Rohnans Outside Cake-smash!

I did it!

I finally convinced a client to try a proper full cake-smash OUTSIDE! I know I did a previous post about lifestyle cake- smashes, however that was with cupcakes, and not with a big cake (but we basically got the same results).

If you're pondering about an outside lifestyle cake smash DO IT! I absolutely guarantee that you wont regret it!

Why do I prefer lifestyle cake smashes to Studio Cake- smashes?

Most of you may know that I fell out of love with studio a little while ago, the reasons being; I lost the interest of trying to control the light, not fond of the artificialness of it all, people are less likely to be themselves in front of the camera when they're surrounded by studio equipment, people feel that they're under a 'spotlight' which can make them look and feel uncomfortable.

Although studio is amazing for working with models (which I still do as a hobby) I work with REAL people, REAL families, who want REAL moments captured!

With lifestyle shoots I have the world at my feet, and endless possibilities at the palm of my hands!

The amazing colours of the trees combining with the colour of baby's eyes. Baby's skin glowing because of the gorgeous natural light shining down on them. The feeling of not being restricted in a small stuffy room, having the whole outdoors as your office as your clients explore the possibilities of their session; its just amazing.

Baby Rohnan and Family

For this shoot Rohnan's mum (Emma) was initially sceptical about having an outdoor cake smash, and even asked 'Wouldnt it be too cold?'. Of coarse British weather is far too unpredictable at the best of times, so I didn't think much of it. We settled for the usual indoor studio cake smash session, and booked Rohnan in.

On the day of the shoot I woke up to a gorgeous hot summers day, and thought 'Wow it would have been perfect weather for an outdoor shoot today!'

I received a message from Emma asking whether it would have been too late to ask for an outdoor shoot (ITS NEVER TOO LATE FOR AN OUTDOOR SHOOT OMG YES!) So we settled on Wilton Park.

I was nervous about there being quite a lot of people in the park with it being sunny, but mostly worried that a loose dog would possibly come up to the cake and start eating it, so I dragged my unwilling partner along to assist, and be on baby and cake guarding duty (sorry not sorry babe).

We got to the park, and with it being during school and work hours there weren't as many people as I thought (PERFECT) so we settled for a nice shaded area under the trees to avoid the blinding direct sunlight.

Rohnan was kicking and ready to go! Saw the cake in the box and straight away wanted to get started on it! We got a few shots in his cuuuute baby grow first which read 'Rohnan's One' with a little blue crown at the top (cutes!)

He beamed and smiled at the camera, and absolutely LOVED playing with this helium balloon! (Thank God you guys brought that).

After a few 'clean' shots, we moved him to another location which was more flat, as we felt that the cake may roll down the slanted hill. We found a perfect flat spot with the trees aluminating in the background, and placed a blue blanket on the ground for him to sit on. We placed his favourite helium balloon at the back of him so it was still in shot, placed normal smaller balloons around him, and then placed the cake directly in front of him between his legs.

Straight away he had pulled the sprinkle covered '1' from the top of the cake, inspected it a little, and then straight in to have a taste. We waited a little bit while he looked over the cake, and then asked Emma to assist him by holding his hands and hitting the top of the cake (in order to show him that hes allowed to get messy). He poked and picked the top of the cake, the sparkles and glitter he was mesmerised by.

Rohnan seemed more interested by his helium balloon mostly, as he grabbed the string biting it and laughing at himself doing so. It was a very sweet session as Emma was concerned that he may not even smile during the session, however we managed to capture lots of big cheesy grins, and him laughing at himself fake coughing!

Emma and her partner were lovely to work with, very respectful and even spitballed ideas as we went along (which is fab). They were very much interacting with Rohnan which made the session a whole lot easier and relaxed.