May 2020, the UK was in lockdown, we weren't able to see friends or family and I wasn't able to work. Times were uneasy and stressful, but we had a little boy turning one and we still wanted to celebrate!
It was during this time that I was more thankful than ever for having a studio at my home. Not only had it taken a huge pressure off during the pandemic struggles but it also meant that we were able to capture these milestone photos of Errol without breaking any of the restrictions that were in place. We may have missed out on having family come and spend time with Errol on his special day, but I'm glad we at least got to have some fun capturing some cheeky photos in the studio to remember Errol's First Birthday.
We did a cake smash on the actual day - it just had to be done didn't it! We video-called my parents too so they could watch him get stuck into it. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, probably something to do with the pressure of having Daddy, big sis and big brother all cheering him on while Mummy was snapping away, but eventually he realised that the cake really was all for him and got on with the job. The whole thing only lasted about 15 minutes, but it was a lot of fun! He was at such an expressive stage so we got lots of different reactions while he was investigating the cake - exactly what I look for when photographing a cake smash - I'm so relieved that it went well I must admit I was a bit nervous before we started that it wasn't going to go to plan!
We decided to keep the theme really simple because we knew what was coming the following day was going to be a lot more involved, and I wanted to have two completely different sets of images rather than a crossover between them both.
I had thought about doing a watermelon themed photoshoot for Errol for a little while before his birthday, it was his favourite fruit by a long way! He would clap his hands and smile every time he saw me get some out of the fridge and would polish off 3 or 4 slices every lunchtime - I guess the softness and coolness was nice for those teething gums too! To be honest, I think I was more excited about this shoot than the cake smash because it felt much more personal, I knew that his love of melon would be one of those things that we may forget as he gets older so capturing him enjoying it to mark his milestone birthday just felt so right, it's why we take photos after all isn't it: to preserve memories! I'm so pleased with how they came out, his quirky expressions sum up the stage he was at at the time for sure, and I can honestly say that NONE of that melon went to waste.
Here are some of our favourites from the two photoshoots, I would love to know what you think so do get in touch to let me know. And if you are thinking of booking a birthday photoshoot for your little one but wanted to do something different to a cake smash, like we did, get in touch and we can plan the perfect session for you.