When you think of first birthday photos, there’s a pretty good chance you immediately picture a baby sitting in front of a cake covered in frosting. But, there are lots of other cake smash alternatives.
And listen, I love a good cake smash.
But apparently not every one-year-old wants cake./
Some babies have more sophisticated tastes.
Like steak.
Yes. Steak.
For this little guy’s first birthday session, we skipped the traditional cake smash and headed outdoors for a session that included steak, a fruit bath, family photos, and one of my favorite newborn-to-one-year comparisons.
Honestly, the cake wasn’t missed.
Cake Smash Alternatives Can Be Completely Personal
The whole point of a first birthday photography session is to celebrate your baby at ONE. The cake is really just one way to do that.
If your baby loves watermelon, spaghetti, pancakes, donuts, berries, pizza—or apparently a nice steak—there is absolutely no rule saying we can’t build the session around that instead.
And sometimes using something your baby already loves works even better.
This little guy was perfectly happy digging into his steak, and it gave us all the fun expressions and personality you would normally expect from a traditional cake smash.
Just with considerably more protein.
If you love the traditional version, you can see more about my Southern NH cake smash photography sessions, including what is provided and how sessions work.
Taking This First Birthday Session Outdoors
We also did something a little different with the location and photographed this first birthday session outdoors.
First birthday photos don’t have to happen in the studio. During the warmer months, an outdoor location gives us room to include several different parts of the session without everything having to revolve around one themed setup.
We were able to photograph the birthday boy, include Mom and Dad for updated family portraits, bring out the food, and finish everything off with a fruit bath.
Basically, a full first birthday experience—with fewer balloons and more produce.
The Fruit Bath – Great Cake Smash Alternative to the Bubble Bath
After the steak came the fruit bath.
A fruit bath is another fun alternative to the traditional post-cake bubble bath, especially for an outdoor summer or early fall first birthday session.
Fresh fruit adds color without needing an elaborate setup, while the water gives babies something to splash in and explore.
And if you’ve ever met a one-year-old, you already know that giving them water and permission to make a mess is usually a fairly solid plan.
It was simple, adorable and completely different from a traditional cake smash.
We Included Family Photos Too
One thing I don’t want parents to overlook when planning first birthday photos is the family portrait part of the session.
Your baby turning one is obviously a huge milestone for them.
But you also just survived the first year.
That deserves photographic evidence.
A full first birthday session gives us enough time to capture traditional portraits of your baby as well as a few updated family photos. After all, your family looks very different now than it did when we took those newborn photos a year ago.
And speaking of those newborn photos…
From Newborn Photos to One Year
One of my favorite images from this session actually started a year ago.
During his newborn session, we photographed this little guy with a pumpkin. We brought the pumpkin idea back for his first birthday session so we could create a before-and-after comparison showing just how much he had changed.
Same baby.
Same idea.
Very different amount of cooperation.
These kinds of comparisons are one of the reasons I love photographing babies throughout their first year. When you’re living it every day, the changes don’t always seem quite so dramatic. Put a newborn photo next to a one-year portrait and suddenly you’re wondering exactly when that tiny baby disappeared.
If you’d like to document more than just the first birthday, you can read about my baby milestone photography sessions. I photograph babies throughout their first year, from those first newborn portraits through sitting, crawling and eventually that very big first birthday.
Your First Birthday Photos Don’t Have to Look Like Everyone Else’s
Cake smashes are popular for a reason. They’re fun, messy and completely unpredictable.
But they aren’t the only option.
There are endless cake smash alternatives. A first birthday session can include your baby’s favorite food, a fruit bath, family portraits, an outdoor location, a meaningful prop from their newborn session. Or some completely ridiculous I have never heard about but am completely on board for.
Whatever it is I’m game.
The important part isn’t whether your baby smashes a cake.
It’s documenting who they are right now, because somehow that tiny newborn becomes a steak-eating one-year-old approximately five minutes after you bring them home from the hospital.
If you’re still deciding what kind of first birthday session you’d like, take a look at this ONEder the Sea cake smash session to see a more traditional themed cake smash, or visit my newborn photography page if your baby’s story with Nutter Photography is just beginning.
Whether we use cake, fruit, steak or something else entirely, we’ll create a first birthday session that actually fits your baby.
Because one-year-olds already have lots of opinions.
We might as well use them.
If you’re thinking about using your baby’s favorite food instead of cake, choose something they’ve already eaten safely and that can be prepared appropriately for their age. The CDC’s infant and toddler nutrition guide has helpful information about age-appropriate fruits, proteins and other foods for babies and toddlers.