What do you need to rock a Finding Nemo or Dory Session?

I don’t know about you, but me and my kids LOVE Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. My 7yo also loves to watch Ellen on YouTube, of course, I can’t blame her, Ellen has such a bubbly personality that just draws you in. She’s got that family friendly sense of humor that rolls out of her mouth and you just wish you were as funny as her or that she was your aunt at family gatherings!

Anyways, I ramble, lol, I’ve done a couple of Finding Dory and Nemo sets for newborns and as a cake smash session. I wanted to share with you if you are a photographer or a mom looking for help for your own photography session or for your little one’s birthday party.

Backdrops

Sometimes you have to think out of the box for a backdrop. And with Nemo & Dory, you kind of need to buy licensed to get the right look.

These would be great for a photo booth or behind the birthday child at their birthday party or behind the cake or decorations.

Here’s something you could use that has both of them large on it.

This one has the shark on it.

This looks like the one I have in my photos.

For the best results, you don’t want a plastic backdrop or anything that has a shine as that will create a glare. It takes a lot of work, but I usually put a town on the table and then the backdrop face down and then iron it to get the wrinkles out. A steam iron works best.

Our blue ONE sign was made by Design Elements by Erin. She also made the blue and white circles garland.

This is an awesome sign and high chair decoration from Etsy.


Clothing

I use cloth diapers a lot, they look nicer than a traditional diaper and you can color match them. I keep about 10 different colors in studio. They are made to fit most any size. This one from Etsy would be perfect for a Nemo or Dory theme.

This would be good for a little boy, however, I find that most kids HATE hats.

This shark tutu outfit by Pampered Paisley would be cute for a girl.

Nemo Tutu outfit on Tu2Cute1 on Etsy.

Dory tutu by Copper Arrowz is sweet.

This ONE shirt from Best Birthday Ever. would be great for a boy or girl. With a boy you could pair with Nemo or shark swim trunks. For a girl, pair it with a tutu.

If your little girl will wear a hat/headband this Nemo/Dory Mickey ear set would be cute as well.

Cake & Toppers

Our gorgeous cake was made by Bold City Confections. She is no longer in Florida, but we know some other great cake people if you need help.

Also, if you wanted something for the birthday party, this is a cute cake topper sign.

Nemo chocolate pops from And Chocolate for All.
Decorations

You could use paper puffs to add some dimension. I keep big Disney characters in my studio like Nemo.

If you have a newborn and you want something for them to hold, something like this would fit a little better.

We have one of these large plastic Dory’s that talks.

About our Model

Joey, was a special model for us in many ways. He has Costello Syndrome. He did his session when he was about 18 months old. He had only recently started eating food by mouth. Costello syndrome is a very rare disease and he is the only child in our city of nearly 1 million to have it. 15% of these children will develop childhood cancer. To learn more, visit Costello Kids.

17+ Super Cute Farm & Chicken Themed Items For Your Next Portrait Session or Your Child’s Party

17+ Super Cute Farm & Chicken Themed Items For Your Next Portrait Session or Your Child’s Party!

I have chickens and occasionally other farm animals and so farm animals is a fun theme, my kids love.

Please note, these are NOT my photos, I took them directly from the stores’ sites. As a photographer, I see many themes and this blog is for educational purposes. If you are doing any of these themes with me, let me know if you are bringing in any of these awesome props, so I can decorate accordingly!

Garland & Backdrops

This animal garland from Artifanhas is fantastic!

This chicken bunting is too cute and would be great for a rustic theme. From AmpersandGo.

Something like this would be great for selfies or a photo booth at the party. You could also put it behind the birthday boy’s chair. By LittleFancyParty. (She has different versions and colors, look through them!

Here’s a cute chicken high chair banner from RustyChicDecor.

If you prefer more of a farm theme high chair banner, this is an adorable one from PrettyLittleClippie.

Outfits

While I wouldn’t recommend this shirt for the actual smash, I might have to get one for my own kids to wear on a normal basis! From SalemGraceDesigns

This dress from Francisbel is super CUTE and if I would have seen it when my little girl was little, I would have gotten it for her. I actually used this fabric for my daughter’s room. I wouldn’t have your kid wear it for a cake smash, but for regular photos, it would be adorable. Check out her stuff, she also has a chicken dress, that I wish came in a 10/12!! 

