When it comes to First Birthdays over the last decade or so in the UK, cake smash and tub splash photo shoots have become more and more a part of the usual celebrations.
When I first started offering them in the studio, I had to explain to most folk what the idea was and it was met with quite a lot of confused faces but now they are so mainstream, there are whole industries of cake smash outfits and accessories that have grown up around them. Of course, this is great for me and my studio photo shoot offering has grown from a single set up with one tub to choose from to a really huge amount of choice of backdrops, bunting, accessories and tubs so you can create the perfect gallery of first birthday images.
Even though they are so popular now, there are a few questions that I quite often get asked so here’s my top five (and the answers of course!)
Is there time to cake smash and tub splash in the same session?
Absolutely! You can totally cake smash and tub splash in the same session. However, you don’t have to do both – you can pick one or the other if that’s what works for you. One thing that I will say though is, that unless your child really hates bath time, the tub splash is normally the most popular part of the two. I guess it’s the more familiar section as they don’t normally get a whole cake put in front of them with licence to act however they’d like. But put them in warm bubbly water and they instantly know how to have fun. Plus you take home a baby that is is a lot less sticky so that’s a plus too!
Can parents and siblings be in the photos?
Yes they can. We have time for clean photos before we get the cake out (and an outfit change here is fine) and this is an ideal time to update your family photos and your sibling photos if you’d like. When it comes to siblings getting involved in the cake smash, I’m a bit on the fence about how good it looks. It depends on the age of the siblings as to whether it really works but, while I wouldn’t recommend making it a big feature of your session, they’re welcome to jump in for a few in the cake section of the shoot too if you’d like them too. They can be reassured that no baby has ever eaten an entire cake in the studio, so there’s pretty much always plenty to take home so they don’t need to worry about missing out on treats!
How long does a session take?
The studio is booked for an hour with the average session taking about 45 minutes. It depends a bit on how your little one is feeling on the day and the elements of the session that you’re incorporating of course. As you can imagine, it’s quite a fast paced session but that’s great for little people are they’re quick to bore and tire and we want the whole of your photos to reflect all the fun that they are having exploring the new things that we’re putting in front of them.
Do you provide the cake?
I don’t. To cater for everyone’s allergy needs and personal tastes would make it incredibly difficult apart from anything else and this way, you can choose the cake that’s perfect for you. There’s no hard and fast rules as to the type of cake to bring along but I’d steer clear of chocolate cake (looks like poo) and red icing (looks like a horror movie) and a general rule of thumb is the squishier the better! You can bake your own, get one made or there are lots that you can buy in the supermarkets that smash really well. You can find a link to some of my favourites here – Top Ten Supermarket Cake Smash Cakes.
Do you offer sessions for twins?
I do! When it comes to cake smashes, I’ve tried it over the years with both one cake or two and I can categorically say that one cake works much better. If you have two cakes, even if those cakes are identical, they will automatically want what the other one has. This quickly descends into chaos with them swapping and changing between them and it gets crazy real fast. So I recommend one cake between them – twins are chaotic enough as it is without adding any more into the mix! In terms of the tub, the only limitation when it comes to twins is that they can’t do the milk bath. The milk bath tub is definitely a one person affair! But they will both fit super comfortably into either my rustic tin tub or my miniature roll-top.
First Birthday Photo Shoots in East Grinstead
Celebrate your baby’s first birthday with a session designed to suit you! Choose the Mini First Birthday Shoot for a simple and sweet session featuring your little one in one outfit against a single backdrop, complete your favourite image for just £45. For an all-inclusive experience, opt for the Full First Birthday Shoot, where we’ll capture your baby’s cake smash, a fun tub splash, and even family or sibling moments, all with three digital images included for £95. Let’s make their first birthday unforgettable—book your session today!
