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 Centre 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
Choose your look
Every session is styled before you arrive — backdrop, balloons, props and a custom cake to match. These are setups we've built for recent first birthdays.
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 Centre 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.
If you're in South-West Sydney, we're likely close by. Our main studio is at Glen Alpine in Campbelltown, and our second studio is at The George Centre in Gledswood Hills — an easy drive from Camden, Narellan, Harrington Park, Gregory Hills, Mount Annan, Liverpool and Picton. Both studios run the same custom themed cake smash setups.
Also at Faithful
Faithful gift vouchers cover any session — perfect for grandparents who'd rather give memories than more toys.
Explore gift vouchers
