Strawberries and Cream Photo Theme

We started the session with a super cute tub filled with strawberries and milk.

Switching to a White Tent for the Cake Smash

We then transitioned to a cake smash photo setup with a cute white tent.

Finishing with Family Photos

We always try to squeeze in a couple quick family photos into the session, though that can be hard with juggling a cake smash and a tub filled with milk! Make sure to talk to Judy about your session and she can help make sure the session can happen in the allocated time.

Cake Smash Photos and More!

This article shows a family photography session for a 1yo (first year) cake smash, along with a super cute strawberries and cream theme with a milk bath in a metal tub. Make sure to look at our family photography instagram for more examples of our work. Judy is a well-seasoned family photographer that can help you get memorable images of your little one. We are based in San Dimas, so we offer discounted rates for family photography portrait sessions done within our local area.

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Just look at how adorable this is!

How cute is are those teeth coming in. That is such a cute infant smile.

And we gotta get a closeup of the aftermath of this watermelon frenzy.

Watermelon Smash Themed Photoshoot

This is a great example of a variation of a first year (1yo) cake smash, but done with something different (and honestly a lot more healthy). We’ve actually seen kids quite literally throw up from eating so much frosting from a cake smash, often since it’s their first time allowed to go to town on so much sugar. This is a healthy and still fun (and super messy) alternative that gets us great and memorable images.

Make sure to look around our website for more images of first birthdays and cake smashes. Also make sure to check out our other social media accounts, such as for our family photography and wedding photography. We have a wide range of experience that all accounts for our unique and fun style, along with our ability to adapt to different conditions. We have thousands of photoshoots and over 15 years of experience (over 30 combined between Judy and Gavin together).

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Starting with Large Wooden Letters

Birthday cake smash photography

We then started the cake smash portion of the photography session. It was a very cute setup with a white tent and a white naked cake with pink and white roses. We have more examples of family photography with white color themes.

And look at her just go to town on that cake!

San Dimas Family Photos

We also did family photos. We of course did these before the cake smash, since it’s a messy event.

Having a Cake Smash for a 1yo Baby Girl

Having a cake smash can be a hard photo session if done incorrectly, since mixing a 1yo baby and frosting can be messy! But Judy is very experienced at cakesmash photography sessions and can help you organize such a thing. Make sure to check out more of our recent family photos on our Instagram account.

Judy is the proud mother of two daughters, and has done cake smash sessions for both of them. She knows how it is to work with little 1yo baby girls and boys and can help you get those precious moments and memories.

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Starting with the Farm Themed Setup

We started the session with farm-themed photos with the barn, hay bales, and green tractor toys.

1yo Cake Smash Time!

And now on to the cake smash!

Bath Time in a Water Trough!

After getting super messy with a cake smash, we cleaned the little guy up with a bath in a vintage water trough (the kind that horses or cows drink from).

We had his older brother join in for some cute and fun sibling photos.

Cake Smash for a First Birthday

We have a blog that is just full of examples of cake smashes, first birthdays, and family photography galore. You can find many more examples of first birthdays and 1yo babies here. Also make sure to check out our Instagram for the most recent work of our family photography sessions. Feel free to contact Judy whenever you’d like to book a session!

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We started with some quick photo portraits of the 1yo boy along a dirt path.

Then we took some first birthday photos of the little guy. Here is the wooden crate and a banner saying “I’m one.”

Then we added more to the cake smash setup, arranging it with some balloons (with a blue-green palette), large letters spelling ONE, and the soon to be smashed cake. They went with a giant cupcake (using a giant cupcake mold) with blue frosting.

And Let the Cake Smash Commence!!

How adorable is this little boy with the big ole cake?!

I think this next photo has to be one of the cutest cake smash photos we have seen. It went viral on Pinterest when we posted it there.

And here’s a closeup of him stuffing his face with cake.

And look at that smile!

Cake smash photography is something that we’ve noticed becoming more popular as a one year old birthday tradition. The combination of sweet frosting, a curious little now toddler, and an open space that we can get dirty leads to cute and adorable first birthday photos. Judy is great at capturing this fun moment and we have even done the same with both of our own children on their first birthdays. Make sure to check out our family photography Instagram account for more recent examples of our work. Also make sure to check out the rest of our blog for more examples of first birthday photos.

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UP Theme for a First Birthday Photoshoot

I love love love the way they decorated this basket, from the colors to the whole balloon theme.

And just look at that adorable smile. How cute is that?

And we love to play with different angles and perspectives. Love this angle from inside the balloons.

