DIY Cake Smash photoshoot: get awesome photos of baby's first birthday at home!

In today's post: Get swell photos of your baby'southward starting time birthday with a DIY cake smash photoshoot!

A cake nail photograph shoot is an incredibly fun way to mark your infant's first birthday. Information technology's fun to do a cake boom BEFORE the birthday party so you can focus on getting good pictures of your baby enjoying his first bite of block without worrying about neglecting your guests. And y'all can permit him brand all the mess he wants and then become it all cleaned upward earlier the party takes place. Sure, he tin can have more block at the party, but if y'all know you already have keen photos, you won't be and then worried about getting the perfect shot during the political party.

Delight Annotation: YOU MUST ENSURE YOUR Kid'Southward SAFETY. For example, any time you are taking pictures of a baby, you lot MUST have some other adult that acts as a watch and stands near the baby at all times. Additionally, any "backdrop" should exist secured so information technology won't fall over. Think that safety is more than of import than any photo, and yous are responsible for your child's safety.

DIY cake nail photoshoot

Here's what you need to fix your own block nail photoshoot:

Groundwork The background for a cake nail photoshoot can be as elementary as a solid colored wall or sheet taped up to a wall, merely having a solid color background and matching solid color flooring looks more professional. Pros generally employ seamless paper, which makes for a very professional solid color look that blends from the background down onto the floor. I wanted a similar look for a lot less money, then this is the solution I came upward with. I start with one of my DIY photograph properties boards, propped against the backs of two kitchen chairs. So I comprehend the board with a white table cloth (pressed or steamed to remove wrinkles). I use clamps to hold the tablecloth at the acme of the board, then let the tablecloth drapery down the board and onto the flooring. I and then lay a piece of plexiglass over the tablecloth that is on the floor. You tin meet the clamps holding the tablecloth in this photo:

If you look closely, y'all can also run across the piece of plexiglass and the spot where the floor meets the backdrop lath. Using plexiglass on the floor is not necessary; yet it helps to anchor the tablecloth and makes sure it doesn't wrinkle up equally the child sitting on it moves around. It as well gives a prissy little reflective effect. I think clear vinyl would serve the same purpose (as long as you use something heavy on the corners to agree information technology in place). Clear vinyl is very cheap – y'all can get it in the fabric section of Walmart. Whatsoever you make up one's mind to utilize, the most important part is using a solid colored piece of fabric that's large enough to drapery downwards backside the infant and also cover the floor nether the baby – and do everything y'all can to smooth out wrinkles.

Props Make up one's mind on a color scheme for your cake smash photoshoot, and then gather your props. Balloons look fantastic in the background of photos, and are piece of cake to find in simply almost whatsoever color. Cut triangles from scrapbook paper and string them together to brand a banner (or just put masking tape on the dorsum of each one and tape them directly to your background). A birthday hat (purchase one that matches or make one from analogous fabric) completes the scene.

Cake You could buy a cake from a baker, but it'south fairly elementary to brand your own in round pans and spend a little time decorating it. Two cake tips: Commencement, make a chocolate cake! The dark colored cake shows up much better in photographs and looks much cuter every bit it gets strewn around. Second, purchase at least iii cans of frosting, so y'all take plenty to tint dissimilar colors. I usually make frosting, non purchase it, but for a cake blast photoshoot I'grand more than concerned about looks than taste, and store-bought frosting cuts down on prep fourth dimension.

Once your scene is ready, get out your camera a take a few examination shots. I recommend switching to portrait setting on your camera, or if you accept some experience shooting on other modes choose AV and selection a fairly low discontinuity number (maybe two.8 or 3.2). Be sure to prepare with baby facing a large window during midday when there's plenty of calorie-free coming in (but not when you lot tin can come across a vivid window-shaped patch on the flooring in front of your window – more on window calorie-free). You lot will non be happy with your photoshoot if at that place isn't plenty light and you have to use your flash.

Then put baby downward and outset shooting! Since the baby will be on the floor, y'all'll need to exist on the floor likewise so you can shoot from about her eye level. Sit in front of her (probably simply below the big window in the room that she'south facing) and snap abroad to get cake smash photos.

Make certain to get a shot of the very kickoff handful of cake and the very first bite.

Take some full-length pictures that show all the props, then zoom in for a closer shot:

And then zoom in even more:

Yous desire a diverseness of shots for your DIY cake boom. So as well as full trunk shots, take some item photos, like a motion-picture show of babe's hands digging into the cake:

$baby\'s hand grabbing and big chunk of birthday cake$

And another shot of the chubby legs and toes all covered in frosting:

$A baby\'s feet with cake crumbs$

Keep shooting as long as the babe is still having fun. Take photograph after photo – you tin delete some later – but taking lots of pictures volition ensure yous don't miss the smiles or the time she offers you lot a sense of taste: