How To Set Up A Yuba City Birthday Cake Smash Session
Whether your child is turning 1 or 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5!!!), cake smashes are fun for all! As your local Yuba City Cake Smash Photographer, I truly believe you will cherish the memories and photos a birthday cake smash session provides, and your little one will have so much fun participating in this special activity! In this guide, I will be teaching you how to best set up a cake smash photo session, when you should do it, where to get the cake, and more!
Cake Smash Timing: When To Plan Your Photo Session
When to book a photographer:
My recommendation is to start thinking about hiring a cake smash photographer 2-3 months before your little one’s birthday. This gives you enough time to likely find a photographer who still has an opening on a mutually convenient date. However, don’t fret if you have already passed this timing, it never hurts to reach out and you might get lucky on an open date before your child’s birthday. Doing a cake smash shortly after your toddler’s birthday is also fine, since these photos are still capturing current milestones. If you are local to Yuba City and surrounding area, I am a local Yuba City Cake Smash Photographer who specializes in photographing toddlers and would love to photograph your session. Check out my Cake Smash and Milestone Page for pricing and package information and Contact Me Here to inquire.
When to do the cake smash photo session:
While cake smashes can happen on your child’s actual birthday, my overall recommendation is to do the session 2-4 weeks before. This ensures that your photos will be ready and returned by your child’s birthday and you can share them with your friends and family. If you would additionally like to use these images as birthday invitations, I would push the session up by a few weeks to ensure enough time for photo delivery AND product delivery. In general, I recommend against hosting the photo session on your child’s actual birthday. Birthdays can be overwhelming for both parents and child, and adding a photo session on top of the birthday celebrations can feel like a lot. To ensure your child is at their happiest, it’s usually best to have the cake smash be a stand alone event on a different day. They can still of course smash a cake slice or cupcake during their party, but an official photo session will likely have the best results and feelings for everyone, if held on a different day, either before or even after.
Where to Have Your Toddler’s Birthday Photo Session
One of the first things to consider is where you would like your Yuba City cake smash session to take place. I personally am a huge fan of outdoor cake smashes because I love the lighting and uniqueness an outdoor session can offer. I find that these sessions can offer a lot more photo variety and chances for your child to also play, explore and showcase their personality. But I also offer In-Home cake smashes where I will come to your house and set up a backdrop. The photo above was taken on the floor in a hallway right in front of a sliding glass door! However, there are also studio photographers who offer cake smash sessions, so if you would prefer to travel to a studio, this is also something to keep in mind and decide on prior to booking a session.
Pros and Cons: Outdoor Photo Sessions
Pros for Outdoor: Outdoor sessions are the most unique and offer the chance to incorporate the most realistic props and environment, such as hosting a baseball themed cake smash session at an actual baseball field (click here for a sample gallery) or a farm themed cake smash at an actual farm. These photos can be the most precious and authentic! If you are a nature lover, you will probably love more natural pictures at a beautiful park. Finally, outdoor sessions offer the most space and opportunity to be active which the toddler aged crowd will always enjoy. At the outdoor cake smashes I personally photograph, I always offer the opportunity for toddlers to move around and play with their environment which isn’t as easily accomplished in indoor settings.
Cons for Outdoor: Weather and Temperature can of course be a concern outdoor, and having a cake smash session outdoors in the hottest part of the summer or coldest part of the winter can definitely be more challenging and might be a reason to move the photo session inside.
Pros and Cons: In-Home Photo Sessions
Pros for In-Home: In-Home Photo Sessions are by far the most convenient and least disruptive for your family! The photographer shows up at your house! There is no hectic getting ready or leaving the house process and you have everything you might need conveniently at your fingertips should a feeding, snack or diaper/outfit change be necessary. This is perfect for when the weather isn’t cooperating or if you have a shyer child who might feel uncomfortable in a new environment.
Cons for In-Home: Depending on the home, in-home sessions can feel more stressful to families trying to create a controlled area in an uncontrolled space (for instance if there are a lot of other children or pets running around). If the session might be more chaotic at home or you’d rather avoid a big cleanup effort, that might be a reason to switch to a studio or outdoor photo session.
Pros and Cons: Studio Photo Sessions
Pros for Studio: If you choose to go with a studio cake smash session (I personally do not currently offer these), you have the benefit of the most controlled environment. The lighting is already set up and consistent, and the photographer likely already has the props and backdrop set up ahead of time. Studio photographers frequently have a wide variety of themes and props available, and it can be easier to set up a creative scene.
Cons for Studio: Studio Sessions can feel a bit more stressful because your toddler will be asked to stay in a smaller area consistently, and there is very expensive and breakable equipment present. The bright studio lights and unfamiliar environment can also be stressful and scary to toddlers that are on the shy side. It really just depends on your child! A studio might be the perfect environment for your brave almost 1 year old who isn’t very mobile yet and will likely happily sit there demolishing some yummy cake. A studio might not be the best environment for your timid one year old who might be scared of the strobe light or your energetic and on-the-go two year old who will want to run around.
Birthday Theme or No Theme?
One of the things you will definitely want to decide before your child’s birthday or cake smash photo session is whether or not you want to have a birthday theme or not. Birthday themes can be fun but can also be more stressful or more expensive, especially when it comes to ordering a custom cake or themed outfit. On the other hand, themes are both a way of being more creative and of showcasing your child’s current interests and personality. There are no wrong answers here and it just comes down to personal preference. Some families choose to have a themed birthday party and a themed cake smash photo session of the same theme. Others choose to have a themed birthday party but a cake smash session with no theme (this is what I did when my son turned 1). Still others skip the themes entirely and just choose to get memories of their child at their current development and milestones. There are no wrong answers, they all work! You will just want to decide ahead of time so that you have enough time to coordinate and plan if necessary.
Where To Buy Your Yuba City Smash Cake
Actually aquiring the smash cake is of course an important part of any cake smash photo session, but is another piece of logistics to figure out. I currently do not provide any smash cakes so this is something for you to acquire, but I do have several helpful suggestions and businesses that are a good choice. Note: I also do Birthday Photo Sessions without a cake, so if this section is feeling overwhelming, that might be a solution for you. All of the memories, none of the mess, none of the smash cake acquiring!
Characteristic of a Smash Cake
What characteristics are you looking for in a birthday smash cake? Ideally a smash cake is a round cake 4 or 6 inches in diameter. A single layer cake as pictured above is perfectly acceptable, but often a slightly taller 2 or 3 layer cake does look nicer in photographs. Ideally, your smash cake DEFINITELY has a good amount of frosting since a large point of a cake smash session is letting your toddler get messy! Don’t stress the cake too much. I’ve photographed fancy cakes and simple cakes and cupcakes, and the end result is always the same: cute photos of your kid! So if you want a pinterest worthy cake, go for it, and if that isn’t your style, do not stress it! Frankly, a pile of whipped cream would do the trick for what we are going for of giving your child a delicious snack they can get messy with.
Option 1: Make your own or ask a friend
A smash cake doesn’t have to be fancy. Truthfully, the majority of cake smash sessions I photograph involve a homemade cake. Going homemade is a great way of saving costs especially when already paying for a photo session. The cake pictures above was made by this toddler’s grandma and she did a great job!
Option 2: Buy A Premade Cake
The easiest and cheapest way of purchasing a smash cake is by going to a big box store such as Walmart, Sam’s Club or Costco. While customization options exist, most of these bakeries have preselected design options. The cost is often cheaper and it is a great budget option. That being said, I’ve also found that the frosting can be more stale and a bit harder for toddlers to eat or get messy with. I used a premade big box store cake for my son’s one year old cake smash and had to cheat with whipped cream for him to have a material to get messy with because the frosting wouldn’t budge.
Option 3: Order a Custom Cake from a Yuba City Bakery
This is definitely the most attractive option. There are some wonderful bakeries and cake makers in the Yuba City area that can make you a cake that is custom to the theme that you would like! These cakes are pretty reasonably priced at $30-$50 dollars a cake depending on what is involved and give you the option of having the perfect themed cake to go with your little one’s birthday theme. These will definitely be the most visually appealing and interesting!
Here are a few local options you might consider:
Black Heart Bakery And Gifts
Edible Memories Bakery
What ages should have a cake smash session?
Traditionally, birthday cake smash sessions take place for a one year old or two year old birthday. And I still definitely recommend these ages! BUT I’m honestly trying to change the norm to include more ages! I think children turning 3, 4 or 5 should have the option of a cake smash too, especially if they didn’t get one earlier in their life. Here are some reasons why I really think the 3-5 year old crowd is perfect for a cake smash session.
They will be better at smashing the cake and find it more fun. 3-5 year olds are old enough to know that this is generally NOT something you do with cake, and therefore a cake smash is way more special and exciting for them. Sometimes 1 and 2 year olds have a hard time making a dent in the cake, and this will not be the case for the older toddlers. They will be so excited to get to “break the rules” for a special occasion.
They are old enough to feel appreciate and love the experience. One and two year olds will also LOVE the experience of a cake smash session and have so much fun. But a 3-5 year old is old enough to truly feel valued and special by being given this opportunity. They will love the 1 on 1 time they will likely get with a parent, or that just because of them the whole family is getting pictures. I especially recommend the opportunity for a middle child or other sibling who might not be getting the same kind of attention as the new baby for instance. This is such a great opportunity for helping them feel special for their birthday!
They will showcase their personality more. By ages 3-5, personalities are far more established and you will have the chance to capture truly special memories of your child for their birthday!
Ready to Book?
If you live in the Yuba City area and are ready to book your little one’s cake smash session, I would love to help you out! Check out my Cake Smash/Milestone page for pricing and package information and Contact Me
