The Ultimate Cake Smash Guide
A first birthday only happens once, and a cake smash session is one of the most joyful, chaotic, purely fun ways to mark it. But if you've never booked one before, it's completely normal to have questions — when to book, what to bring, what actually happens. Here's everything, in one place.
When Should You Book?
Your cake smash doesn't need to happen exactly on your baby's actual birthday — many families book it in the week or two either side, whenever timing suits everyone best. The main thing to keep in mind is your baby's mood and routine: scheduling around a nap and a recent feed gives you the happiest, most settled little one for the session.
Why Studio Light Changes Everything
Here's something worth knowing that most people don't think to ask about: a cake smash session shot entirely in studio light isn't dependent on the weather, the time of day, or how much daylight is left. No chasing golden hour, no worrying about a rainy forecast, no early sunset cutting your session short.
I recently photographed a first birthday session that ended up starting over an hour later than planned, due to a completely understandable family mix-up at home. In a natural-light setting, that delay could easily have meant losing the light entirely. Instead, we simply began later, and the session — family portraits, the full cake smash, and a joyful, splashy bubble bath clean-up — still came together beautifully in under an hour, exactly as planned. That's the real, practical benefit of studio lighting: your session's success depends on your baby's mood, not the clock or the sky.
Choosing a Theme
Pick a theme that feels like your family — florals, a favourite colour, a beloved character, or something simple and neutral that lets your baby's expressions take centre stage. Once you've settled on a theme, build your baby's outfit around it, keeping the same principle from our regular styling guide in mind: comfort first, colour second. An itchy or scratchy outfit is the fastest way to a fussy start, however cute it looks on the hanger.
What to Bring
Cake — the star of the show
Cake smash outfit for your child, planned in advance, comfortable (not itchy or prickly) and complementing your chosen theme
A towel and a face washer
A spare change of clothes for yourself — just in case you need to pick up your little one mid-cake!
Nappies
Small snacks, ideally in colours similar to the cake, in case your baby isn't quite as interested in the cake itself
Body wash (optional), if your little one has sensitive skin, for bathing afterward
A sippy cup or drink, to wash down all that cake
What Actually Happens During the Session — Four Acts, Not One
We start calm — family and sibling portraits against a soft paper backdrop, everyone still clean and coordinated. From there, I roll away the paper and set up your themed fabric backdrop. We start here with a few formal, clean portraits of your baby against the new setup — still tidy, still composed, capturing that gorgeous "before" moment in full theme. Then the real fun begins: family members step back to enjoy watching (and laughing along), while your baby has their first proper encounter with a birthday cake — often messier, often funnier, and always more genuine than anyone expects.
We usually finish with a warm bath and a splash of bubbles, turning clean-up itself into some of the sweetest, most joyful images of the whole session.
1. Family portraits. We start here, quick and efficient — clean, coordinated family shots against a soft paper backdrop, before anything gets messy.
2. Baby's themed portraits. I roll away the paper and set up your themed fabric backdrop. A few formal, clean portraits of your baby against the new setup — still tidy, still composed, capturing that gorgeous "before" moment in full theme.
3. The cake smash itself. The real fun begins. Family members step back to enjoy watching (and laughing along), while your baby has their first proper encounter with a birthday cake — often messier, often funnier, and always more genuine than anyone expects.
4. Bath and bubbles. We usually finish with a warm bath and a splash, turning clean-up itself into some of the sweetest, most joyful images of the whole session.
That's four completely different kinds of photos, from one booking. And this is exactly why every session comes with your full, complete gallery — not a curated handful chosen for you. If I only handed you five "best" images, you'd likely see one or two cake smash shots and nothing else. You'd never see the calm family portrait beforehand, the composed "before" shot, or the joyful bath finale — even though those often end up being just as loved, sometimes more, than the mess itself. The whole story is the point, not just the messiest five minutes of it.
Ready to Book?
Cake smash sessions run alongside our Milestone sessions — available with either a Mini or Full Milestone session — as a joyful add-on to mark this exact stage of your family's story.
Enquire about your Cake Smash session →
A Few Quick Questions I Often Get
Does the session need to happen on the exact day of the birthday? Not at all — most families book within a week or two either side, whenever suits your family's routine best.
What if my baby doesn't want to touch the cake? Completely fine, and more common than you'd think. We simply work with whatever mood shows up on the day — some of the sweetest images come from a baby cautiously poking at the cake rather than diving straight in.
Can siblings be included? Yes — sibling and family portraits happen at the start of the session, before the cake smash itself begins.
How messy does it actually get? As messy as your baby wants it to be! Some babies go all in, others stay fairly tidy — either way, we finish with a bath and bubbles to wash it all away.