Simple Sophistication

Newport Beach, CA & Gilbert, AZ • Sessions by appointment only

Smash Cake Photo Session – Tuscany Theme

08.09.17

1st birthday cake smash – Tuscany Italy theme

This smash cake photo session was one of my favorites this year! The great thing about signing up for the baby’s first year plan is you get plenty of time to plan your sessions. We love that we get to see this family so often! When mom told us what she had envisioned for Siena’s 1st birthday, we were so excited to create the set. I absolutely loved their outfit choices for the family portrait, too. Everything is clean and white! The yellow sunflower was a nice touch of color as well. I love how mom and dad jumped into the session to help! The photos of Siena feeding her parents are adorable.

Tuscany, Italy smash cake photo session

Special thanks to French’s Cupcake Bakery for always providing amazing smash cakes! The Tuscany theme was a new one for us and we are so happy with how it turned out! The branches, flowers, and vines were discovered at Hobby Lobby in HB. The family found Siena’s little white dress in Italy- how sweet is that?

Be sure to check out this family’s maternity, newborn, and 6 month sessions on the blog!

About the photographer

Gilmore Studios is a husband and wife team maternity, newborn, children and family photography studio in Orange County, CA. Contact us for more info about booking your studio or on location session in the Southern California area. Brian and Jennifer Gilmore specialize in studio & natural light photography in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, and surrounding areas in OC and Los Angeles, CA. Call 949-698-3968 or email us to book your summer and fall 2017 photography sessions. Cake smash sessions are $250 and by reservation only.

All smash cake photo session sets are custom built to the client’s theme or color scheme and include a delicious cake!

by GilmoreTags: 1st birthday, 1st birthday cake, baby's first birthday cake, birthday cake smash, cake smash, Frenchs Cupcake Bakery, Italy, smash cake session, Tuscany, tuscany birthday, tuscany cake smash

Meet the Gilmores:

Gilmore Studios serves Orange County, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. We specialize in wedding photography, family portraits, newborn and branding photography. Our studio has been in business since 2002.

Fun Facts:

PLace we call home:

Newport Beach & Queen Creek

Number of kids:

3 boys

Years in business:

Since 2002

As seen in:

Cake Smash

Featured On the blog

Simple Sophistication

We are on Instagram

The question that starts almost every cake smash conversation:

What themes can we do?
Honestly — almost anything.

But here is what I actually recommend.

Choose something they are into right now. Whatever phase they are in at this exact age. The dinosaurs. The rubber ducks. The princesses. The trucks. The thing they carry everywhere and sleep with and talk about constantly.

Because here is what nobody tells you about cake smash sessions: in ten years that photo is going to show you exactly who your child was at this age. Not just what they looked like. Who they were.
That is worth capturing.

We have a full theme library on our website — but if you do not see something that fits your child we will build it custom. No two sessions have to look the same because no two kids are the same.
For this session we planned everything together from the start. Rubber ducky theme. Portraits first. Then family photos. Then cake.
And before we ever talked about the set — we talked about what she wanted to do with the photos.
She chose an album.

Because digitals are beautiful. But an album is something her daughter will open when she is grown and understand immediately.
What theme are you thinking for your little one? Drop it in the comments — I want to see what phase you are in right now.
Newport Beach and Gilbert AZ. Link in bio. #cakesmash #cakesmashphotographer #cakesmashphotography

DM me BIRTHDAY and let’s start planning yours.

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Open post by gilmorestudios with ID 18065998445409348

The question that starts almost every cake smash conversation:

What themes can we do?
Honestly — almost anything.

But here is what I actually recommend.

Choose something they are into right now. Whatever phase they are in at this exact age. The dinosaurs. The rubber ducks. The princesses. The trucks. The thing they carry everywhere and sleep with and talk about constantly.

Because here is what nobody tells you about cake smash sessions: in ten years that photo is going to show you exactly who your child was at this age. Not just what they looked like. Who they were.
That is worth capturing.

We have a full theme library on our website — but if you do not see something that fits your child we will build it custom. No two sessions have to look the same because no two kids are the same.
For this session we planned everything together from the start. Rubber ducky theme. Portraits first. Then family photos. Then cake.
And before we ever talked about the set — we talked about what she wanted to do with the photos.
She chose an album.

Because digitals are beautiful. But an album is something her daughter will open when she is grown and understand immediately.
What theme are you thinking for your little one? Drop it in the comments — I want to see what phase you are in right now.
Newport Beach and Gilbert AZ. Link in bio. #cakesmash #cakesmashphotographer #cakesmashphotography

DM me BIRTHDAY and let’s start planning yours.

Photography started as something I loved.

I never picked up a camera thinking it would become a business, support my family, introduce me to thousands of incredible people, or still be part of my life 20+ years later.

But somewhere along the way, a hobby became a career.

Then a business.

Then a huge part of my life. 🤍

I’ve photographed weddings, newborns, seniors, families, birthdays, and milestones for people I’ve known for decades.

And honestly?

The greatest part isn’t the photos.

It’s the people.

The families who come back year after year.
The babies who become seniors.
The clients who become friends.

That’s what keeps me showing up every day.

Do you have a hobby you secretly wish could become your full-time job?

