Smash cake photography is one of the best gifts you can give your little one. The first years of a baby are very important, babies grow so fast that time is not even noticed, so many families do not know how to celebrate their babies’ first birthday.
A good idea is to do a Smash Cake photo shoot. Babies go through new and sensory experiences allow us to immortalize completely beautiful scenes, since it is very easy for them to smile and make very tender expressions.
What is a Smash Cake?
The word Smash Cake translated into Spanish means “smash the cake” is a completely new style that has its origins from United States and that consists of letting the baby destroy the cake on his birthday and being photographed while destroying it.
The job we have as photographers is to capture the essence and beauty of each baby between her first or second birthday , we must immortalize those moments so wonderful. It is also a completely spontaneous photo session, where we capture the innocence and experience that is full of stimuli for each creature.
Why is it important to do a Smash Cake Photography session?
Most importantly, it is one of the most fun and unforgettable ways to celebrate a baby’s first birthday.
Babies between their first years of age are in full development, likewise all the stimuli with which they have interacted are usually few or are used to them. They tend to be so curious that they put everything they find into their mouths and it is unmatched when left in front of a cake, wonderful things really happen.
In this way, this activity allows to experiment with an endless number of textures, flavors and sensations , in order to provide them with a totally unique experience, they will develop full of curiosity for all the sensations they go through, which are very beautiful and beautiful that are worth immortalizing, since they are a memory that transcends in time.
Can I be a photographer for Photography Smash Cake?
It might sound cliché but it is very important that you like to interact with babies, if not you have patience and you don’t like children, unfortunately this type of photo is not for you. But if it’s the opposite, start preparing yourself for a new photographic experience.
As photographers we must enjoy the occurrences of each of the children, enjoy the faces they make, the games and expressions, since it is a totally new experience for them.
You must enjoy the photo shoot and have a lot of fun together with the baby, having patience and tolerance, since the client is trusting you to eternalize the first memories of their baby’s birthday . So you can take the client to have an extraordinary experience.
How to make a Smash Cake Photography session
You have to know our client
It is important that parents feel comfortable with you and you with them, since they will be together for a couple of hours. You could chat with them to find out what style they would like and come up with ideas for the session. However, to be more exact you could make a form that is favorable to know in detail what they are looking for, in order to obtain a good result.
Another valuable point is that you must learn to interact and meet babies , it is the most important thing. Learn to read the creatures, to see what they are like, see how they feel, how they interact and it depends on how they are, you must adapt to them .
Do not be afraid and become a child just like them, so that you can have their attention and remember that it is a completely sensory experience and they will enjoy it too.
Process for creating the set
To complement a fun and cheerful atmosphere, you should put together a spectacular set. Before starting to design, a key element that you should know is the wardrobe, once you know what clothes the baby will wear, you can plan the props and scenery that you will require.
Remember that you can put together a set based on some theme in which the baby feels comfortable, it could be about a favorite character, a toy, some fun activity like sailors, in a farm, astronaut style or with a timeless style, which can be created based on a combination of colors and cute accessories, any idea is good.
For this reason it is very important to combine the entire range of colors so that the set is completely personalized and original, to capture absolutely unforgettable moments.
You can use different materials to make the scenery as well as:
- * Confetti in different sizes.
- * letters made of wood or cardboard.
- * Illustrations of vinyl or cardboard.
- * Balloons of different sizes: You can create any structure such as arches, rings, walls.
You will be able to put together a great and beautiful set so don’t forget that our center of interest will always be the baby.
What should I know about pastel
You can include the price of the cake along with the total cost of the photo shoot, if you know how to do them or if you have a trusted provider, in the same way you can comment to the parents if they like to wear it. It will depend on the client’s preferences and your service, although most prefer to include it in the cost of the photo shoot.
If you include it in your photographic package, remember to check with the parents if the baby has allergies with some ingredients, such as egg, butter, flour or dyes . Also, make sure that when making the cake it does not contain decorations that put the baby’s health at risk.
Provides that at the time of the session the cake is at room temperature and never place it on metal or glass bases, it is better to place it on cardboard or plastic bases or place on a plate at ground level. Always ensure the safety of the baby and avoid accidents.
