I hung up the phone with a reporter a few weeks back who was writing a piece on the popularity of cake smashes in portrait photography today and how the trend all began years ago.  I had fun reminiscing with her about the first “Cake Smash” session I did with my daughter Giuliana when she was 10 months old.  I simply thought a giant cupcake would be cute and wanted to snap a few photos of her tasting it for the first time.  I plopped it on the grass and fired away.  Soon after, Heidi Hope clients began clamoring for Cake Smash sessions and our Cake Smashes went from a simple giant cupcake to an all-out-stylized set.  Teaming up with Sweet Indulgence, we started getting creative!  First, just a few balloons and bunting, now each cake smash session is an original production.  Our Cake Smash sessions here at the studio are widely followed and I have LOVED seeing all of the sets we’ve created inspiring others around the world.

I got to thinking.  I would love to start a monthly feature on the blog where we showcase all of the amazing work out there.  So let’s do it!

Have you been inspired by one of our sets?  You could be featured on our blog and have your work seen by our hundreds of thousands of viewers and thousands of facebook fans!  I would love to see the amazing work you’re doing, and hear about how we inspired you!  From newborn, to cake smash, to senior portraits, your entry could be anything!  Please see our entry requirements below and submit you photos to inspiredbyheidihope@gmail.com.

Our favorite photographer each month will be featured in their own blog post, and our runners up will also be showcased on the blog and our facebook page!  If you are our monthly favorite, you will receive a gorgeous Heidi Hope Blossom Band and a 30 minute Skype session with me (Heidi), where you can ask me anything about business, photoshop, photography, whatever!!

How to enter:

Please email inspiredbyheidihope@gmail.com with:

Your name

Your studio name (if you have one, you don’t have to be PRO to enter!)

Up to 5 images inspired by a Heidi Hope Photography Set (at least 1000px wide, watermarked please)

A brief description of your images

Talk about a gerber baby!  I’m finally getting caught up from traveling over Labor Day and I’ve been dying to share this preview with you.  C was such a gorgeous baby girl.  I have to include one of the hat photos in this sneak peek because mom and I worked so hard at getting C to keep it on her head long enough to snap a photo.  We tried every trick in the book and FINALLY got something just before we called it quits for our cakesmash.  This is one of my favorite cake smashes to date.  I always love when mom picks a different color scheme to mix things up.  And what is cuter than little bunnies?!  So sweet!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

I constantly find myself wondering where a year could have gone when the sweet sleepy newborns I remember show up back at the studio as little people.  I last saw adorable M as a newborn and she returned to celebrate her first birthday.  She has the most stunning eyes (which of course I didn’t have the chance to see at our last visit).  They are a marbled greyish-blue that almost look violet at times.  Gorgeous!  And don’t forget her long black lashes and contagious giggle.  She had so much fun at her birthday session, as I think you can tell!  I had just as much fun capturing it all on camera and loved catching up with mom and dad too.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I last saw this handsome little guy when he was about 4 months old.  When he came to visit me for his first birthday last week, my, how things had changed!  C was on the move and had lots to do exploring the studio.  He loved all things that moved from planes, to trucks, to our new little wagon.  Mom loved a cakes mash we did back in the spring with a Vinyard Vines theme so we broke out our favorite little whales and created an adorable set for C.  He went straight for his cake, but it didn’t slow him down any.  Even I was covered in frosting by the end of this one.  Not that I ever mind, because the only decent way to get frosting off your fingers is to taste it!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Giuliana’s 4th birthday rolled around on us much too fast this summer.  On her birthday we happened to be across the country with kids in tow for my best friend’s wedding.  It was only 8 weeks after having Grace and 10 weeks after moving into our new home.  Giuliana had a red velvet cupcake for breakfast in San Francisco and spent the rest of her day on a plane heading back to Rhode Island.  Probably a great adventure for a 4 year old, but as her mommy, I was ridden with guilt that she spent her day sugared-up, over-tired, and glued to an ipad as we dragged her cross-country.  We decided to “make it up” to her by throwing a big party at the new house, boxes still not unpacked, complete with a water slide (that she was terrified of but still claims was her favorite present) and a brand new Barbie bike.  We really wanted to make her feel like a princess for the day.  Kerri Cupcake came to the rescue and created the most amazing confections table perfect for my girl who dreamed of a “princess ballerina” party.  It was honestly the centerpiece of the whole party, which was a lucky thing because I never did have time to hang the decorations.  My older brother, an admitted sweet junkie, couldn’t stray from that corner of my kitchen all day.  He even had to taste the soft pink rose petals that blanketed our tulle-lined table just to see if they were made out of sugar too.  Every guest at the party raved about not only how gorgeous everything was, but also how amazing it all tasted.  I can attest that when we cut into our cake filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, even I couldn’t resist a giant slice.  In fact, I secretly didn’t want to give it over to the 4 year olds!  Enjoy your sneak peek into our sweet day… and be prepared to drool on your keyboard!

