The Cake Smash without any Smashing!

 How this Cake Smash was perfect, even without smashing any cake!

Ever since I first saw a Cake Smash online I knew I wanted to photograph them! I mean, a little girl or boy covered in cake while looking adorable in their little one year old outfit, who wouldn't. I have some family members with newborns who I have been taking pictures of before they were born in maternity sessions, so they fit perfectly into this cake smash equation. 
The thing about taking pictures of one year old's is by the time you get to this age they are usually fussy toddlers who just learned to walk and want nothing more than to walk around and not sit down at all! This is a challenge of course, but it is still so exciting. When a little toddler decided they don't want to sit and stand up there are usually adorable facial expressions and some wobbling involved that make for great photos.
This photo shoot was exciting because it was for one of my little cousins who is just the sweetest. She has two older brothers who love to make her laugh and came in real handy when we needed them for this shoot. We starting with just sitting little Lillie down in front of the camera and wanted to make her laugh and giggle. This was a huge success, even when it wasn't. Of course she stood up, walked away, crawled around, got tangled in the little paper stars we had, but the photos still turned out amazing! 
The next step was getting a few shots with mom outside. Mom threw little Lillie in the air which was adorable to watch, not to mention such a good bonding moment for mommy and baby. We grabbed that big pink balloon and set Lillie on a blanket with it to catch some more great shots. Of course the weather wouldn't cooperate since the wind kept blowing the balloon away, but it was still fascinating to watch for this little toddler.  Eventually she became cranky, like all kids do and we took her back inside for the last half of the photo shoot, the cake smash. 
The cake was beautifully made by mom and delicious! Lillie had already had a bite or too, so we figured she would dig right in. We set the cake down and put Lillie next to it, hoping she would immediately grab bits and pieces and ultimately make an adorable mess. However, Lillie walked over, poked the cake with her little finger and then walked away looking for mom and dad! This was not what I had expected at all and at first I will have to admit I was disappointed. However, I just kept snapping shots and realized that these pictures were actually perfect. We have Lillie sitting in front of the cake waiting to grab it, Lillie smearing the frosting on her belly, and some of her laughing at the little mess. 
This whole bit only lasted a few minutes before we realized it was definitely time for lunch and then a nice nap, ah the life of a toddler! There wasn't much clean up and still plenty of cake left, but everything turned out perfect and I could not wait to see all the pictures! Immediately, I went home and downloaded them on to my computer and within two hours I was finished and had them sent to mom! 
I could not have asked for a better first cake smash photo shoot, even without all the smashing. I can't wait for more! 
Enjoy these adorable photos!
-Taylor