When Mom Wendy was referred to me to capture little man Jase’s first birthday cake smash, I was thrilled and honoured to be part of this big celebration.
I love doing a few photos for the family of the birthday boy while he is all dressed up, right before we get down and dirty with the cake smash! Since his 2 older brothers were at school, Jase brought his sister Aliviah along for the shoot. We hadn’t planned any shots with her, but when she showed up in her pretty blue dress and I saw how she crinkled her nose when she giggled, I couldn’t resist capturing a few sibling shots. Seriously, good looks run strongly in this family!
A family friend had made a first birthday milestone chart as a gift, and Jase had no interest in simply posing next to it. In stead, he was happy to pick it up, chew on it, swing it around, sit on top of it … but with a bit of encouragement from squeaking toys and jingling keys (us photographers have an arsenal of attention-grabbers!), we got the money shot.
Once we had put the cake down in front of Jase, he hesitated for a fraction of a second. Just … a… fraction. Once he dug his hand into that beautiful cake (crafted by the masterful Cheri from The Cake Bitch – yes, that’s the company name!), there was no stopping him. Handful after handful of vanilla cake was stuffed into his face, blue frosting flying everywhere.
It was hilarious to watch and Mom and I were howling with laughter seeing Jase get angry at the cake and shoving his feet right into the middle of it. After about 20 minutes of chowing down there was so much cake and frosting in his nostrils, and that’s when the sneezing started. One bite, one sneeze … and still he ate.
Aliviah had been sneaking in bites of cake up to this point, but this was where we had to stop her, since it wasn’t clear anymore what was fresh cake or sneezed-on cake!
A quick wash later and Jase was squeaky clean again. Mom … not so much! Allowing Jase to run his bright blue frosting-covered hands through her hair and down her back as he was giving her a hug was just another testament of how dedicated a mom Wendy is. What a fun session!
Rochelle specializes in family portrait and documentary photography, including newborns and kids, in Vancouver, British Columbia. If you are interested in a family, newborn, or milestone session, please contact her for more information.
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