Cake Smash Photoshoots

Cake Smash photoshoots are becoming more and more popular. For anyone that doesn’t know, a Cake Smash session literally involves the baby smashing and getting stuck into a giant birthday cake, usually in celebration of their very first birthday! It’s originally an American idea that has come over to the UK and gained popularity as it’s a fun way to celebrate a child’s first birthday.

The fun bit really is when the child gets well and truly stuck into the cake. Whilst this happens I take photographs to record the fun… and the mess!

What to expect during a Cake Smash photoshoot

I have a backdrop and a vinyl floor that I bring with me to the photoshoot (usually held in my clients’ home) and ask the parents to provide any decorations that they wish to include in the photos – for example bunting, garlands or balloons. The backdrop and floor is completely wipeable so we can clean up all the icing once the Cake Smash has finished!

I start a Cake Smash photo session by photographing the baby on their own first (or with their parents/family) whilst they’re still nice and clean and before they have caught sight of the big cake! Once I have some photographs of the baby without the cake, we’ll then introduce the cake to the baby!

The best kind of cake for these photo sessions is one that is iced with buttercream icing, so that the baby can really get stuck in and make a mess! (Royal icing wouldn’t work here at all). You could either include one big cake or some cupcakes.

At first, the baby might be a bit reluctant to touch the cake as they’re not necessarily used to being given a giant cake to play with. But it doesn’t usually take long for them to get stuck in and for the mess to begin.

Whilst the baby is preoccupied with the cake, I’ll continue to snap away and photograph the chaos! Once we’ve decided we have enough photos (I do prefer to let parents decide on when enough is enough here – at the end of the day their child is helping themselves to a big cake full of sugar, so we do have to draw the line somewhere with regards to how much of it they actually eat!) we’ll get the baby cleaned up and I’ll clear away the mess and the backgrounds.

After a Cake Smash photoshoot

After the photoshoot I will edit your photographs (crop them to size, ensure the colour is correct etc.) within 3 weeks and upload them to an online password protected photo gallery for you. You can then use these photos however you wish, for example either sharing them electronically with friends or family, or choosing to have them printed or made into an album.

Q&A

How much does the photoshoot cost?
A Cake Smash photoshoot is £50.

What is included?
Included in this cost is a one hour photoshoot, use of my photography back drop and floor and the time it takes me to edit the photographs after the session. You will receive a minimum of 30 images in an online password protected photo gallery.

What do I need to do?
I ask my clients to please provide the cake and any decorations. I find it best if you provide the cake yourselves rather than me sourcing one and upping my costs, then it’s better for you budget wise and also if your little one has any allergies.

How do I book?
Please have a look at my availability on my website and contact me if you’d like to book in!

I hope you have found this blog useful and that it has given you a bit more info about what to expect from a Cake Smash photoshoot with myself. Please get in touch if I’ve missed anything or if you’d like to book a slot!


Thanks for reading, H x

An update from the world of Hayley Cox Photography!

Hello everybody!

I thought I would write a quick post on here to update you on the world of Hayley Cox Photography. I really have neglected my blog this year (yet again) and although I had high hopes at the start of 2016 of publishing regular posts, life and work have got in the way so it has not happened!

For anyone who knows me personally, you will be aware that I have a full time office job alongside my photography business and I currently balance the two. I’ve booked fewer weddings this year compared to 2015 as I found that last year I had hardly any free time to myself, taking into account my full time job, photographing weddings, doing weekend photoshoots and spending most of my evenings and spare weekends editing! So luckily this year I’ve had a few more free weekends.

More recently, I’ve come to the point again where I am editing every evening after work and not having much time for anything else! As I write this, I have one wedding that is finished and ready to be packaged up and posted, two weddings yet to edit, one wedding coming up (my last one of the year!), two photoshoots in the diary and a wedding album to design (as well as editing my last wedding and two upcoming photoshoots!).

Taking the above into account, it is my (perhaps over ambitious?) aim to have ALL of my editing completed by the end of November. I think this is doable and I’m determined to reach my deadline! This doesn’t mean I’ll be rushing any of my editing, it just means I’ll be focussing my time on editing more and making sure my clients have their photos back before Christmas.

