When one works with little ones, the way I do, one learns that things aren’t always going to go as planned. When I’m scheduling a cake smash, I know enough about the littles to bargain that an evening session is probably too late for cake. I take this into consideration when offering session times because who wants to get everything ready and haul everybody out of the house only to have the happy occasion end in tears because it’s too late for cake?? Not me and not my clients, for sure.
For some reason, this logic didn’t present itself for Zeke’s cake smash. I don’t even remember how the conversation went but somehow we had Zeke’s photos scheduled for early evening. I think that timing worked out best for mom and dad’s jobs and we just went with it but – spoiler alert- it was too late for cake.
Things started out . The whole family plus their au pair showed up for Zeke’s birthday photos. We did some family photos on the driveway at the Howard County Conservancy (my new favorite go-to spot) and Zeke was adorable and smiley. We got Zeke by himself, we got sibling shots, we got parent shots and we got family shots. All was well.
Then we relocated to the barn for the cake smash. Somewhere between changing his clothes and putting him down in front of the cake, Zeke decided he had had enough of this crazy idea. No amount of cajoling or nursing could convince him to touch the cake. Every time his mom put him down, his dear little face would melt into sorrow and he’d cry fresh tears. We tried several times before giving up – wah. For this little one, it was too late for cake.
Regardless of the way the last half of this session went, we had a good run. We got maternity photos right before Covid hit, we got an adorable sitter session in the studio (daddy was so funny and got all the Zeke smiles) and we ended on a mostly positive note with his big milestone birthday – Zeke is ONE! Happy birthday, buddy!
Liz Viernes Photography is based near Ashton, Maryland, and specializes in maternity, fresh 48, posed and lifestyle newborns and first year milestone portraits.
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