I put together some Cake Smash info and wanted to share that here. But first, a fun before and after.
Some kids love their Smash. L-O-V-E it. Some hate it. And many others fall in between. They are interested for a bit and then either A) get bored or B) get grossed out at the frosting glued to their hands (And face. And belly. And feet. Etc.) If your child cries during his Cake Smash, please don’t feel bad. I get lots of moms and dads who feel bad because their kid is not enjoying the birthday cake thing. It’s common for some kids to get a little weird about it. I always pull out all of the stops when it comes to getting some smiles. I offer a spoon. I tell them to throw the cake or beat it like a drum. One of my kids might be home to help dance stuffed animals on my head or play peek-a-boo from behind my umbrella. We sing. Mom dances. I play videos on my iPad for them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. All I really need is one great smile to complete a series of ten photos for you. But sometimes, the smile just doesn’t happen. I think any and all messy cake shots are cute to be honest so the set of pictures still turns out really nice.
Justin came over recently for a whole first birthday session (scroll here until you get to the balloons). He smiled and I got some wonderful shots of him with his balloons and Sesame Street dolls. But he was not interested in his birthday cake. At all. And if I am just working with that series of photos, there’s not much I can do. But since I had taken some happy shots with the balloons prior to the cake, I knew I had a few things to work with. And so I played around in Photoshop last night until I turned the lefthand photo into the right one and if I didn’t show you the side-by-side here today, no one would even know the difference. ;)
Oh that makes me happy! :) I love that I am able to give one messy, big-grinned picture to his Mommy. :)
DISCLAIMER: Clients, please note that a headswap is not always possible. I need to be able to seamlessly patch on the smile and sometimes if baby’s head is tilted even a fraction of an inch the other way, it won’t look right. I do not swap heads (boy that sounds weird!) at a client’s request. I do so only if I am able and at my own artistic discretion.
If you have a Cake Smash booked with me or are thinking about booking one, I have put together some handy info for you. I got a little carried away with the rainbow colored text. ;)
Want to talk about a Cake Smash session for your little guy or gal turning one? Email me!
[…] in. I still think his Cake Smash photos turned out cute thanks in part to an adorable outfit. Plus you may remember a bit of Photoshopping I did on one of these shots. […]