Tutus are always a safe bet for cake smashes. This chicken one would pop off a red backdrop nicely, or do a pink color to go with the ribbon and make it extra girly. From PrincessGirlsTutu.

Alternatively, diaper covers are a good go too. For boys, with a farm theme, you could do overalls or blue jeans.

I saw these chaps on Etsy and I about died! Can you imagine this with a naked booty, OMG! From SMPstore. (Now to talk a client into doing this! LOL.)

Cakes & Cupcakes

These fondant cake toppers are fantastic and you can get the whole set or just pieces. From CarolinaCakeToppers.

These Oreo Cookie Pops from DoodlePopsCo are SOOO cute.

These cookies from CookieBliss would be a hit!

Here’s some more super cute fondant items from ParkersFlourPatch. (Please note, fondant is great for decorating, but for a photoshoot smash, it’s harder to get into, so you’ll either have to cut into it (and make sure there’s icing inside, if you want the mess for photos.) or use these only for décor.

This cake topper would be cute too, from HadleyandCompany.

Or this one from SmashCaked, which I love with the number and bunting.

Other

Maybe not for a one year old’s party, but this chicken piñata would be great for older kids. From Pinata Pals.

These cute little chicken crayons would be great as part of an activity or party favor for older kids! From Penguinwithaproject.

Watch our blog for other themes and ideas in the future. If you live in Jacksonville, MacClenny, Fernandina, Amelia Island, Oakleaf, Orange Park, Middleburg or somewhere else on the First Coast and need a photographer for your little one, check out Christy Whitehead Photography.

10 Tips on What NOT TO DO if You’re doing A Smash Session, Tips from a North Florida Cake Smash Photographer

Everyone comes into doing a cake smash imagining their baby having this dream session where they immediately dive for the cake and everything is just oh so cute. For the best session possible, check out these sometimes funny things NOT TO DO!

I don’t write this to be mean, in any way. These are just things I have learned through trial and error!

  1. Chocolate ice cream, fudge, or icing. When it comes to babies, we parents get to deal with blow outs enough as it is, and while chocolate is a favorite flavor of ice cream— just don’t do it. LOL.
  2. Animals in the session. Kids are hard enough to get focused, throw in some animals and it’s likely a recipe for disaster. Your kid may run off, but the pets, on the other hand see a free meal!
  3. Shirts with words on them. It’s hard to get a good photo of shirts on a kid. Their bodies are sooo little and then having them at the perfect angle to see the words (even just O-N-E) can be a nightmare.
  4. Balloons. No seriously. I occasionally use them, but they can be a nightmare. Especially the number ONE balloon. It turns, it’s never at the right angle and THEN, kids are much more interested in playing with balloons then getting messy.
  5. Wearing only fancy clothes. Seriously. Those messy fingers will come after you! And even if they don’t, you’re going to have to wash your baby off, and icing sometimes is really greasy and sticky! If you’re coming in for portraits, make sure you have an extra pair of grungy clothes you can change into just before the smash. You don’t want to worry about whether that icing will stain!
  6. Red icing. It can look like your child is a vampire, no seriously. But, on the other hand, if it’s a vampire themed smash–great idea!
  7. Hats. I don’t know a single kid that likes to wear a hat. Unless you get one on your kid’s head almost every day without issue, don’t spend money on a birthday hat, ESPECIALLY the ones with the strings that go around the chin, the kids throw them off.
  8. Gels and things that have color (that you haven’t tested). We did a strawberry smash one day and it went REALLY well. I made a strawberry short cake and added strawberries and a red strawberry gel stuff I got from Publix in the produce department. Figured it would give it more of a mess. The problem was, after we washed the baby, she still had a red stain on her face. I do all my family photos before the smash, so it wasn’t too much of an issue, but on her bath photos, I had to clean it up in Photoshop. so it didn’t look like she had a rash.
  9. Bow ties, ties and suspenders. Pretty much anything fancy your kid doesn’t wear on a normal basis is likely to tick them off, trust me!
  10. Wait until the day of to give your kid cake. For the first year of a baby’s life they are RARELY given sugar and parents usually clean them up fast, so sweet things and being messy are usually things that make babies upset. Start giving your little one cake (cupcakes with icing work great) about a month or so before their smash session. Let them play with it. Try different flavors and such to see what they like the best. If all else fails, go with a fruit or food smash (like Spaghetti). Those go over MUCH better and are soo cute!

