Yukari Powers Photography: Blog

10 Cake Smash Tips | Vancouver WA Photographer

(Yukari Powers Photography) — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 22:24:10 GMT

Hello everyone!

I am a photographer in Vancouver Washington serving Vancouver WA and Portland metro area. Who doesn't love a photo of an adorable baby?! Add a cake and you have one of my favorite photo sessions, Cake Smash sessions!

I love helping parents capture their little ones FIRST birthday! It is such a big milestone in their lives and it is a huge event for the parents too! Yes, parents, you made it through the first(and one of the toughest) year!

Cake smash sessions allow us to get in touch with our creative side to create the perfect first birthday photos! Themes, props, backgrounds, outfits.. Lets have some fun! My goal is to capture moments that are going to be treasured for a long time...maybe even generations. How cool is that? Here are some tips for smash cake session/first birthday photo session.

Start planning early(around 9 months). You need time to shop for cute outfits and order a special cake for the big day! And I might need to shop for props, too! (Check out this girls crown, headbands and dresses her mom picked!)
Scheduling is very important. After morning or afternoon naps/snack are usually good time to schedule cake smash session so they are not too hungry.. but hungry enough to eat cake. Babies are also usually happy after naps.
Chocolate cake is yummy to eat but not for cake smash sessions...it does not look very appealing in photos. I also suggest avoiding cakes with a lot of red icing, unless you're planning a vampire theme. :D
Buttercream or whipped icing is the smoothest, making it easiest to smash. Be aware that fondant and small hard decorative details can be a choking hazard.
Shop for matching candle and/or cake topping early. Number 1 candles are commonly sold out in stores. Matching candles and/or cake topping will complete the look of the cake.
You do not need a big cake for a cake smash. 5 - 6" cake is a perfect size. Cake smash cakeCup cake style cake 5" Cake Smash CakeFirst birthday cake
Be prepared to participate! Some babies don't get the hang of smashing a cake right away. You may need to get your hands dirty to help them get started. It's a tough job, but someones gotta do it!
If you would like to use the cake smash photos to display at the baby's birthday party, use them for birthday invitations or make a nice announcement post on social media on the day of their birthday, I recommend scheduling your session when baby is 11 months old(again, start planning a couple months before this). This will give you time to make prints and order any products that you'd like to display.
Most importantly, remember not all the babies are going to love their birthday cake. It can be too messy or too sweet for them. Some might even cry at first. But that's ok. Don't get disappointed. Babies are all different just like we are. Embrace the uniqueness and enjoy the moment, whatever they do!
Don't throw away the cake! They really don't eat that much of the cake. Keep it and enjoy it after the session. You deserve it!

I hope these tips help you to have great cake smashing experience. Cheers!

Cake Smash Family Photo Cake Smash Family Photo

Cake smash, first birthday photos Cake smash, first birthday photos

After cake smash

High School Senior Session, Vancouver WA Photographer

(Yukari Powers Photography) — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 22:39:20 GMT

This is Madie with one "d". As you can see, she is a gorgeous California girl! When I met her, she looked a little shy which is perfectly fine because I felt the same way inside, so I totally understood how she felt! I think most of us feel a little awkward when we get our photos taken by total stranger. My job as a photographer is to make it easy (and a little less awkward) for them. I think due to my personality (I am quite goofy according to my husband) and because of lots of years of working in hospitality, people usually warm up quite quickly to me.

We had a great time and the photos turned out beautiful! We had a gorgeous sunset senior photo session to remember. Her mom was so happy with the results that she booked a family photo session with me. I thought it was a brilliant idea to have a family photo done before Madie left for college, don't you agree?

This is what her mom wrote on my review.

" I hired Yukari to take Senior portraits of my daughter. Wow did she deliver! She is responsive and easy to work with, and even arrived on location with some small, fun props to use in the photos. She helped my daughter feel comfortable right away, which helped her appear relaxed and natural in the photos. Yukari notices, and fixes things that usually annoy me in photos, like hand position and arm angles. She worked really fast, and I was impressed with how many images she was able to take during our session. I was hoping for a few really good ones, but honestly, we have dozens and dozens of beautiful pictures that we will treasure. She had all of the images edited and up in an online gallery really, really fast. Will definitely work with her again. I just cannot speak highly enough about her, or her beautiful photographs!"-Jennifer

The best time to start thinking about the Senior Portrait Session is right before spring break when you are Junior. That way, you have enough time to plan for successful senior session.

Cathedral Park in Portland, Oregon : Engagement Session with Xian & Austin

(Yukari Powers Photography) — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 05:49:32 GMT

Winter weather here in Portland Oregon is very unpredictable. Luckily for this lovely couple's Engagement Session, we had a beautiful sunny day. We were there when the sun was setting and the park was bursting at the seams with a warm golden glow. Cathedral Park in Portland has become one of my favorite places to do any type of photo shoot from Engagement, Senior, Maternity to Family Portrait. I can't wait to go back there in Spring and Summer! Let me know if you are interested in coming with me for your portrait session.

Cathedral Park OR, Engagement Session