Cake smashes are pretty dang hilarious and a really fun way to celebrate your baby turning one! If you decide NOT to hire me to take gorgeous photos of your baby, here are a few DIY tips for photographing your baby’s cake smash at home!

Lighting is really important! Do baby’s smash in a bright room with diffused (not direct) light. Your photos will come out cleaner with less noise if your room is bright.

The backdrop: If you decide to order a backdrop, use a steamer or iron to get out ALL of the fold marks. Use painter’s tape to attach it to your wall to get it as smooth as possible.

Balloon Garlands: If you choose to create a balloon garland, they can take a bit of time if you haven’t done one before. There are plenty of online tutorials to help guide you through the process. Do this the day before and don’t wait until the day of the event!

The Cake! I have found that babies typically do not like extra sweet cake and they usually do not like icing. It may be a good idea to ask your baker to make baby’s cake with reduced sugar. It also helps to dig through the icing a bit to help them out. Also a cute spoon is a great idea if baby doesn’t like the texture.

Don’t force it! Some babies need a bit of time to get into their cake smash. Play their favorite music and just go with it. Don’t forget to get a close up photo of baby’s messy face!

BUT… If you decide to leave the hard work to me, I would LOVE to capture this memory for you! I have done TONS of cake smashes over the years and know ALL the tricks to help your baby’s smash go smoothly.