Blake is ONE! A Sparkly Pink and Gold Cake Smash with Boston Baby Photographer

I love when our newborn clients come back to celebrate their first birthday at the studio!  It's hard to believe that it's been a year already since Blake's newborn session, and I truly enjoyed getting to celebrate this vibrant baby girl's first birthday with a very special cake smash session at our Attleboro baby photography studio.  

Our popular paper flower backdrop is at it again, this time with a little SPARKLE!  This drop is now for sale with our Designer Line at Baby Dream Backdrops.  Check it out here!

Blake LOVED her cake, especially once she was able to dig in with a spoon!  She surprised us all by keeping her birthday crown on the entire time (rare for a one-year old!), and she had the best time giggling away while we did her cake smash.  Isn't she adorable?!?!

Of course, I can never resist clicking the shutter on a good crying photo, and Blake ended the smash with the perfect reaction.

No birthday session with Nicole Starr Photography is complete without some family portraits!  We did some classic portraits for this Boston family, with neutral colors and a simple background to let them shine together.  This sweet little girl is so, so loved!

The One with All of the Tears | A Collection of our Favorite Crying Cake Smash Images

Alright, let's be real...

I talk with families every single week that are so excited to celebrate their baby's first birthday.  Most moms & dads seem to have this vision of how the cake smash will go.  Of course, this is based on all of the happy babies they see on Pinterest that are smiling, enjoying their birthday cake, and having a grand old time. 

But like I mentioned above...  We're going to get real here in today's blog post because sometimes THIS is what might happen during your cake smash. 

And you know what?  It's totally normal.  Actually, I love it when this happens just as much as I love it when we have giggling babies that are fascinated with their cake.    (P.S.  I personally think that this is the cutest image I captured of these twins in their entire first year of portrait sessions!)

Crying babies are absolutely adorable, and these are definitely the moments that you want to capture on camera to look back at one day (along with the smiling ones, of course!).  

10, 20, 30 years from now you can look back at these moments with all of the cuteness and none of the noise, and you'll laugh when you remember how your baby reacted to their first birthday cake!

Think about your baby's first year.  There were probably A LOT of tears.  

Too hot, too cold, too hungry, too messy, too tired, too bored, too overstimulated.  You know that there are so many reasons that might cause your little one to shed a few tears, and you know that this is just their way of communicating with you before they have the words to take the place of crying.  

Sometimes during their cake smash session, babies just want to tell you that something is a little different and unknown for them.  

Maybe they've never touched something the texture of frosting.  

Maybe they don't like getting messy & sticky.  

Maybe they can't figure out why they're sitting on the floor to eat rather than in their high chair.  

Maybe they want more puffs or cheerios, or maybe they just want another hug.

Oftentimes, the tears only last a few short minutes or seconds.  A quick little distraction is all a baby needs to turn their mood around, so we bring in a new snack, a favorite toy, or sing a song.  We start dancing, play peek-a-boo, or take a little walk around the studio to look out the windows.  And we get the happy babies back, and your gallery is filled with smiling images!

No, really!  Go see these same babies smiling during their
cake smash sessions in this other compilation blog post here!

But I embrace the tears, the temper tantrums, and the fits when they happen.  I always make sure to snap a few quick shots of these moments because 30 years from now when you remember your first few years of parenting, you will remember the moment you held your baby in your arms for the first time.  You'll remember their first smile, their first Christmas, the first visit to Grandma's.  You'll remember those squishy cheeks and what it felt like when they wrapped their tiny hand around your fingers.  You'll remember the sleepless nights, the potty-training, the birthday celebrations.  

And you'll remember the tears, mixed in with all of the good things you'll remember what were the moments that really brought on the waterworks.  

Plus, it's not very likely that your grown child will face plant in her birthday cake when she cries 30 years from now, so you really want some proof to show her that this happened once upon a time...

Are you wondering why I'm sharing this post with you today?  I want you to know that all portrait sessions (and all cake smashes!) are unique.  We go with the flow and work around your little one's schedule and mood.  There are many tricks that I use in every session to keep babies happy and bring out their vibrant personalities, and we always capture images of your baby smiling and laughing at every single session.  

But if you're really lucky, we might even capture some teary images that will make you smile every time you remember their first birthday.  

By knowing this ahead of time, you'll be prepared for absolutely anything to happen during your session.  We really do go with the flow.  Trust me to capture all of these beautiful moments for you as they unfold.  In the end, you will create memories that make up part of your family's story, and you'll have heirloom portraits to show your children one day.  

Besides, most of the families wind up framing the crying portraits more than the smiling ones anyways, so at least they have my same sense of humor when it comes to working with the littlest of clients in our studio!

So if your cake smash doesn't quite go like you thought it would, please know that IT IS OKAY.  It is completely normal, and we will love every single image no matter how your baby reacts to their cake.  This session is all about celebrating your little one and showcasing their multifaceted personality, and no matter what happens in your session, we will let their personality shine!

Now that you've enjoyed all of the fussy babies, head on over to this blog post to see these same babies with the biggest smiles during their cake smashes!

Ready to book your cake smash session to celebrate your little one's first birthday?  I'd love to chat with you to plan the perfect session for your baby!  

Please email me at hello@nicolestarrphotography.com and let's celebrate 365 days of your amazing baby together!

The One with ALL OF THE CAKES! | Saratoga Springs Cake Smash Photographer

Cake smash sessions are one of my favorite ways to celebrate your baby's first birthday.  I love welcoming families to our Saratoga Springs studio (and our Attleboro studio!) for a very sweet portrait session.  You have survived 365 days of parenthood, so let's celebrate!

One of the things that I love the most about our cake smash sessions is unleashing my creativity on our custom-designed backdrops and sets.  Each session is unique, so I plan a custom backdrop for every baby based on the theme that their parents give me.  

This year we saw everything from superheroes & construction trucks, to Lilly Pulitzer & Cookie Monster.  Some parents use favorite books for inspiration (The Very Hungry Caterpillar cake smash, by Eric Carle), while others come to me with a favorite quote to incorporate into their session ("Love you to the moon and back").  

Just look at how CREATIVE parents were this year in coming up with themes for their little ones' birthdays!  I absolutely adore pulling their theme inspiration into a whimsical cake smash just for your baby.  I can't wait to take our backdrop creation to a whole new level in 2017!  Just wait until you see what we have in store for you this year!

One of the challenges that I enjoy in designing these creative sessions is that every single one is unique.  Even if a family comes to me months later requesting the same theme that another family used, I make sure to plan an entirely new set up for them so that their baby can shine in his or her own way.

This year there were some tears...   (Actually, a lot more tears than just these twins!  But this is my favorite image!)

And some helpers...  I think mom & dad always enjoy the cake as much as the baby, sometimes even more so!  

And there were a whole lot of cute babies (almost toddlers!).  Seriously, I can't believe I get to spend my days with babies, cake, and craft projects.  I must have the best job ever!

Need some inspiration for your baby's first birthday photo shoot?  Here’s a list of all of our favorite cake smash themes this year!

Lilly Pulitzer cake smash

Construction Trucks cake smash

Boho Chic cake smash

Cookie Monster cake smash

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star cake smash

Floral cake smash

Make Way for Ducklings cake smash

Where the Wild Things Are cake smash

Love You to the Moon and Back cake smash

Oh the Places You’ll Go cake smash

The Very Hungry Caterpillar cake smash

Cookies & Milk cake smash

And here are cake smash themes we'd love to do in the studio in 2017 to celebrate your baby's first birthday cake smash photo shoot!  Plus, any other ideas you have for your session!

Rocket Ship cake smash

Day at the Beach cake smash

Hot Air Balloon (Oh the Places You'll Go) cake smash

Rustic Woods cake smash

Winter Wonderland cake smash

Pirate cake smash

Unicorn cake smash

Jungle cake smash

Baseball cake smash

Glitter & Gold cake smash

Boho Chic cake smash

Airplane/Aviation cake smash

Under the Sea cake smash

Floral crowns with a "naked cake" (minimal frosting) cake smash

Nautical cake smash

And a few alternate foods/items we'd love to do for your session, because remember that not every baby is all about the cake!

Spaghetti smash

Watermelon smash

Pumpkin Pie smash

Finger painting smash

Muffin smash

One thing we added as an option to our sessions this year was a little SPLASH!  Our "smash & splash" sessions are becoming increasingly popular, and who doesn't love a little tub bath at the end of their portrait session?