Ismail Mustafa Naveed was just over a year old when I met him and his parents, Ummara and Hamza, at Promenade Park in Elk Grove for his Cake Smash Session. This was my first time photographing their family—and my first session at this park—so I was excited to try somewhere new. Ummara had shared that Ismail was a pretty social little guy with lots of energy, and she was hoping for plenty of happy, candid expressions along with some of his calmer side. As it turned out, Ismail gave us plenty of those big expressions his mom was hoping for—and quite a few reasons to laugh along the way!

Storyboard of Ismail smiling and eating his strawberry cake during his first birthday Cake Smash Session with blue, yellow, and white balloons.

A Little Guitar Was All It Took

Ismail was a little hesitant when we first got him settled along the path, but it didn't last long. Once we gave him something to hold, those big smiles started showing up. The little blue guitar was especially helpful—it kept him entertained and gave us some of the happy expressions his mom had been hoping for.

He also had the large letter “I” from his name to play with, but Ismail wasn't exactly interested in sitting nicely with it. He was much more interested in picking it up and moving it around! Between that, the guitar, and all of his different expressions, he kept us entertained while sitting among the blue, yellow, and white balloons and wooden ONE letters in his little blue overalls.

Collage of Ismail in blue overall shorts smiling with a small blue guitar, wooden ONE letters, a crate, and blue, yellow, and white balloons.

So Many Expressions on the Bridge

Ismail really showed off that outgoing side of his personality on the bridge. With Mom and Dad behind me calling his name and acting silly, he was clapping his hands, throwing his arms up in the air, laughing, and giving me some of the funniest expressions.

Ummara had brought along a little baseball cap, so we worked that into a few of his portraits with his orange-red shirt and khaki shorts. But honestly, Ismail's expressions were what made this part so much fun. You never quite knew what face he was going to give me next!

Collage of Ismail smiling, clapping, and posing on a bridge in an orange-red shirt and khaki shorts with balloons, a small bench, crate, and baseball cap.

When the Grass Is More Interesting Than the Camera

The grass apparently looked pretty tempting to Ismail. Every time we sat him on the little bench beneath his “I Am One” banner, he wanted to bend down, grab a handful, and try to put it in his mouth. Forget looking at me—there was grass to investigate!

His little stuffed dog helped distract him for a bit, and standing behind the bench turned out to work much better than sitting on it. He was happy standing there with his dog and the balloons around him, and I was finally able to get his attention away from his new favorite snack long enough for some more smiles.

Collage of Ismail with his stuffed dog near a small wooden bench, I Am One banner, and blue, yellow, and white balloons on the grass.

Ismail Finds His Favorite Part of the Cake

Before bringing out the cake, we got a few portraits of Ismail around the cream teepee in his blue striped shirt, dark blue velvet pants, and suspenders. The teepee sat near the park fountain with the balloons, wooden ONE letters, and a basket of stuffed animals around him, giving us a completely different look from the earlier parts of his session.

Collage of Ismail in a blue striped shirt with dark blue pants and suspenders posing by a cream teepee with stuffed animals, ONE letters, and balloons.

Then there was the cake—or, more specifically, the strawberry on top of the cake.

Ismail was down to his little blue overall shorts for his Cake Smash, and he didn't waste much time checking things out. He tested the frosting with a finger or two before grabbing the big frosted strawberry from the top. That strawberry quickly became his. He ate from it, dipped it back into the frosting, ate some more, and kept right on going.

At one point, we tried taking it away from him.

Nope. Ismail was not happy about that!

We gave it right back, and all was well again. He happily went back to dipping his strawberry into the frosting and eating from it while grabbing chunks of cake with his other hand.

Collage of Ismail in blue overall shorts eating a strawberry cake beside a cream teepee with stuffed animals and blue, yellow, and white balloons.

And just when we thought he couldn't get any more into his cake, Ismail found another way.

We had moved him onto the little bench where he could reach down to the cake, and at one point he had a chunk of cake in one hand and that frosting-covered strawberry still firmly in the other. Then his foot went straight into the cake!

He just kept right on eating and smiling with frosting all over his foot while the rest of us cracked up. It was such a funny moment, and hands down my favorite part of his Cake Smash. Between the cake in one hand, his strawberry in the other, and that frosting-covered foot, Ismail was pretty happy with how things were going!

Collage of Ismail smiling while eating his strawberry cake with frosting covering his hands, face, and one foot during his Cake Smash Session.

Ismail Kept Us Laughing Until the End

I had such a good time getting to know Ummara, Hamza, and Ismail during their session. Ummara and Hamza were so easy to talk to, and Ismail kept all of us—including my husband, who was assisting me—laughing right along with him. I don't think any of us expected the session to end with a strawberry in one hand, cake in the other, and a foot right in the middle of it all. That one is going to be hard to beat!