and games. Birthday girl Lena loved it, and she gave us the cutest little smiles!

Next up was her cake smash. We planned a simple peony garland for the decor with some white balloons to keep it festive for her first birthday. Add in a flower crown and one of our baby rompers from the STUDIO BABY WARDROBE, and it all came together perfectly!

Lena’s cake stayed on the cake stand for only 15 seconds.

She was truly a master smasher! She knocked the cake off right away, and then she dug right in! I love her huge smiles, and cute little giggles, and the way her hands filled with sticky cake & frosting so that it looked like she was wearing big mittens made out of cake.

Face first! See?? She truly was a pro!

Of course we finished with a bathtub splash, and this sweet baby girl was as happy as can be. I mean, really… cake AND a bubble bath? It doesn’t get any better than that!

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We are OBSESSED with peonies here at Nicole Starr Photography! Check out Ellie’s gorgeous cake smash with peonies here on the blog, too!

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About Nicole Starr Photography 

Nicole Starr specializes in newborn, baby & family photography and has been serving families in New York and Massachusetts since 2012.  She has a portrait studio in Saratoga Springs, NY for families in the Capital Region.  Nicole also works with families year round at her Attleboro, MA portrait studio, and on location May through October in Boston and on Cape Cod.  Nicole has a clean and classic style, and the studio is filled with neutrals and luxe fabrics.  We use very minimal props to keep the focus on your perfect little baby.  Our sessions are relaxed and fun, and we’ll enjoy an hour together (or up to 3 hours for a newborn session!) laughing, cuddling, and capturing authentic smiles and belly laughs with your little ones.  

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!

A Pink and Silver Winter Wonderland Cake Smash for Kataryna

Winter ONEderland is always a very popular cake smash theme this time of year, and I loved pulling together this beautiful first birthday session for little miss Kataryna’s birthday! Lots of snowflakes, bottle brush trees, fluffy white snow, and pink and silver accents all came together beautifully for the most perfect first birthday photo session.

How sweet is her little ponytail?! Her mama found the perfect tutu months in advance, so I designed her cake smash decor to match.

This baby girl LOVED standing up! She was walking all over the studio, and I found frosting in all sorts of interesting spots when I was cleaning up after her session. That’s always the fun part of our cake smashes — they get MESSY and these birthday babies always have us laughing!

Kataryna finished her cake smash with a splash in the bathtub, and she even brought her own bath toys from home for a special little touch!

Blake is ONE! A Sparkly Pink and Gold Cake Smash with Boston Baby Photographer

I love when our newborn clients come back to celebrate their first birthday at the studio!  It's hard to believe that it's been a year already since Blake's newborn session, and I truly enjoyed getting to celebrate this vibrant baby girl's first birthday with a very special cake smash session at our Attleboro baby photography studio.  

Our popular paper flower backdrop is at it again, this time with a little SPARKLE!  This drop is now for sale with our Designer Line at Baby Dream Backdrops.  Check it out here!

Blake LOVED her cake, especially once she was able to dig in with a spoon!  She surprised us all by keeping her birthday crown on the entire time (rare for a one-year old!), and she had the best time giggling away while we did her cake smash.  Isn't she adorable?!?!

Of course, I can never resist clicking the shutter on a good crying photo, and Blake ended the smash with the perfect reaction.

No birthday session with Nicole Starr Photography is complete without some family portraits!  We did some classic portraits for this Boston family, with neutral colors and a simple background to let them shine together.  This sweet little girl is so, so loved!

Go Patriots! A Football Cake Smash Session with Boston Baby Photographer Nicole Starr Photography

This family LOVES the Patriots.  Their son was born in 2017 during the Super Bowl, and of course they wanted to incorporate their favorite sport into his first birthday session.  Ryan is probably the tiniest Pats fan in New England, but you can bet that be brings a lot of spirit to cheer on his family's favorite team!

We planned a football cake smash for Ryan's first birthday session at our Attleboro portrait studio.  I love getting everything ready for these sessions down to the very last detail, including this adorable Pats jersey cake topper that I designed just for his session!

Like a true rough-and-tumble football player, Ryan did not mess around when it came time to dig in.  Look at him shoving fistfuls of cake in his mouth!  We couldn't stop laughing at this cute baby boy's enthusiasm!

What does your family enjoy doing together?  Watching sports, reading books, painting, cooking, dancing, listening to music, playing make believe?  Whatever you love, we can incorporate it into your little one's session to infuse your family's interests and personality into your portraits.  Let's chat and plan your session together!