This photo is especially adorable, with his eyes popping up from over the basket edge.

We then did some family photos with mom and dad, getting them with their 1yo baby son.

First Birthday Family Photography

This is a great example of a first birthday photo session for a 1yo baby son. It was done in a green, grass field surrounded by trees, like a forest glen. Often a theme is chosen for a first birthday, since it’s such a special event. Some like to do a cake smash, while some will have a watermelon smash, or a farm themed birthday photoshoot.

Judy + Gavin are wedding photographers in San Dimas, a suburb of the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. Judy specializes in family photography, which has lead to Dreams & Darlings. Make sure to look around for more examples of fun and creative family photos.

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Here’s the little guy with some balloons, a banner, and large ONE letters.

And the first birthday photo setup.

We also did some 1yo birthday photos in a basket.

And on to the Indoor Cake Smash Photos!

Mom made a very large cupcake, with tons of blue frosting. Ready for some indoor cake smash photos!

And OOPS!!!! the cake fell off the cake stand for a very cute moment. Very cute moment for indoor cake smash photos!

Doing a cake smash is very messy and easier to do outdoors. If you have to do it indoors, a hardwood floor works pretty well (unless your child likes to throw cake!). Doing cake smash photos is a popular way to announce a 1yo birthday party, using it for cards or online invites. It’s also a cute way to memorialize a moment in time, where our little ones are young enough for a cake smash to be innocent, but old enough to tear apart a cake!

You can find more examples of our recent work on our family photography instagram account. We also have a ton of other great examples of first birthday photography and other family photography on this website. Judy is a very experienced family photographer with over 10 years of covering dozens of families.

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Here is our purple and pink cake smash setup, with a super cute owl banner.

We then took her to the side to do some quick portraits on a chair on a dirt path.

And here is where the cake smash starts! It’s always neat watching a kid react to a cake, especially when they look up as if asking “can I really just touch this?!”

And you gotta just fall in love with that super cute smile!

This is the cake smash photography session for our second kid, Hayden. Judy has been capturing families and their little ones for over a decade now, and our own family experience has only made it that much more special. Cake smashes are a popular option for a first birthday photo session, mostly cause it’s a perfect age to let a kid innocently tear apart a cake! It does require a sacrificial cake, but in this case we just got ours from the local grocery store (sometimes you are just too tired to do everything, especially with 2 kids)! You can see many more examples of our work on our family photography instagram page, along with many more examples of cake smash photos and more on this site.

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Reach for the Moon, Our Little One

We did have to photoshop the image, but that is the actual moon from that day (it was way higher up in the sky). We also did fun photos of our little 1yo girl with lots and lots of bubbles!

Then we did some first birthday portraits of her on a vintage chair (which we then used later for that tilting chair photo).

Cake Smash Photography! Dessert in the Desert

OMG I remember how tired we were, baking that cake while sleep deprived, and watching it wobble and almost fall apart during the 3 hour drive. But it made it, barely. Oh yeah, I still remember how awesome it tasted, because we did it with our cream cheese frosting, which doesn’t hold as well but tastes absolutely amazing!

And this is about the time the cake took a turn for the worse and rolled over off of the crate!

This is an example of a first birthday photography portrait session in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We did a cake smash on top of the crate, surrounded by small, budding desert flowers. We love going out to the desert for amazing photos, like when we got engagement photos in Joshua Tree with snow! Make sure to look around the rest of our family photography blog for many more examples of 1yo portrait photography and birthday photos. We service the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, but occasionally travel to get awesome photos when possible.

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I love the frosting on that pink cake. All the better to smash the cake with tiny one-year-old hands!!

Here you can see the simple cake smash setup with wooden crates, pink and white balloons, and a pink blanket. She also had streamers hanging in the background using two wooden sticks driven into the ground.

And the first birthday cake smash begins!

That’s a whole lot of pink! Pink tutu, pink blanket, pink flowers, and lots of pink frosting.

Then the family (mom and dad) got into the action for some first birthday family photos, with a lot of pink cake frosting to boot!

And that is definitely a messy, but super fun and cute 1st birthday family photo.

Judy is an experienced family photographer of over 10 years, doing family photography sessions and wedding photography. She also has done cake smashes for both of her own daughters and it very familiar with working with young children. Dreams & Darlings can capture your 1yo cake smash birthday photos with fun and ease. These photos make for an amazing memento, but also are great for promoting a first birthday party (for invitations or a website). Make sure to give the shoot ample time before the birthday party to use the images for that. Make sure to look at our website for more examples of cake smash photos and first birthday photos.

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