Comment LEARN if you’d like to see how I turned photography into a 20+ year business.

16 5

Open post by gilmorestudios with ID 18123683860650152

Photography started as something I loved.

I never picked up a camera thinking it would become a business, support my family, introduce me to thousands of incredible people, or still be part of my life 20+ years later.

But somewhere along the way, a hobby became a career.

Then a business.

Then a huge part of my life. 🤍

I’ve photographed weddings, newborns, seniors, families, birthdays, and milestones for people I’ve known for decades.

And honestly?

The greatest part isn’t the photos.

It’s the people.

The families who come back year after year.
The babies who become seniors.
The clients who become friends.

That’s what keeps me showing up every day.

Do you have a hobby you secretly wish could become your full-time job?

Comment LEARN if you’d like to see how I turned photography into a 20+ year business.

You trusted a photographer with 3000+ followers… instead of 300k 👀

And honestly? Best decision ever. 🤍

Because great photos aren’t about follower count.

They’re about connection, experience, and capturing your child in a way that actually feels like THEM.

The laughing.
The personality.
The little in-between moments parents never want to forget. 🥹

That’s the stuff that matters years later ✨

44 4

Open post by gilmorestudios with ID 17941926954032804

You trusted a photographer with 3000+ followers… instead of 300k 👀

And honestly? Best decision ever. 🤍

Because great photos aren’t about follower count.

They’re about connection, experience, and capturing your child in a way that actually feels like THEM.

The laughing.
The personality.
The little in-between moments parents never want to forget. 🥹

That’s the stuff that matters years later ✨

Your photographer for life 💕

I met her when she was 10 days old in 2009.
I also met her mom and dad for the very first time that day. None of us knew what the next 17 years would look like.
A few months later we did holiday photos of their new little family. And then again the year after that. And the year after that.

Somewhere along the way it stopped feeling like sessions.
I watched her grow up. I got to see her personality come through. The spontaneity, the laugh that never once changed, the way she lit up every single session without even trying. I saw her become a big sister. I heard about elementary school and junior high and what high school was actually like.
I knew their amazing dog Zeus. And I got to meet the new puppies.
I heard about all her hobbies and interests along the way. I watched a little girl become a young woman. One session at a time. And her family trusted me to be there for all of it.
We are almost done with high school now.
I cannot believe how fast it went.

This is not just a job.
Photography gives me more than a career. It gives me a window into someone’s life.
And this family. This amazing girl. Is exactly why I have never once questioned what I do.
Not just a photographer for a season.
A photographer for life.

Newport Beach CA and East Valley AZ. Established 2002.

Do you have a photographer for life? I would love to be yours. Comment PHOTOGRAPHER and I will send you more info.

115 16

Open post by gilmorestudios with ID 17878332660465779

Your photographer for life 💕

I met her when she was 10 days old in 2009.
I also met her mom and dad for the very first time that day. None of us knew what the next 17 years would look like.
A few months later we did holiday photos of their new little family. And then again the year after that. And the year after that.

Somewhere along the way it stopped feeling like sessions.
I watched her grow up. I got to see her personality come through. The spontaneity, the laugh that never once changed, the way she lit up every single session without even trying. I saw her become a big sister. I heard about elementary school and junior high and what high school was actually like.
I knew their amazing dog Zeus. And I got to meet the new puppies.
I heard about all her hobbies and interests along the way. I watched a little girl become a young woman. One session at a time. And her family trusted me to be there for all of it.
We are almost done with high school now.
I cannot believe how fast it went.

This is not just a job.
Photography gives me more than a career. It gives me a window into someone’s life.
And this family. This amazing girl. Is exactly why I have never once questioned what I do.
Not just a photographer for a season.
A photographer for life.

Newport Beach CA and East Valley AZ. Established 2002.

Do you have a photographer for life? I would love to be yours. Comment PHOTOGRAPHER and I will send you more info.

Personality Portraits booking now….Most of my clients have no idea what the final image is going to look like when I’m taking it.

I’m asking siblings to stand here.
Look there.
Move closer.
Laugh at each other.

And sometimes it probably makes absolutely no sense in the moment.

But that’s the beauty of trusting the process.

Because what I’m really looking for isn’t perfect smiles.

It’s connection.

The way siblings look at each other.
The little laughs.
The personalities that make your family yours.

Those are the photos that end up meaning the most years later.

If you love photos that capture your child`s personality, comment PERSONALITY and I`ll send you all the details about our Personality Portrait Sessions 🤍

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Open post by gilmorestudios with ID 18064545089650834

Personality Portraits booking now….Most of my clients have no idea what the final image is going to look like when I’m taking it.

I’m asking siblings to stand here.
Look there.
Move closer.
Laugh at each other.

And sometimes it probably makes absolutely no sense in the moment.

But that’s the beauty of trusting the process.

Because what I’m really looking for isn’t perfect smiles.

It’s connection.

The way siblings look at each other.
The little laughs.
The personalities that make your family yours.

Those are the photos that end up meaning the most years later.

If you love photos that capture your child's personality, comment PERSONALITY and I'll send you all the details about our Personality Portrait Sessions 🤍

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Newport Beach, CA & Gilbert, AZ

Session by appointment only