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.

The post {E} Cake Smash Photography, First Birthday Photos appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

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.

The post {L} Indoor Cake Smash Photos First Birthday appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

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.

The post {Remy} Cake Smash Photography in the Desert (Anza-Borrego Photos) appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.