How to prepare for your cake smash session

Here we have provided some useful tips on how to prepare and make the most out of your cake smash photoshoot.

Finding the right outfit

We provide nappy covers and accessories for all babies. Our philosophy is to keep things very simple. Having them in a white vest is more than enough. It’s sometimes helpful to think about your colour scheme first. We keep everything on set white so you have the freedom to chose your own colour without anything clashing. Picking an outfit that complements the colour and style of your cake is always a winner.

Choosing the right cake

We have a dedicated blog post here with a helpful guide on finding a cake. We highly recommend saving your money and using a basic cake. Local supermarkets are pretty awesome at providing decent, affordable cakes ideal for smashing. Our cake stand is approx 7 inch wide and we prefer cakes that don’t have a square base (we can usually slide them off if we need to but not always).

What backdrop will you have?

As you may have already noticed, we like to keep things simple. This saves time, money, less distractions and creates a timeless more usable image at the end. We provide white balloons for the background on a white backdrop which we absolutely love. If you want something a little extra, we do have some accessories such as bunting and ribbon rings too, if you would like to see some examples of our extra backdrops please click here. We now have a gorgeous upgrade (seen above) for £22 which includes handmade eucalyptus rings made by our lovely local florist next door. Please let us know in advance if you would like any changes, upgrades or plan to bring your own so we can make sure we are set up appropriately.

Prepping your baby on arrival

When you arrive, it is recommended to change your baby’s nappy on arrival so it’s nice and flat for the photos. We provide a changing table and give you time to get ready. At this point you can select your outfits, dress your baby and get ready while we prep your cake.

Thinking about the time of day

Avoid nap time. I know this is hard but one of the biggest things we notice with our very occasional unsuccessful cake smashes is normally due to skipping nap time to come to a shoot. Mixed with a hit of sugar we find they become very irritable and restless. Please call us up and we will always try our very best to fit your session in around the needs of your baby to help you get the best out of your shoot.

Siblings

Yesss! We love siblings to join in the fun. Our set for cake smash is only diddy though but we can always squeeze a few extra in. It is not recommended to try and squeeze them in the 20 minute sessions though, rather book the extra £15 for 15 minutes extra so you can be assured you are getting a good variety of shots.

Hydrate

Keeping your little one hydrated before and after helps to avoid any sugar highs which stops the crash afterwards. Please do bring a drink for them and feel free to let them have a mini break during their shoot.

To eat or not to eat?

It’s fine to come before or after a light breakfast or lunch. Sometimes when they are too hungry and it’s not what they were expecting it can go down like a burst balloon. A neutral tummy, not too hungry not too full always works best.

Adding extra time

Most of our clients opt for the extra time. Bringing their little one in a pretty outfit that they don’t want to get spoiled. These shots are great as they are neutral enough to have framed therefore great on your wall all year round!

What about the mess?

Don’t worry we provide warm water and flannels to help you clean your little one afterwards. What’s even better, we clean up all the mess too! You will get messy too. Therefore please be prepared to get your hands dirty. We may need you to go onto the set to help encourage your little one to play or comfort them.

I hope this information was helpful to you. If you have any questions at all please give us a quick call 0113 8694051 or email studio@meagansarahphoto.co.uk

Click here to pop straight back to our cake smash info page.