I am a Richmond Cake Smash photographer, but can I be honest? Cake Smashes are no longer one of my favorite things. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore the heck out of the one year old babies. However, I have been seeing more and more little ones that just simply don’t enjoy their cake and/or getting messy. Even when they did enjoy it, I found it hard to give a minimum of 10 unique images. Therefore, as a leading Richmond Cake Smash photographer, I found that it was time to shift gears. Ever so slightly, though. We still do Cake Smashes here at JJP, it’s just not the main focus of our One Year Old Sessions anymore. Our Cake Smashes are now Add-Ons to our One Year Old Milestone sessions. As are bubble or milk baths.
I have always prided myself on giving you, the client, heartfelt images. I like to capture a baby’s unique personality through storytelling images. Focusing on the tiny details of their plump fingers and almost toothless smile is what makes hearts skip a beat when looking back on the pictures several years later. Even more special is when parents get in the shots too. Ohhhhh how I love to capture the relationship between a baby and the people he or she loves the most. This is what we focus on during our One Year Milestone sessions. Then we bring out the cake for a few good hearted, fun pictures.
Arianna was my last session before we had to close the JJP doors due to the Coronavirus. She was also my last “cake smash only” session. We were actually supposed to do a Milk Bath as well but Ari had different plans that day. Like many before her, she simply wasn’t into it. Her sweet mama called her a “drama queen” but Ari’s array of facial expressions kept me in stitches. Ari is certainly NOT the reason we stopped putting the focus on stand alone cake smash sessions, but she was my last example as to why we came to that decision. Even though she didn’t enjoy her cake the way her mama and I hoped she would, we still managed to get some darling pictures. Sometimes it’s not all about the smiles. Rather, it’s about the moment.
You will notice that I tried to start sweet Ari out with her cake set up on a cute little chair. With no interest, she kept crawling off so mom and I decided that the high chair might work better. I do hope mama’s little “drama queen,” as she calls her, is feeling a bit happier these days.
Please contact us for full details if you are ready to schedule your One Year Milestone session with a Cake Smash.
