I first got contacted by my lovely models’ mom, Sinead, a while back. She enquired about a cake smash session for her 3 beautiful girls: Daisy, Poppy and Posey. I was over the moon, as I had never photographed triplets, not to mention three girls! I got even more excited, when I had a sneak peek at Sinead’s facebook profile. Her girls were adorable! I couldn’t wait for the session! I replied back with my session availability.

In the meantime, I researched all sorts of stuff. Shower caps! How amazing would they look in matching shower caps! Lets get those!! A big bath for their splash bit! How big does it need to be? I got in the car with a fellow photographer and a friend, Rob Mank, and we drove to Sheffield’s vintage quarter to have a look at what’s available in the antique and recycling/upcycling stores there. We found tons of large baths suitable for 3 little girls. I was in luck. I couldn’t decide on what colour to go for as I wasn’t sure on the set ups, so I made an executive decision to come back a week later, when I had ordered the outfits and headbands. I wanted to know for sure it would all go together. That turned out to be one of those decisions, where you look back on them wondering “what was I thinking?!” A week later all the larger baths were sold out. I was gutted, but it wasn’t a deal breaker, as I hadn’t heard from the girls’ mom, so I was convinced she had changed her mind and was no longer interested. I was gutted, as I really was looking forward to the session.

Days went by and out of the blue I got a Facebook message from Sinead, asking whether I received her e-mail. I froze. “Oh my god. She probably thought I didn’t want to do it, as it’s a bit of a project, with three girls, hence why I did not respond initially! Oh nooo!”. It turned out my e-mail ended up in her spam, and if it wasn’t for her quick thinking and perseverance, this awesome cake smash would never have happened.

We were back on! I swiftly got in touch with one of my favourite designers, Margaret Griffiths from High Peak Design to come up with something special for my models. Margaret understands me without the need for too many words and she created a bespoke set of three sequin rompers and three soft, the cream rompers we used during the session were also made by her, together with the sparkly headbands.

The Cake Boutique bakery made us three matching cakes. I try and treat my multiple models as individuals, and I don’t really know any individuals who enjoy sharing cake. Ok, maybe it’s just me.. I live by the “Have your cake and eat it (without sharing, with a cup of coffee)” mantra.

I was ready.

Then it hit me. There are three of them. This can be tricky, if one is not in a good mood on the cake smash day. What are we going to do then? What if they are super fast and start running in three different directions? I do overthink all my sessions, so just imagine what was going through my head! I decided to have a dry run and invited my models for a sitter session prior to their cake smash. Having an extra pair of hands is always great, but I decided to go for a professional pair of hands, and possibly one of the most helpful pairs of eyes one could get during a shoot. I called Rob Mank and asked to come and help me keep the session under control. As a winner of a prestigious Photographer of the Year 2015 award, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. We were lucky enough to have him help us out during the sitter and a cake smash session. He set the lights, and kept the girls happy and relaxed. Daisy took a shine to him and decided she may as well have a nap on his lap between the takes. 

Even though they are sisters, born on the same day, they couldn’t have been more different. In their mom’s words:

“Posey.. My sweet, little soul. So sensitive and shy by nature, she’s in her own, little world most of the time. Happy to sit back and take everything in. She’s literally the happiest of all my babies and she giggles ALL the time and it’s the best sound in the world.. she’s so content and oh! she loves to dance! Her sisters are so demanding and needy, but she’s just so happy and content. I feel she doesn’t get as much of my attention but I make sure she gets extra kisses and cuddles.”

Poppy and Daisy.. The terrible two, constantly attached to my hip, two mummy’s girls. Full of Cheekiness and mischief.

Poppy, god, she’s just so bright that one, she amazes me with how clever she is. She’s the boss, she knows what she wants and my god does she get it. The biggest mummy’s girl you’ll ever meet. She’s my mini me for sure. It’s the Poppy show apparently.

Daisy.. my baby one.. She’s so dainty and sweet, but oh is she deceiving. She’s very strong willed, independent and feisty. That said, she does love a cuddle and she does love all the attention all of the time. She’s the cheekiest little girl but an old soul. I’m sure she’s been here before.. her beautiful eyes are so wise.”

Posey, Poppy and Daisy

It was an absolute pleasure to shoot these three beauties. Head over to their Instagram and follow their adventures!