I often get asked for birthday cake smash or party photos. While I always try to cater to my clients’ needs, I also know that they come to me because they want something a little bit different. My goal is to try to capture some of your normal family life, in the slightly artificial setting of a professional photo shoot. To do this, I look for the characteristics that make your family unique and encourage you to do your own thing rather than recreate something off Pinterest. This super cute siblings photo with birthday cake in the mountains came from a thwarted photo shoot that was about two years in the making. Luckily, when we finally got together, the sun was shining, and the mountains were beautiful.
The story
It’s always a good idea to do the cake at the end of the session. It provides a nice little bribe and keeps everyone cleaner for longer. Thomas and Evelyn were great, really comfortable and natural in front of the camera. It was easy to get them to play with me rather than sit and smile. They had a lovely big brother little sister relationship, with Evelyn often imitating her brother. What I love about this photo is how natural it feels even though we set it up carefully. Mum wanted some nice pictures with the cake before they started eating—and they were so patient. I suggested that they could have a little icing and Evelyn reacted with a cheeky grin. I love how patient Thomas is being and that split second of anticipation where her finger is forever suspended at the moment before the icing hits his nose.
Making a day of it
I love to shoot in the great outdoors and encourage my families to make a day of it. If you schedule a shoot for the morning or afternoon, you can plan a walk and a picnic, or perhaps a trip to one of the local adventure parks or zoos. I can even meet you partway through and capture some of the natural interactions between the family as they explore the area. With Thomas and Evelyn, we climbed rocks, were Spiderman, read books in the field of flowers, threw stones in the river and finally found a good spot for some birthday cake.
Discover the story behind some of my favourite family and baby photos, check out the links below or visit the Story of the Photo page. If you would like to book a family photo shoot or full year collection, get in touch to check availability.
