If you’re a parent in San Diego looking to celebrate your baby’s first birthday in a fun and memorable way, a cake smash photo session is the perfect choice! These joyful sessions capture your little one’s personality, curiosity, and messy cake-covered smile and they make for adorable keepsakes you’ll treasure forever.

At Stills by Hill Photography, we specialize in documenting these milestone moments with care, creativity, and a clean, timeless style. If you’re wondering what to expect when booking a cake smash session in San Diego, here’s everything you need to know!

1. Booking Your Session

Cake smash sessions are typically scheduled a few weeks before your child turns one. This gives us time to create your artwork before the big birthday celebration. We recommend booking early especially during busy seasons to ensure your ideal date is available and there is enough time for you to select your artwork.

Location: We photograph most sessions in our San Diego studio, designed with little ones in mind. Outdoor or at home lifestyle options are also available upon request- just won’t have the cute sets.

2. Styling & Setup

Once you book, we’ll plan the perfect setup together! Whether you love a simple and clean look, or want something more whimsical and colorful, we’ll tailor the background, props, and wardrobe to match your vision.

What’s Included:

• Custom-designed set based on your theme or colors. We plan this at your consultation planning appointment.

• Coordinated cake and outfit suggestions

• Access to heirloom products to show off your beautiful portraits and pass down to your children in the future

Don’t have a theme in mind? No problem! We’ll help guide you with ideas that photograph beautifully and keep the focus on your baby.

3. What to Bring

Here’s what we recommend parents bring to their cake smash session:

• A change of clothes for your child and also you. Parents tend to also get messy after

• Plenty of baby wipes and a towel. A trash bag is helpful to bring home your dirty clothes.

• Favorite snacks or toys (just in case we need a little distraction)

• Any heirloom items or keepsakes you’d like to include

We’ll take care of the rest including cleaning up after the cake fun!

4. During the Session

The session usually lasts about 30-45 minutes and includes three parts:

1. Portraits -Clean and classic portraits before the mess begins- we love to capture a few with parents before hand if you like.

2. Cake Smash -The main event! We let your baby explore and enjoy the cake while we capture the magic

3. Bath Clean-Up -An optional (but adorable) tub clean-up session for some fun splashy photos and a clean baby to take home.

We follow your baby’s lead to keep everything stress-free and enjoyable.

5. After the Session

We will set up a customized ordering appointment where we will walk you through the best portraits to help you pick your favorites, which can be turned into heirloom wall art or custom albums and include companion digital images.

We believe your photos deserve more than just a spot on your phone …let’s create something beautiful to display in your home that you can enjoy long after a proofing gallery would expire.

Ready to Book Your Cake Smash Session in San Diego?

Let’s make your little one’s first birthday unforgettable! 
Fill out the form below to schedule your  San Diego cake smash session.

Serving families across San Diego, La Mesa, El Cajon, and surrounding areas.

Follow @stillsbyhillphotography on Instagram for recent cake smash highlights and behind-the-scenes moments!