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Smash cake shnanigans

post #1 of 40
8/27/12 at 10:31pm
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I have a photographer acquaintance who proposed the idea of me doing up some very fancy little decorated cakes for some 'smash cake' mini sessions. the mom's would love it!!! and I could do up several for a day of back to back appointment and then getting them smashed. My cut would probably be $60 for the day of cakes. icon_rolleyes.gif

so i mentioned minimum orders, and the time involved and that kind of thing.

But what i didn't ask was if she thought if it would be super cute if we printed out some of her pictures and let the babies attack them with markers and paint? Now, wouldn't that be awesome!

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post #2 of 40
8/27/12 at 11:35pm
Think the only mistake you make is to allow the photographer to dictate how it was to run.

These 'smash' cake photography sessions are relatively new here in Australia but I know people that are doing them - they aren't giving their cakes away - are charging a FAIR price - making a CUTE looking cake (basically a giant cupcake with decorative buttercream swirls on top and some quick plunger cutter flowers or butterflies etc)

The cakers are getting more per cake than your photographer is asking you to work for the entire day.

Sometimes I think I should just keep my opinions to myself,  but someone has got to be the voice of reason 

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Sometimes I think I should just keep my opinions to myself,  but someone has got to be the voice of reason 

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post #3 of 40
8/28/12 at 6:16am
Smash cake sessions. Make it stop.

The Dude abides.

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The Dude abides.

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post #4 of 40
8/28/12 at 6:30am
As a mom, I think the smash cake session photos are absolutely adorable. Wish I had thought to do a more personalized photo of my little ones when they turned one (instead of the hurried, we're in the middle of a party photos which I did get). As a baker (who is just an amateur & bakes for family/friends) I say it sounds great if you can get market value for the cakes. $60 for a day's worth of smash cakes=NOT market value icon_surprised.gif
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post #5 of 40
8/28/12 at 6:51am
odd that the photographer is ordering and dictating everything. Smash cake photos are really popular (especiall for 1st birthdays), before i closed i done at least two or three a week. It was usually the moms ordering to coordinate with the kids outfits though. i had one photographer that would order cute cupcakes on his own for some pictures, but he paid the same price as anyone would, and usually it was because it was a client from out of town so he took over the details.
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post #6 of 40
8/28/12 at 7:43am
I have an arrangement like that with my local child photographer. I provide a one tier 5" cake, iced in buttercream. Pink swirl for girls, blue lines for boys. Takes me about 5 minutes to ice. I charge $10.
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post #7 of 40
8/28/12 at 8:24am
Well the photographer who propositioned the OP doesn't know anything about kids or cakes. I say this because the time and $$$ involved in "very fancy" little cakes would run over $60 per cake very quickly. And for what? to shmash it?
Many better places to spend MY time.

More along the same lines: What if the child decides to eat neatly? does the photographer plan to smear the cake in the child's face? I'm all for spontaneous pictures because they are priceless, but staging a smash-in is as bad for 1 year olds as putting cannabis into those cakes...
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post #8 of 40
8/28/12 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BakingIrene

What if the child decides to eat neatly?


As the father of an 18-month-old, I'd say OP has a better chance making a profit on this transaction than a 1-year-old does of eating cake neatly.
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post #9 of 40
8/28/12 at 8:57am
I think it's a neat idea. I just hope the photographer gets the shots and not use up all the smash cakes for one photo op.

I've done a few smash cakes for family...somehow, there are people around the little kid that prevents them from smashing the cake on their own. They pull the kids' hands away from the cake... does that happen to you too? Sorry for the off track on this post.
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post #10 of 40
8/28/12 at 9:10am
FYI...some of these photo sessions run $600 or more.

I would jump on the chance to work with the photographer, but not for that price.

A gentle approach is to counter offer. "I love the idea! We could make it a bit more personal for your clients by personalizing the cake. I can offer you a price range of $-$$ and a list of options from which the parents can choose."

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www.VeryDeliciousDesserts.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Delicious-Desserts/207874222593145

 

It's never "just cake!"

 

You may get a cake for $way to little but you won't get this cake!

Groom's Cakes
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Other / Mixed Shaped Wedding Cakes
(3 photos)
Retirement
(1 photos)
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post #11 of 40
8/28/12 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeliciousDesserts

FYI...some of these photo sessions run $600 or more.

I would jump on the chance to work with the photographer, but not for that price.



Actually, I would jump on a chance to work with a photographer who knows that $60 won't cover more than the cost of the groceries. If each family group pays $600 then the cut to the cake should be $90 PER CAKE (15%) not per day.
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post #12 of 40
8/28/12 at 9:19am
It really depends on how complicated the cake is. We can easily make a profit on a basic 6" cake at a price of $30, but add in complex decorations and you could push $90.

Ideally the photographer would include a basic cake with the package and try to upsell fancier decorations for a higher price.
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post #13 of 40
8/28/12 at 10:11am
I get hit up for these every so often. Uh, no. Smash cakes are $10 at Target, go knock yourself out.
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post #14 of 40
8/28/12 at 11:05am
when i done smash cakes it was $25 for a 6 inch buttercream simple design, wanted more elaborate or faondant it went up accordingly.

But of course I will (embaresedly ) admit that when my daughter had her 1 year pictures I paid $165 for a two tier cake (sqaure bottom round top-fondant bow, very lovely cake) for her to smash, little stinker wouldn't dig in, daintily picked at it, my mother had to litteraly shove her hand in the cake, then she got mad and the rest of the pictures she is mad. With the right marker smash cakes can be quite profitable, especially if you get the crazy doting parents who do not really think things through ahead of time (like myself ). icon_redface.gif
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post #15 of 40
8/28/12 at 12:03pm
See? a year old child can recognise something nice set in front of them.

I think it would be more fun to give them a plainly coated cake and some corner-cut ziplock bags of coloured icing to squish--then they will get in the mood to make a glorious mess.

.......

That's right: one year old is not to young to start decorating...
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