Looking for a photographer for your little one? Christy Whitehead is located in Jacksonville Florida and specializes in bellies and babies. Call 904-891-0359 or email her to set up your own session.

Babies and Shots–What I do! Newborn Photographer in Jacksonville, Florida

So I have two children and in conversations, I sometimes end up talking about kids, growing up, going to the doctor and shots.

2010, with my daughter

With my daughter, she got the regular vaccination schedule (born in 2010). Her pediatricians always warned us to give her Tylenol before we came.

After her shots, she would typically run a fever and be just miserable and cranky.

EVERY parent I’ve talked to has said they had the same issues and they hated taking their kids to get shots.

The 1980s

I was reading that the amount of shots I got in the 80s was like half of what kids get now in one sitting.

I mentioned this to my pediatrician and he said that they like to group the shots together to ensure that parents will get them done. If they required parents to come back more frequently, it wouldn’t happen.

2014, with my son

When my son was born in 2014, I found a delayed vaccination schedule, which meant that he would get NO MORE than 3 shots at any one time.

I printed this out and brought it to my kids’ pediatrician. He said that he didn’t necessarily agree with it but he would go by the chart and I agreed to come in more frequently to make sure he got all of his shots.

My son was NEVER cranky and didn’t run a fever. He is now 4 and STILL no issues.

Also, in case you’re interested, my child was in Daycare and PreK and I asked the nurse on site and she said it wasn’t an issue at all.

Arguments about Vaccines

I realize there are SOOO many different points of view about vaccines. There are moms that don’t want any vaccines, etc.

This is about what has worked for me and my family. My children still get all their shots.

For me, I felt like the number they give now a days is just WAYYYY to much for their little systems/bodies to handle and I didn’t mind coming back more frequently for my peace of mind.

You can Google search “Dr. Sears Delayed Vaccine Schedule, Printable” to find this to print for free.

I’ve had sooo many parents ask me about it and wanting to know more, so I figured I’d create a blog post for those who are interested!

 

Christy Whitehead is a newborn and family photographer, located in Jacksonville, Florida.

In Tribute to Lynrd Skynrd’s Last Concert in Jacksonville, Ideas for a Music Cake Smash!

Living in Jacksonville, Florida, home of Lynrd Skynrd, everyone is going crazy today for the last concert going on tonight.

So in tribute, I figured I’d throw together a musical/Lynrd Skynrd themed cake smash ideas for you.

If you want to put together a musical themed cake smash (or any theme!) let me know and let’s make some messy fun!

Props

I’m not sure what I’d do with these, maybe put them everywhere or glue them to a backdrop or have a newborn hold them.

This banner would work great.

This Free Bird sign would look awesome propped in the back somewhere, or rigged to hang.

An old tape player or record player would look awesome as well, especially if you have these to go with it.

Cake

One of these would be awesome on a small smash cake or set up along the ground.

Or this one, which can be customized.

Clothing

This crown is sooo cute.

And this diaper cover would work great for a boy or a girl.

Here’s a bib to go with it.

Here’s a more colorful diaper cover, depending on the look you’re going for.

This shirt looks like it would go with the above diaper cover (you could probably ask if they could match colors. But this might look better with some blue jeans, especially if they were ripped, to give off that rocker vibe.

Tutus always make great smash outfits for little girls. This one has musical notes around it’s edge. It could go with a background of most any color or look.

I LOVE this little outfit and she makes it in different colors.

Here’s another one that’s clean and very easy to see what it is.

 

Finally, as the parent, you WILL likely get messy helping with your kid’s first birthday smash session, so you might need a change of clothes too. There’s a couple of vintage and new choices for Lynrd Skynrd inspired shirts on Etsy. Here’s a good newer one for a die hard fan.

And these musical fingernails are pretty awesome too.

 

Christy Whitehead Photography is located in Jacksonville, Florida and specializes in newborn, family and cake smash photography. Contact her now to set up your own session. 904-891-0359.