A cake smash has become a rite of passage for many babies celebrating their first birthday and is currently topping my list of favourite things that originated in the US.

It is a photoshoot focused on your baby playing with and eating their birthday cake. As a fruity alternative, I also offer watermelon or fruit smash sessions which are just perfect if you prefer to keep your baby off cake a little while longer.

I love starting these sessions with a mini-portrait session to encourage some beautiful smiles without the sensory overload of the cake as well, so a special outfit is a must! Once we have a few smiles in the bag, the cake is brought out ready to be poked, prodded and pushed! This is my favourite bit as every child behaves completely differently…some don’t eat any but choose to pulverise the cake, some devour it by the fistful and some head in face first! Some, of course, prefer to repeatedly escape the cake and want nothing to do with it but we have a few tricks up our sleeve if that happens!

If you didn’t think it was messy enough after the cake, we bring out a tub of warm water and soapy bubbles for your little one to clean themselves off and have a fantastic time splashing water all over! This is usually children favourite part of the session. Being allowed to do exactly what they are denied at home plays a special role and the confusion on some little faces is just adorable entertaining for us the adults.

I have a huge variety of balloons, props and outfits which I use to design a decorated set to your tastes, before you arrive.

I always offer session with fresh flowers or fruits which are just as cute and with a lovely fresh spring/summer vibe.

We always finish the session in style witha family photo on a timeless, classic background – because as you will well know – we have far too few photos of ourselves with our babies.