See more amazing sweets at Sweet Indulgence!

Last week baby P and his family visited the studio and we had so much fun celebrating his first birthday.  We started our session with the whole family in their Hanbok and took some beautiful portraits of P with his grandmother.  Then we broke out the cake and decor for a sweet ending to our session!  P was a huge cake enthusiast, but he much preferred playing with it than eating it.  He wanted to paint our whole studio with the bright green frosting!  If he is an amazing painter one day, I won’t be surprised.  Enjoy your sneak peek!

Get ready for some cuteness!  Baby V and I have been buddies since her 6 month session and I couldn’t wait for her to be back in front of my lens again.  She is stunningly gorgeous from her little brown curls to her gorgeous blue eyes and she is SO expressive!  She’s a busy girl, but never minds flashing me some giant smiles while she plays.  Because dad was going to be in his dress whites, we decided to head down to the bay for the family portraits.  Of course the blinding mid-day sun took the boats right out of our background, but I love how soft and washed out the resulting images are from all of that gorgeous backlight.  V loved to simply run around and play with all of the toys I brought along.  Then we set up with a sweet and girly nautical cake smash so V could dig in!  She loved her cake, one of my favorite Sweet Indulgence creations to date.  Enjoy your sneak peek S family!

Last June I had the pleasure of meeting princess M.  Remember her?

This year I was able to catch up with the J family for M’s first birthday cake smash photos.  A bit less sleepy this time around, M was on the move and all over our studio!  She was just as gorgeous as I remembered her.  We had fun making colorful sets and watching her play.  M knew just what she wanted and she DID NOT want her hands dirty!  haha  A little tricky for a cake smash, but we got around it with the adorable chocolate wands from Sweet Indulgence that M loved to play with instead.  Hope you had a fabulous birthday M!  Enjoy your sneak peek.

For all those HHP fans with an addiction to your mobile device (ahem all of us here at the studio)… we have a addition to our popular Rewards Program and we’re sure you’re going to love it!

The Digital Brag Book is an album that saves as an application right on your cell phone. You can share the album with friends and family to show off your Heidi Hope special moments at any moment. Check out the photos below of what the product will look like on your ipad. This way cool product will only be available through the rewards program, so make sure you are checking your boxes! For more information on earning your points or questions about the rewards program, please call the studio at 401.864.1919 for more information.

An HH app?  How cool is that?!

 Here’s a slideshow of a recent session so you can have a peek!

We are super excited about this new product and know you will all be as well

We’ve got all sorts of cute going on with this session! M, his two adorable bottom teeth, and his cookie monster cake were just too much. Mom wanted a cookie monster theme that matched M’s blue and green bedroom, so we decided to do something a little different with the cake and background. Sweet Indulgence definitely knocked it out of the park with the cake…it’s just so creative and cute! I love the shots where M is so focused on getting that frosting into his mouth. 

Happy Birthday, baby M! We’re looking forward to your next session.

~ Mariah