I came across this idea while scrolling instagram one day (where else), and then again and again and again when I was perusing Pinterest for first birthday photo ideas.  I knew we were going to get family photos taken around Olive’s first birthday, but I also loved the idea of the simple cake and cake smash.  I knew we probably couldn’t do both with the photographer, so I figured we could just do it ourselves.

I knew it probably wouldn’t look AS good as if we had them done by Halle and honestly had pretty low expectations for us, lol.  But, I think they turned out pretty darn good. SO, here are a few tips if you want to do it at home yourself and save some money but create some sweet mems. (and do a test run of a cake smash before the big birthday party!)

1. If you have a nice camera, use it.   It had been waaaay too long since I got out my “real camera.”  We have the Canon G7X Mark II that I got a few years ago. It is compact point and shoot with wifi that is great for getting better photos than your iPhone. Like, way better photos.
2. Pick up a cheap cake from your local grocery store! For Olive’s birthday party, we had a fancy cake, but for the shoot, I just went to Publix and got a white cake, which cost me only $15. Order the $6 “one” cake topper from Amazon if you want, but obviously isn’t absolutely necessary.
3. Find a spot in your house (or porch, like we did) with lots of good, natural light! This is a standard for any photo shoot, but especially when you are trying for that “at home professional photographer” vibe.  We did our on our screened porch, which was perfect.
4. Use some old white sheets to hang up behind and place underneath your baby! We all have that set of sheets in the linen closet that doesn’t get put on the bed anymore and you’re keeping around “just in case.” Use that! Its going to get messy. You can hit it with a steamer if you want the back to be smooth and crisp so it looks more like a studio shoot!
5. Get in a few photos yourself! Of course this is all about the baby, but these will be great keepsakes for the baby book or for you to look back on. I LOVE these photos of Olive and I.
6. TAG ME or send me the photos if you decide to do this!

I am wearing the Free People Marina Dress. Such a great dress for SO many things — see my Google web story on the dress here.

~ PIN FOR INSPO LATER ~