Emi | First Birthday Cake Smash Session
In December, my dear friends Noah and Jenna reached out asking if I'd be willing to photograph a cake smash for their sweet daughter Emi. I got to take their maternity photos at Palmer Park almost a year ago now (crazy how fast time flies!) and couldn't believe their sweet little girl was already almost a year old! I'd never photographed a cake smash, but it sounded right up my alley and I was THRILLED to say yes.
As is the case with most new parents, Noah and Jenna's entrance into parenting was not as smooth as they hoped for. Jenna ended up being induced several weeks early for hypertension and risk of preeclampsia, and then when little Emi was born she wasn't gaining weight correctly. After a lot of doctors appointments, prayer, and trial and error, they discovered she had a swallowing issue and needed to be put on a feeding tube.
I remember eating dinner at their house a few months after Emi was born, and watching them both set up the feeding tube with milk, hook it up to little Emi, and tenderly hold her while the machine did it's work. I was already blown away at their incredible love for their daughter, and watching them go through this routine (and knowing it was one they did 7+ times a day) was astounding to me. The chance to celebrate how far they'd come in this year, the challenges they have overcome, and the beautiful life of their daughter was truly the easiest "yes."
Getting Comfortable Around the Camera
I showed up at their townhouse on a chilly January morning, and was immediately smiling when I saw Emi's cute sweater. Her name is embroidered on it and it's oversized — how CUTE is that?! Our goal for the shoot was simple: keep it fast (under thirty minutes), have fun, and watch a little girl enjoy some cake.
I started in their living room, getting a few casual photos of the three of them in the natural light and giving Emi a chance to check out the camera and get used to it. There's something about a large black circular thing close to your face that can cause kiddos to have a wide range of reactions, from delight and laughter all the way up to shyness and fear. Emi's reaction started neutral and then quickly turned to delight as her parents began playing with her and I began making silly faces.
After she was comfortable, we moved their dining room table to the side and Jenna put up the sweetest "One Year" banner on the closet behind it, and we plopped down Emi in her fabulous oversized pink sweater and set a little colorful birthday cake in front of her. This is where the real fun began.
A Baby and a Cake
Now, my only job was just to observe Emi and take delight in her discovering the joy that is cake. She started very curious and cautious, unsure of what to make of the white round thing that had been set in front of her and looking to her parents for permission to dig in. She dipped finger tenderly in the frosting and sucked it – and then kept gently doing that for several minutes.
Noah and Jenna and I were laughing— we expected the full "smash" moment where she squishes all the cake down, but she was so enchanted by just the frosting that she very tenderly took little bits of it from the top for a while. Eventually Jenna helped her get the idea of "smashing," and from there it all went pretty quick and was a blast. To see her face covered in frosting, her hands squishing cake, and frosting literally getting on everything brought so much joy. She soon started crawling around with frosting all over her hands, creating a little frosting trail on the hardwood behind her.
By the time it was over, she was so clearly delighted at having tried cake and frosting — she was absolutely covered, I had a treasure trove of incredible photos to sort through and Noah and Jenna had a sticky but delighted baby to go rinse off (and some hardwood floors to wipe down). I can honestly say this is one of the most fun sessions I've gotten to be a part of.
Noah, Jenna, and Emi — your family is such a gift and I'm so amazed by the faithfulness with which you've walked through so many challenges over the last year. Congratulations on your sweet little munchkin turning one!
