Saina’s cake smash session

As a baby photographer, it’s always such a pleasure to meet a brand-new human and then watch her grow during the magical first year of her life. In baby Saina’s case, I got an early start: she made her first visit to my studio while still in the womb, for her parents’ maternity session!

I officially met little Saina at her newborn session. She was a wonderfully cooperative baby, sleeping the entire time and allowing me to capture many beautiful images of her. Her 6-month milestone session was even more fun - she had grown so much and enjoyed showing off her new skills in the studio!

Since we’d met several times during the first year of Saina’s life (not just at our sessions, but also at ordering appointments and product pickups), her mom and I had many opportunities to discuss and plan her perfect cake smash! Saina’s mom had a clear vision for this session - she asked for an ombre cake and peonies, light colors, and touches of gold.

Before the session, I pulled together some of my favorite props to bring these ideas to life. Pale pink balloons, a delicate birdcage repurposed as a vase, and a teepee embellished with lace all made an appearance. And, as requested, I brought plenty of peonies and a cake covered with swirls that shifted gradually from bright pink to the palest rose.

Of course, pretty props are just one part of a successful cake smash session - the most important component was the beautiful birthday girl! Princess Saina was an absolute dream throughout our shoot - cheerful, playful, and full of smiles.

We were able to fit 2 outfit changes and 3 setups into less than 1 hour. While all three resulted in gorgeous images (just look at the photos of Saina pensively tasting icing or perching on her throne below!), the birthday girl herself had a clear favorite - the bathtub. Playing with the balloons in the tub was the highlight of her session!

Book your cake smash session today: http://www.polina.pictures/contact-form

Tips for Holiday Mini-Sessions

Before You Leave the House

Make sure your children had some rest, ate, went to the bathroom, and napped before the session. If your session scheduled for late evening – please give kids extra nap time before that. It is better to have less fun activities than more stressful ones.

Give yourself extra time for a car ride to allow for traffic, unplanned stops and avoid unnecessary stress.
At the session, the most important thing is to be happy. Your family needs your positive energy and they feel it when something is troubling you. They should know – it's a fun event: we will play and have a great time.
Once again, please start early – it is important not to be late, as mini-sessions are usually scheduled back-to-back. If you run out of time due to late arrival – you might need to wait for the next available slot.

Outfits

Planning your outfits takes a bit of time, don't leave it for the last minute. Start with the mom. It is easier to match kids to your outfit rather than vice versa. Pick something you feel comfortable in. If your outfit is beautiful but not very comfortable - you might get tired and not enjoy the session as much. Next, coordinate your outfit with that of your spouse and, finally, kids'. Unless you have a specific reason I recommend avoid matching styles. Matching outfits make it harder to create a striking image and have fallen out of fashion with family photographers. Consider wearing layers and textures.

Look at your home decor. Make sure the colors you are wearing for the photo session go with your house color scheme. Consider this: after the session you will own a beautifully printed canvas, which you would love to hang on the prominent place in your house. You would want to make sure that the colors on the canvas are working with the surroundings.
Important For holiday pictures I recommend to avoid tight and short skirts for girls. It’s a plus to have coordinated shoes OR no tights or socks at all (yes, barefeet are just fine). Please try to avoid large hats as they create deep shadows on your face. For toddlers and newborns – full diaper doesn’t photograph well, please have ‘extras’ with you just in case :)).

Fun Details

Accessories add element of fun to the session and look flattering on pictures. Ties, necklaces, scarves, something for kids to carry – are all fun to play with! However, exercise judgement – avoid bulky plastic non-textured toys that you would not enjoy seeing on final images.

Another clothing tip: try to limit patterns and avoid prints and characters on your closing – they look quite distractive in photographs. You will enjoy timeless pictures that are relevant long after the kids have left home. All-black clothes are not recommended because they erase much of the details in the image as black is the highest contrast color. On the other hand, if you picked “Let it snow” theme – white and burgundy will look fantastic!

Picture Perfect

Above all - don't forget that mini photo session is a fun event, that should preserve your cherished memories. Please, don't discipline your kids during the session – smiles and good mood are more important than rules! This helps to catch fun moments and preserve good memories!
See you at the session :)

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