A Mint and Navy Cake Smash for Baby Gabriel

https://www.nicolestarrphotography.com/blog/2020/1/the-best-places-to-shop-for-cake-smash-outfits

https://www.nicolestarrphotography.com/blog/2019/12/how-to-choose-a-cake-smash-theme-for-your-babys-first-birthday-portraits

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Classic First Birthday Portraits with a Year of Baby Photos

Now this was a fun session! Baby Ari’s mama reached out and wanted to plan an extra special portrait session to celebrate her baby boy’s first birthday, and she was really excited about creating some truly classic and timeless portraits of her little guy. With all of the beautiful neutrals in my Saratoga Springs portrait studio, it’s easy to pull together simple setups that let your baby shine, and we did just that with Ari’s first birthday portraits!

You see the cute little stool he’s sitting on? It’s actually a custom cake stand his mama ordered for his birthday party, and it worked perfectly as a toddler bench!

Instead of a cake smash we compiled a collection of their favorite portraits from the past year and turned them into a truly one-of-a-kind backdrop to celebrate their birthday boy’s first year. I love how he pops against the black & white photographs!

No first birthday portrait session is complete without family portraits! We went to the nearby Saratoga Spa State Park for family portraits, and this little man was on the go! He was just at the brink of walking when we did his session, and it was so much fun to capture on camera!

Of course, it wouldn’t be 2020 without documenting the reality of our year: masks. For Ari and many babies, masks are just part of their version of “normal” and this will definitely get noted in their baby book. We’re all looking forward to the day when we can see everyone’s WHOLE face when out in public while still feeling safe.

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A Summertime Family Portrait Session in Saratoga Springs with an Outdoor Cake Smash

What a cute family!  This mama was excited to capture some summertime portraits for a mommy & me session, and she dressed her little ones in coordinating nautical outfits to match the dress that she found for her daughter.  We had a blast running around Spa State Park for their portrait session, and the kids were all smiles.

I always love capturing a few extra special mom & baby portraits, and I love how cuddly Ronan was with his mama!  Just look at his adorable little smile, and those cute baby teeth!

We celebrated Ronan’s first birthday with an outdoor cake smash! We typically do our cake smash sessions in our Saratoga Springs studio, but due to the reopening restrictions after covid and the timeline of this session, we opted for an outdoor session for everyone’s health & safety. It did not disappoint! We did a fun little beachy theme for the birthday boy, and he loved digging into his cake!

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A Pastel Woodland Birthday Session for Karsyn

Karsyn joined me at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio for a magical first birthday session. Her mama asked me to create a floral and rustic woodland scene for the birthday girl, so we used the Lavender Fields backdrop by Heidi Hope Backdrops, along with some birch trees, hanging flowers, and twinkle lights for the perfect scene.

Like most one-year olds, Karsyn was very interested in playing with the pearl beads that we keep in the studio to keep tiny hands busy!

We finished with a bathtub splash, and this sweet birthday girl loved the water! She started splishing and splashing all over the place, and she was especially fascinated in the soap bubbles.

Thinking of a birthday session for your baby? Let’s chat!

A Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday: Boston & Saratoga Cake Smash Photographer

Amalia Marie has been looking up at me with those sparkly blue eyes of hers since she was a newborn baby.  I first met Amalia's family last winter when they visited me for her newborn session, and then we got together last summer during a visit to Cape Cod for a family portrait session on the beach.  

When Amalia's mom started planning her birthday portraits months ago, I was so excited to help her bring her first birthday party ideas to life in a colorful portrait session!  

Amalia celebrated her first birthday with a Very Hungry Caterpillar cake smash inspired by Eric Carle's popular children's book.  This was definitely my most colorful cake smash to date, and I love how perfectly her outfit came together with our rainbow cake and banners.  Bringing together all of these creative elements is always my favorite part of preparing for our cake smash sessions, and of course watching our littlest clients taste their sugary treat is always a fun experience, too!

Just like with all of our birthday sessions in the studio, we made sure to capture some family portraits to celebrate Amalia's parents surviving their first year of parenthood.  Amalia's grandparents taught her how to throw her hands up when they exclaim, "TOUCHDOWN!", so of course we got an action shot of her and her daddy scoring a touchdown together.

I have loved capturing the three of them together this past year.  The walls of their home are now filled with so many beautiful memories from the past 12 months, and I'm certain that they're going to love adding many more memories to their walls as their daughter grows.  

Happy birthday, baby girl!

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Did you know that we often start planning a baby's birthday session when they are 7-10 months old to ensure a space on the calendar close to their first birthday?  I'd love to chat with you about your little one's cake smash this year!