Cake smash + splash, the right way
A themed setup, a custom cake, and 60 unhurried minutes for your one-year-old to decide whether to dive in or stare it down.
Cake smash sessions at Faithful are the most fun we have all year. Choose a theme, we'll style the setup, bake the cake (yes, included), and let your one-year-old lead the way. Pair with a splash setup for the full smash-and-splash experience.
Choose your theme palette during the consult — we'll style the backdrop and order the cake to match.
Cake smash setup first, with optional splash setup straight after for the full experience.
Choose your favourites in-studio within two weeks. Wall art prints are especially popular for cake smash.
The Faithful approach
One year of firsts deserves a celebration you can hold onto. A cake smash is exactly that: your baby, a beautiful cake, and full permission to make a glorious mess of it — while we catch every wide-eyed look, cheeky grin and frosting-covered giggle.
Cake smash sessions at Faithful are the most fun we have all year. Pick a theme and we style the entire set — backdrop, props and outfit — and yes, the cake is included, baked to match the theme and any allergy needs. Sessions run a playful 45–60 minutes: clean portraits first, then the smash itself, with an optional splash-tub finale to bubble the frosting away on camera.
Family and sibling photos are part of the session — first-birthday portraits with mum and dad belong on the wall too. You'll find us at our Main Studio in Glen Alpine and The George Center in Gledswood Hills, with a personal in-studio gallery reveal to finish, where your Studio Collection (from $550) comes together image by image.
Good to know
11–13 months is the sweet spot: confident sitters with big expressive reactions, before full-speed walking takes over the session. Most families book a few weeks either side of the first birthday so the finished photos are ready in time for the party — or arrive as the perfect keepsake just after it.
Bring an idea or borrow one of ours — soft pastels and florals, bold rainbow brights, woodland, boho, a favourite storybook. We match the backdrop, cake and outfit so everything sings together, and keep baby's outfit simple on purpose: frosting goes everywhere, and that's entirely the point.
Book around your baby's best window — usually freshly napped and fed. Some little ones dive into the cake head-first; others need a parent to crack the icing and offer the first taste. Both make wonderful photos. If your baby isn't feeling it, we pause, cuddle and reset — and the splash tub at the end rinses the chaos into one more round of happy frames. Every bit of clean-up is on us.
Recent sessions
Two cinematic Sydney studios
Choose Glen Alpine for our heritage studio in the heart of Macarthur, or Gledswood Hills for our newest light-filled space serving Camden, Narellan, Gregory Hills and beyond.
Studio 01
Hours
Mon–Sat 8am–7pm · Sun by appointment
Servicing
Proudly serving Macarthur, Campbelltown, Camden, Wollondilly, Gregory Hills, Narellan, Liverpool, Parramatta + Greater Western Sydney
Studio 02
Hours
Mon–Sat 8am–7pm · Sun by appointment
Servicing
Bedside service for The George Center mums
Where we work
Families travel to Faithful from right across South-West Sydney — wherever you're coming from, one of our two studios is close by.
Common questions
Between 11 and 13 months — old enough to sit confidently and grab the cake, young enough to enjoy the moment without overthinking it.
Yes. We work with a local baker who makes a custom-themed cake to match your setup, included in the session price.
Yes! Splash is a popular add-on. We follow the cake smash with a warm-water splash setup so baby can rinse and play — and the photos are spectacular.
Let us know during the consult — our baker can accommodate dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free and nut-free. Just give us a week's notice.
Plan for full mess! We have wipes, a change area, and a warm shower at the studio. Bring a spare outfit for baby and yourselves.
A playful studio session celebrating your baby's first birthday: they explore, squish and taste a cake made for the occasion while we photograph every reaction — finishing with clean family portraits and an optional bubble-bath splash.
Completely. They mark a once-only milestone and capture your baby's emerging personality in a way posed portraits can't — candid, joyful and gloriously messy.
45–60 minutes, including the smash, the optional splash finale and clean-up. Short enough to stay fun for a one-year-old.
Yes — family and sibling portraits are part of every cake smash session, photographed before the frosting flies.
Something simple that matches the theme — we style and provide outfit options as part of the set design. Bring a spare comfy outfit for the trip home; the rest is our problem.
Your edited gallery is revealed in-studio within two weeks, with a minimum of 35 edited images per session — the final number is often higher and varies with each session.
Also at Faithful
Faithful gift vouchers cover any session — perfect for grandparents who'd rather give memories than more toys.
Explore gift vouchers
