I love first birthdays. While all birthdays are special, first birthdays are extra special. You get to see how they developed with every milestone. And perhaps like a baby race, it flashes back to which child was the first to stand up or walk.
A month before John’s first birthday and I wanted to give him a little party.
Time flies by so fast that in a blink of an eye, my kids have passed a year. A year of needing mama to just sit and cuddle. A year of baby smells and giggles. How it breaks my heart to face the reality of them growing up. But how exciting it is as well to see what their future holds.
Before the party, I thought about giving him a smash cake photo session. Deciding on theme was a little tough. At this stage, It is hard to know what the boy likes when he likes everything vehicles. Also, we did the construction theme for the first birthday for his eldest brother.
READ MORE : Weekly Highlights – 2nd Birthday
We have been camping a lot lately. So, we decided on the camping theme.
Then, I met with a nice friend of mine. She is a local photographer in Bakersfield, and we went to a local park for a nice sunset photoshoot for my boy.
It is a Smash cake photoshoot with the theme “ONE Happy Camper”. As you can see, the photos are beautiful and I am happy on how it turned out. Theresa did an amazing job!
Anyhow, before the shooting day, I prepped all the things that will be needing for the set up. You see, I had a vision on how the photos will turn out and Theresa helped me capture them.
Everything you see in the photos were DIY. I did not want to spend too money on the photoshoot set up when I will be using them only once. For the whole set up the materials cost me less than $30.
Here are the things that I used for the photoshoot for my ONE Happy Camper
- Tablecloth – Yes, you heard it right. It is a linen tablecloth that we used for the tent. It takes a boy scout to set up a tent and I am so glad that my husband knew how to do it.
- Tent Stick (2 pcs) – I bought this pipe at home depot. It is 3 feet in length. I have to cut it in half because I wanted it shorter for the tent.
- Tent Stakes and rope – These materials are from our actual tent. So, if you guys do tent camping, it is the same way for this little tent. But they are also available on amazon.
- ONE sign – just a plain amazon boxes that I cut to make the word. Then, I sprayed it in white. I think it looks neat.
- Pinecones – These are my favorite pinecones that I collected during our camping trips. There are pinecones in California parks, but these are a little bigger than usual and can be found in California mountains. You can always use the ones in amazon.
- Crate box – an antique crate box I found in our garage.
- Antique Railroad Oil Lamp – I thought this kind of lamp would be so nice for the photoshoot. And I found this on offer up app.
- Boots – it is optional, but I think it is a nice touch on the set up.
- Simply Naked Cake – I also made this simple cake. It is a chocolate cake which is slightly frosted. I bought 2 small but tall cake pans in amazon and one of the best purchased I did ever since.
- Campfire – It took me a week to make this project. I found them on ETSY and Amazon, but they are too pricey for me. So, I bought felt cloth materials and sew them. Then once they were sewed, I stuffed them with cotton from my unused pillow.
The photoshoot was so fun. During the shooting, he was skeptical on the frosting. So, Theresa asked me to give him a taste of the cake. And once he knew that he could eat the cake, he knew just what to do.
How handsome is this little dude?! He reminds me of Huckleberry Finn!
The session was a success. Every photo of him was a gem. I know one day these photos will make him smile.
If you are a local in Bakersfield and have a theme you want to explore or great photographer, you can reach out Theresa Wooner Photography. Her photos are not only amazing, her work ethic, professionalism, and warm approach to her work is second to none.
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