I love cake smash photography shoots. I think photos of adorable babies completely covered in brightly coloured buttercream are painfully cute. However, I'm also way too strict to let my baby consuming that much sugar. I know, I know, they probably don't eat much of it and it's only one time and it's their sodding birthday. But still. I considered it and, in the end, I decided I wasn't keen on the idea.
I did want to do something, though. I wanted to end up with a few beautiful pictures of colourful chaos that would serve as a reminder of just what life was like with a one-year-old (chaotic, messy, exhausting). I considered a tower of fruit, Ember can make so much mess with a punnet of raspberries I figured she was born for such a challenge. But the thought of having to change the resulting nappy put me off.
I finally settled on the idea of a paint smash. I knew it would result in a colourful mess and that was exactly what I wanted. Also, as part of Ember's Second Child Syndrome, she had never been near paint before so I thought she would probably enjoy it as well.
I ordered a photography backdrop (this one for £13.55 from Amazon) so that the photographs wouldn't be lumbered with my usual backdrop of pasta-handprint smothered walls. I also bought some colourful decorations to put up, as well as some painting accessories to let Ember explore. And I bought a huge roll of white paper to cover the floor. I was planning to buy a lamp to use for lighting, but I decided to take the photos in the conservatory which guaranteed me some decent natural lighting (and meant my living room would be protected from paint spills).
I dressed Ember in a beautiful white bridesmaid dress Ebony wore when she was a bridesmaid a couple of years ago (Ember is a giant compared to Ebony) and poured out paint across the floor. Laurie and Ebony were on standby to make loud noises so that Ember would glance in the direction of the camera at least occasionally, and they helped out with keeping her entertained while I took photos.
As predicted, things got pretty messy. Ember and the dressed ended up covered in paint (and so did Ebony who wanted to feature in a few of the photographs). I really love the photos. They're not perfect, far from it, but they are something I will treasure for a long time. I love the bright colours and the fact I didn't have to deal with a sugar-induced temper tantrum as a result.