Why am I doing this? Well, I’m wanting to have everything finished by the end of November so that I can have a break for the whole of December. I therefore won’t be taking any bookings now until January 2017 (when I’ll be holding my January sale). I am fully booked for the rest of November and my diary is clear for December. By having a good break over the festive period, I’ll be ready and raring to go in January with a load of new ideas and products. I already have a few things up my sleeve that I’m planning to share with you in the New Year (including the launch of my new wedding photography packages, some new products and a new website) and can’t wait to get started! But first, I’m looking forward to having a nice long break over December and catching up with friends and family. I’m even looking forward to having time to do some housework!

I’d like to finish this blog post by saying a big old thank you! Thank you to my customers for booking me and allowing me to turn my hobby into a business, to my family and friends for being understanding when I don’t have time to catch up and are always so supportive, to my lovely other half for the same reasons but also for putting up with me spending most of my time in our spare room at my desk (although he has managed to get through a lot of Netflix boxsets on his own over the past few months and I haven’t heard him complain…) and finally, to the inventor of hot chocolate as that is what I’ve been running on for the past few weeks :)

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I’d love to hear from other people if they have an experience of running a part time business. Do you also have a part time business as well as a full time day job? How do you find balancing the two? Please leave your comments below or message me :)

Thanks for reading, H x

My approach to Newborn Photography

When it comes to newborn photography, I believe there are two types of newborn photographers.  There are the ones who are talented with using props, backdrops, and posing a baby into cute sleepy positions while using more of a portrait approach to the session.  And there are ones who do not pose the baby and rather use the baby's family and surroundings as the backdrop and use a lifestyle approach.  My personal preference is to approach a newborn photoshoot in the latter style. 

I completely understand and respect that people may have a different preference as to how they like to photograph babies or have their little one photographed, but I prefer doing lifestyle shoots as I love capturing the early days of a little one’s life in the most natural way – being held by their parents, the funny expressions they make, settling into their new home.

  

    

Another reason why I personally prefer lifestyle newborn photography is that it generally involves about an hour to an hour and a half of me being at your home and photographing you and your newborn baby in your natural environment, rather than asking you to come to a studio for a few hours and interrupt your normal routine. I want you and your baby to feel relaxed and comfortable whilst having your photos taken and I feel that this is easier to accomplish by having you surrounded by your home comforts.

   

I love to focus on the emotions and connections that are there when a newborn baby has been welcomed into the home, and I feel that lifestyle photography is the perfect opportunity to capture this.

So, what can you expect from your lifestyle newborn photography session?

• I always do newborn photoshoots at the family’s home, and ahead of our session I will get in touch with you to let you know about where I like to take photos (usually the nursery and master bedroom and anywhere with a good source of natural light) so you know what to expect.

• I’ll send you a list of the equipment I will be bringing with me and also a list of suggestions for you to think about including in photographs (you don’t need to include anything but the baby, but it might be worth considering whether there’s a special hand-knitted blanket or teddy that you’d like to have included).

• I love images that include older siblings with their newborn brother or sister, so please feel free to include your older children in the photoshoot, as well as any grandparents, aunties, uncles or even pets that you’d like to be involved (and of course, yourselves as the parents!).

During a lifestyle shoot there is no pressure to make sure the baby’s “poses” are perfect – it’s great to be able to document the everyday newborn moments, such as soothing the baby and feeding them (if you’re comfortable with that of course). These kind of moments are so precious and I think it’s lovely to capture them in the first few weeks of your little one’s life.

   

After the photoshoot, I’ll edit your photographs to ensure the colouring is right, the crop is right and ensure any bumps are smoothed out (such as sleep in your little one’s eye or any marks you’d like me cover up). I’ll then send you a disc of your photographs with colour and black and white versions of each image.

If you’d like to book me for a lifestyle newborn photoshoot then please feel free to get in touch and have a look at my price list (which is here). It’s usually best to do these photos within the first 3 weeks after they have been born but I have done sessions with 4 week olds before and it hasn’t been a problem. As we all know, babies arrive when they’re ready and not necessarily on time, so please get in touch and let me know your due date and we can pencil in an estimated window in the diary!

Thank you so much for reading this blog post, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. There are more photos below so please continue to have a browse! Please feel free to leave me some comments on what you think about newborn photography and any experiences you may have had. I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks,

H x