Have you ever done something on your own, and regret the huge amount of work you need to do? I know I have. (Pinterest DIYs always get me haha) This is where I come in! I take care of all the props and decor that go along with the session. (Trust me when I say that you don’t want to have to buy a collection of things for a session) I also make it easy to view and pay your invoice, sketch your set for you so you have an idea of what it’ll look like as well and coordinate the cake and outfit as well – We will touch base on that a bit later. But the only thing that you as a client have to do is bring yourself, baby and a towel (For the splash photos) It takes the ease out of organizing and for you as the parent to just enjoy being present.
Don’t you clean enough already? I know I did when my babies were that age. If it’s not from a meal, it’s from the toys they’re throwing or the leftovers that I didn’t clean up from just yet in the kitchen. The last thing I want to have my clients worry about is the fact that they have to clean. With the huge amount of mess that can be involved with cake smash photography, I don’t want you to even bat an eye at any mess left. Just consider it a huge success that a mess was left!
For the cake smash session, I always let my clients pick a theme. With that theme, I customize the decor and outfits to match the theme to make it a full-circle moment for the photos. I honestly love being able to find unique outfits that are usually made by small businesses. During a cake smash session, 2 outfits are required. 1) For the portrait part of the session and the second for the cake smash portion. Some of my baby clients don’t love being changed so we stick to just one outfit, and that is 100% okay! I also let clients know that they can either bring their outfits or they can take a peek at my huge client closet of over 50+ girls’ and boys’ outfits to Choose from. Typically I have a range of sizes from 6 months through 18-24 months for all sizes.
For cake smash sessions; I provide the cake. This cake will match the theme and it’s baked by a local baker who only produces high-quality cakes (My amazing baker is https://www.facebook.com/brooklinbakery/. Located in Whitby.) The reason I provide the cake is because 1) I want it to match the overall look and theme of the set. 2) My baker uses no honey and a low amount of sugar to make sure that the baby doesn’t go into a sugar frenzy after their session. 3) It’s just one less thing for you to have to bring for your cake smash session. In the years prior, I have encouraged clients to bring their own cakes, and I found the following problems, The cakes are either much too small or too big for the set and baby. The cakes come from a big franchise store like Walmart instead of supporting local (Which I’m a huge fan of) Lastly the cakes just don’t hold together as well as a locally made baker does. The best part? If your baby has an allergy, we can accommodate that allergy in the cake.
This is my favourite part! I love love love creating the set for all my cake smashes so much that I aim to try to make each set unique to clients (Unless otherwise asked). When you complete the booking process: we will start deep-diving into the planning of the session! I aim to make the set simple and themed without taking too much away from the baby. I also love including any family heirlooms that you may want to include as well. It can take me anywhere from 3-4 weeks to organize, plan and execute a session. With that being said I try to encourage clients to book 2-3 months ahead of time, to ensure that everything is perfect.
I provide my clients with a large highly edited waterproofed gallery of 200-250 images for cake smash sessions. Depending on your package, you can purchase additional images past your package amount. Once you have chosen your images; I then fully edit your gallery for you to download and keep. We will also go over prints and products that you may want to include in your order as well.
(The most popular being my Album and grandparents album)
There you have it. Reasons why hiring a professional cake smash photographer is so important. It takes the guessing work out of everything as well as being a huge relief for you. I always tell parents that I want you to enjoy and celebrate this time with your baby too! This is the only time that they will be this age and this personality so sit back, and take in this moment!
Take a look at my other blogs around cake smash sessions:
Cake Smash With Jevonna Wynter Photography
Our cake smash baker | Cake smash photography
Cake Smash Photography Toronto and Durham Region Tips for your Session