So last week I did my first cake smash photoshoot. It went pretty well, saying the little boy did not want to get messy!
It got me thinking about the best way to prepare for these kinds of shoots, for a photographer and for the baby's parents.
As a photographer, there are a few things I would recommend:
+ Use natural light. A nice bright room will look cleaner and (of course) more natural than using studio lighting.
+ Do it at the family's house. This way the child is in an environment it knows, and is more likely to be comfortable. Also, the parents will have things prepared for any accidents!
+ Less is more. By this, I mean props and backgrounds. You don't need a really complicated, fancy backdrop, or loads of props as it distracts the eye from the child. A plain background works best, and a couple of toys or balloons are great. Or even none - just them and the cake!
+ Get a cake with lots of icing. A nice sponge cake is great for throwing loads of whipped cream, buttercream, or icing on top of. It's best for it to be soft and squishy - what baby doesn't like to grab things like that? It will make for a much messier photo!
+ Don't use chocolate cake or red cake! Red will look like the zombie apocalypse, and chocolate is brown so.... Yeah you get the idea. They will work, but I'd recommend other colours.
+ Don't force the child to be into it. Some just aren't. Your photographer will work with what they have, and will get nice photos for you regardless of whether the child is smashing the cake or not.
