The Cake They Wouldn't Smash!
I LOVE cake smashes! I really want one for my birthday (which is tomorrow btw!!!)
The whole point that the kid can go absolutely nuts with it and make as much mess as they like is FANTASTIC!!! I mean, when else in your life can you do that and not be judged?!!!
I did a cake smash with these gorgeous twins, I had taken their newborn photos last year and I couldn't wait to photograph them again for their first birthday!
We'd planned to do the photoshoot after their nap time which would be perfect because they would be in full spirits and have so much fun smashing the cakes!
Well as you know, you can't plan anything properly with kids can you!!!! One twin did have a nap but the other one refused and therefore was a bit tired and cranky! Isn't it typical with twins, or any siblings as a matter of fact! They are always opposite! When one is awake, the other is tired, if one wants to stay home, the other wants to go out, if one likes black, the other likes white!!!
Anyway, the parents dressed them up in their Christening outfits and the brother in a smart suit and they looked adorable! So perfect for a nice sibling photo before the messy part!!!!
As you can see the girls were a bit nervous! As I'm writing this I have been thinking about the last year since I photographed them.... A whole year of lockdown. Since they have been born they have probably not had that much contact with strangers coming into their house, especially to photograph them! What a strange experience it must have been, even without covid it is very strange!
(Again, I go off track!)
The mother had asked for a photo of the three children (hopefully happy children) and I was determined to get that for her. But after a while I could see that the girls had had enough and weren't going to co-operate so I suggested maybe the tired twin might like to go outside for a while. So we went outside but to no success. Although I did get a lovely one of the twin with her Dad!
Still no smile!
So next was bubble time!!!! Bubbles ALWAYS bring success and lots of smiles.... um.... sort of!!!!
The brother and awake twin had lots of fun and laughter!
Don't they look gorgeous!!!!
Next came the part we'd all been waiting for! The actual cake smash!!!
This photo is from the very end! The last attempt to smash the cake and it worked!!!!!
The twins were tentative on touching the cakes! What do they expect us to do with this? As soon as one of the twins touched the cake and got it on their hands she started screaming! She did not like the feel of getting their hands dirty!!!
Before I was a photographer I always considered a cake smash to be a very American idea, why on earth would that be fun to photograph? However, being a childminder and working with children all the time, you come to realise that it is a fantastic sensory lesson as well!!!! Children are being encouraged to get messy on a daily basis now a days, what an amazing way to do this on your birthday!!!!! Exploring the world of food and the texture of it is the best experience ever! Plus the bonus of eating it as well!!!!
Trying to get the twins to eat the cake for the photos was hilarious! They didn't want to get their hands dirty so started making their parents feed them it!!! They certainly enjoyed it that way!!!!
As with any messy experience you need to clean up the mess, and what better way to clean up than to go in the bath? Well.... this was definitely the twins favourite part of the day! I followed them upstairs to this beautiful bathroom with a bath of dreams! (The one with feet!) Now they started smiling!!! They were so happy and loved it and I realised that I loved photographing them in the bath! What beautiful photos I got during that time! beyond my favourite of the set.
Due to obvious reasons I will not be sharing them.
This photoshoot was an eye opener for me. I was actually feeling very low about it as I thought there would be no photos worth giving. I almost offered them a re-shoot because of it! When I got home I looked through the set when I got home and didn't find any that I thought wow!
Come Monday after a weekend off I came back to them and started going through them slowly....
I actually sent the parents 45 beautiful photos that they can treasure forever! 45!!!!!
Just shows that even if you think you have a very unsuccessful photoshoot, a photographer can make it look perfect (with a lot of hard work!!!)
I also thought about the future of my business. How can I improve the way I work next time so I can get better photos, happier children and make it easier to edit too!!!!
From September I will also have a studio where cake smashes can take place. This means bigger backdrop and due to the bath experience, I will also have my very own bath to have in the studio! I will also have a client wardrobe that everyone can use, which will have a full range of outfits for you to choose from! Although if you would like to bring your own then you will be very welcome!
Home photoshoots will also be available so that wherever you think your child will be most comfortable then I shall come!
