Creating a Woodland Themed Cake Smash
Recently I had two Mums request a woodland themed Cake Smash, one for a little boy and one for a little girl. I created the set-up similarly with minor changes related to gender and specific requests from the Mum’s, so I thought I would share my top tips for setting up a woodland theme.
Woodland Cake Smash Colour Theme
You want to choose simple colours that compliment each other and tie in well with the actual theme of the smash. As this was a woodland theme I used a white backdrop for cleanness and then added in greens and browns for the little boy along with a dash of pink for the little girl. I had browns from the branches and leaves, greens from the fake foliage and bunnies and for the little girl pinks from the flowers. Both Mum’s had thought about outfits for their little ones and how this would fit in with the theme and colours being used. I sent the mums an image of the set up before the session so they had an idea of what to expect and could forward plan outfits and any extras they would like to bring, like Henry’s adorable fox teddy.
Building the Woodland Set
For me, I like my sets to be real and not digital backdrops because then no other photographer has them. I also like to use items that I can use time and time again but in different setups. The leaves I used were ones I had collected in autumn and home pressed and dried myself. I have also used them for newborn shoots and dressing tables for a wedding styled shoot so they are really useful to have and cost me nothing but time. The branches were collected on walks I had been on throughout winter and I used long plant pots filled with sand to position them how I wanted. My reason for doing it this way is so I can use them again and use the sand filled plant pots for other setups in the future- it’s a great way for me to be more sustainable and repurposing everything I create. I then wrapped the branches with fake foliage so they didn’t look so bare and added the pink flower garlands for Hattie’s set-up. The tree trunks are from my living room that we use next to our sofas as mini coffee tables for drinks. I’ve had them for years and just worked nicely to fill the gaps and with my moss-covered bunnies.
The Cake
For both these sessions, the Nannies made the cake which is a really lovely personal touch. With the woodland theme, the cakes can be quite rustic and have that homemade look as it works really nicely with the set-up. Cream coloured icing complimented the backdrop with a plain coloured sponge. Naked cakes also work really nicely with a woodland cake smash theme. Adding simple toppers just help to top the cake off and these can link in with the theme or colours being used.
So there you have it, my thoughts on what to consider when building a woodland themed cake smash session. Check out the gallery of images below.
