Somewhere between a third and a half of one-year-olds want nothing to do with the cake. Plan for that to be fine, because it is.
The three stages
Clean portraits on the themed set first, while the child is fresh and the outfit is still an outfit. Then the cake, shot at burst speed — the genuinely good frames last about four seconds. Then a splash tub to finish, which photographs beautifully and solves the cleanup at the same time.
The palette is the whole trick
What separates a considered set of images from a photograph of a baby covered in icing is that the backdrop, the outfit and the cake share a colour palette. We agree it in advance and order the cake to match, in an egg-free or vegan version if you need one. Tell us about allergies on the enquiry rather than on the day.
Please do not train your child to like icing
We have genuinely been asked about this. A one-year-old poking a cake suspiciously and refusing to touch it makes a funnier and frankly better series of photographs than a compliant one. The session is designed to work either way, so spend the week beforehand on something else.
The mess
Considerable, and ours to deal with. Cleanup is included, including the child. Bring a spare set of clothes and a towel for the journey home; everything else is our problem.