A Cake Smash at the Park | Nassau County First Birthday Photographer — Family and Newborn Photography Long Beach, NY |Teresa Geraghty Photography

I first photographed this family when their oldest daughter was six months old. Since then, they have grown from a family of three to a family of five. I see them annually and I always look forward to working with them. It truly is such an honor to watch my clients’ families grow and to be able to document their special moments for them.

This particular session was scheduled to commemorate they youngest son’s first birthday. Mom scheduled a family session so that she could not only get photos of a cake smash, but also images of their entire family together. I love this idea and many of my clients choose to this type of session.

Because this family has three children under the age of four, sunset was not an ideal time of day for a session. I love scheduling photos during golden hour, but for some families with young children, this is simply not an option. This is especially true during the Summer months when sunset is after 8pm. Having happy and content children is a priority, so I have quite a few locations that provide beautiful light for morning sessions.

For this session, we went to a small park to capture this special milestone. There were some pretty flowers in bloom and a beautiful brick path that served as wonderful backdrops for the photos. We started the session with family and sibling photos and once we were done with those photos, we captured some portraits of the birthday boy.

Mom brought along an adorable velvet outfit that every man in her family wore as an infant. I love using heirloom pieces in sessions and the burgundy color of the romper looked perfect set against the brick path. Baby B looked adorable in the outfit and was happy as could be.

Afterwards, it was time for the cake smash, which is my favorite part of the session. Mom dressed him in the most adorable seersucker onesie with one embroidery made by Mudpie. Sometimes, babies are hesitant about cakes, but this little boy dove right in and enjoyed the delicious buttercream iced cake. Big sisters joined in on the fun and had some cake and were happy to feed their baby brother.

It was a great morning and I have so many beautiful captures of this sweet family. Here are my favorites.