Category Archives: Cake Smash Photography

Birthday Portrait Sessions in Avon, Simsbury, and the Farmington Valley

Girl in pink floral dress blowing out a birthday candle on a white cake during birthday session at Kelli Dease Photography, Farmington CT

The first birthday gets a lot of attention. After that, birthday photos tend to fade into party snaps on someone's phone. But kids change so much between two and twelve that skipping all of those years feels like a real gap in the record. At my studio in Farmington, CT, I do birthday portrait sessions [...]

Cake Smash Sessions in Connecticut: What They Are, How They Work, and What to Expect

A one-year-old baby boy wearing a white Henley and suspenders, holding fists of birthday cake and smiling at the camera. The photo features a plain white background and a white high chair.

A cake smash session is exactly what it sounds like: a baby, a cake, and a camera ready for whatever happens next. At my Farmington, CT studio, I offer session options for every birthday, but cake smash photography sessions are some of the most entertaining I do all year. The results range from sweet and [...]

First Birthday Photographer in the Farmington Valley, Connecticut

Baby girl laughing and looking to the side during her first birthday portrait session at Kelli Dease Photography in Connecticut

The first birthday is a milestone that's hard to describe until you're in it. One minute you're leaving the hospital with a baby who can barely hold their head up, and a year later there's a small person crawling toward your phone with clear intentions. It goes fast. Getting in front of a first birthday [...]

Which Photography Session Type Is Right for You?

a studio portrait of a little girl taken during a portrait session in Connecticut by children's photographer Kelli Dease

Every session I offer comes with the same foundation: full-resolution digital images, wardrobe and styling help, a complete session guide, and professional editing. What changes across my three primary session types is time, and time is what gives us flexibility, variety, and room to breathe. In this post, I'll guide you through figuring out out [...]

Birthday Photo Sessions in Farmington, CT: Cake Smashes, First Birthdays, and Beyond

Four-year-old boy has a 4th birthday photoshoot in a Farmington, CT studio

Birthdays go fast. (Extremely fast. You blink and the baby who couldn't hold his own head up is now on his way to being taller than you.) Whether it's the first birthday or the tenth, each one has something specific about it that's worth documenting before it's gone. At my studio in Farmington, CT, birthday [...]