Alternatives to substitute a cake
Some customers prefer to replace the cake due to an allergy to the ingredients or they simply don’t like it. So you can choose one of the following options, keep in mind that you must combine the food related to the theme.
Some options can be:
* Fruits (watermelon, strawberries, mango, melon, etc).
* Decorated donuts.
* Ice cream.
* Cupcake.
* Spaghetti or any dish of your choice.
It will depend on each photographer if they feel comfortable including parents or not, in the same way if they have an assistant to help attract the attention of the baby . But in some situations it is essential to work together with the mother, father or together, since children begin to feel calm and safe in the company of their parents.
Remember that parents can help you as support to make laugh or get the attention of the little one. The point is that you, the baby and the parents can enjoy the photo shoot.
Challenges during the Smash Cake Photography session
Each baby is different and each one will go at a different pace, some may cry and others will have a great time, being smiling and showing a very nice smile.
All babies will do whatever they want, they can smash and play with the cake with their hands or their feet or keep in mind that many might even ignore it, so you must pay close attention and be active to capture the best moments.
Some babies will not even want to let go of their mothers so you will have to be creative to solve those and a thousand challenges that can arise, be patient enough and remain sufficiently willing.
Better frames, camera settings and photographic equipment Cake class = “ez-toc-section-end”>
Frames
You can play with different frames and angles. For example with a general shot, American shot, detail shot, with normal, chopped or overhead angles, remember that each photo can come out differently playing with perspective.
Come closer, it will be good to take some photographs with detailed plans of your hands, feet or before and after the cake, as well as your gestures when you discover the texture or flavor of the cake. pie. Capture magical details.
Photographic equipment
For these types of photographs, the depth of field is usually somewhat reduced by the space in the studio or houses. That is why it is advisable to use a fixed focal or telephoto lens so that you can broadly cover everything, in addition to creating an interesting blur and sharpness, some lenses that you can use are:
Canon EF 28mm f / 2.8
Nikon 35mm f / 1.8G AF-S DX
Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
Canon EF 85mm f / 1.8 USM
Camera settings
It will depend on the result you are looking for, your photographic equipment, the distance and the lighting, everything can vary. To make the background look out of focus, you can start from f 3.5 since you start to notice a noticeable blur. Remember that everything will depend on the distance at which you place the baby from the bottom.
If you put led lights in your set and you want them to stand out, you should try to put the aperture as wide as possible, but not so out of focus. You could try an aperture of f3.5 which blurs the background but makes the subject look pretty sharp.
The ISO will vary depending on the speed, try not to go below 1/400 because babies move a lot.
Lighting
Lighting is very important during the photo shoot, you must know the proper lighting.
Soft light is ideal for this type of photography because it is diffuse and you can filter it with diffusers with fabrics or professional diffusers, they exist in different sizes and costs. Get one that suits you.
If you use flash never hit the baby’s face directly, as it could scare him or hurt his eyes, you could use the flash manually with bounce to the ceiling, in conjunction with a light continues to focus the baby with diffuser.
You can use an octabox or softbox to blur the light on the set and try not to generate too harsh shadows.
Programs to edit the photographs
This will depend on each photographer since there are various programs to edit, some recommended are the Adobe packages such as Photoshop and Lightroom , these programs allow you to edit, correct color, light, etc.
In some cases it should be noted that it is important to make a good light correction to prevent babies’ skin from looking yellow, also avoid eliminating details that make babies unique like some scar or mole.
Tips for a Smash Cake Photography session
For both the family, the baby and you as a photographer, you should be well rested and relaxed as it is a session that uses a lot of physical energy.
The prices of each session vary depending on the set you want to make, keep in mind that you can offer the cake service or have the family take it, and if so, provides a list of tips so you don’t have a bad time just because the cake is purchased with different specifications.
Keep cleanliness in mind. After the session it will be necessary to clean not only the set, but also the baby. So keep wet towels on hand to clean it up a bit, or ask parents to bring extra clothes to change it.
Consider the time you meet your clients, so that the baby is comfortable and is not falling asleep during the session.
Remind the client of her appointment time, so you have more time to capture good moments.
After all the points seen above, remember that time and practice will allow the client to live a successful photo shoot, regardless of the challenges that arise. Doing a Smash Cake session is a completely fun and unique adventure, enjoy the experience you are having with each family to the fullest.
