Book near, not on, the birthday
Choose a date in the week or two around the first birthday, at your baby's happiest time of day, which after a long drive from the west of the county may be late morning.
Cake Smash Photoshoot in Berkshire
A first birthday session for Berkshire babies at the Northwood studio, about 10 miles from Slough: a few tidy portraits, then the cake and the mess.
The short answer
Where can we book a cake smash photoshoot in Berkshire?
Every cake smash for a Berkshire baby happens at the Northwood studio, about 10 miles from Slough, 14 from Maidenhead and 19 from Bracknell, and the backdrop and props are ready at the studio when you arrive. A good age is about 11 to 13 months, once your baby sits up unaided, and the session takes one to two hours. A relaxed family session at home or in a Berkshire park can follow on another day, and its travel is set out in your written quote.
Our usual session area is within about 20 miles of the studio. Further out in Berkshire, sessions are by arrangement, with travel quoted in writing before you book.
Me and my heavily pregnant Fiancee visited here as a birthday gift from a friend of hers and had a LOVELY experience, Kaushik made us feel VERY welcomed and comfortable and we also had a good laugh. He was also very clear and precise with his instruction with regards to posing so we could get the best picture. Overall a very nice experience and would recommend.
We’re so glad we chose Kaushik as our photographer for maternity shoot —he was absolutely fantastic. On the day, he made us feel completely at ease, and the photos turned out superb. He was incredibly accommodating with all our requests and his attentiveness and personable nature were exactly what we hoped for in a photographer. Thank you, Kaushik!
We had a large family photoshoot to do which can always be tricky. Kaushik was absolutely fantastic with a myriad of toys and noises to get smiles out of the little ones (they are still talking about the mouse on a stick!). Kaushik took the various different combinations we wanted and positioned each one expertly.
The drive in
Fitting the drive from Slough, Bracknell or Newbury around a nap
For a Slough or Windsor family the Northwood studio is about 10 to 12 miles away, short enough to set off after the morning nap and arrive with a fed, rested baby. From Maidenhead, about 14 miles, or Bracknell, about 19, the same plan works if you leave a little earlier and keep a snack in the car. Pick a date a week or two around the birthday rather than on it, so a party weekend does not collide with the studio morning.
From Reading, about 26 miles, or from Thatcham and Newbury, about 39 to 42, the drive is long enough to become the nap itself. A later morning slot lets your baby sleep on the way and wake shortly before arrival, and ten spare minutes after parking leave time for a feed and a nappy change before you come in. With one to two hours at the studio, the drive home can turn into the afternoon nap.
The session
Tidy portraits for the grandparents, then the cake
The session opens with a few tidy first birthday portraits, the ones grandparents in Windsor or Wokingham will want framed, and parents and older siblings can join these before anyone is covered in frosting. Then the cake goes down and the camera follows your baby: the cautious first poke, the two-handed grab, the frosting in the eyebrows and the proud, sticky grin.
Nothing is forced. If your baby needs a break for a feed or a cuddle, the session pauses, and it can finish with a splash once the cake has had its moment. Pack a towel and a clean sleepsuit for the car, because the drive back to Berkshire is far easier with a dry, warm baby who has just had a busy morning.
Cake, clothes and kit
Bringing the cake from a Berkshire bakery or your own kitchen
The cake comes from you: a soft sponge under plenty of frosting gives small hands something to break into, whereas firm icing and fondant can defeat them. A simple colour theme, matched loosely to the cake and the outfit, keeps the pictures clean, and a single tier is plenty for one small person.
Pack a change of clothes, plenty of wipes and a favourite toy, and a towel for the journey home; the backdrop and props are ready at the studio. Outfits that photograph well are simple: a romper, a little shirt and braces, or a tutu, in colours that sit with the cake rather than fight it.
Studio, then a park
The smash at Northwood, a family walk at Lily Hill Park or Dinton Pastures
Because the backdrop and props are ready at the studio, every Berkshire cake smash is photographed in Northwood rather than at home. If you would also like first birthday pictures in familiar surroundings, book a separate family session at home or outdoors, close to the party or a few weeks later, with the birthday child in clean clothes and the cake long gone.
In Bracknell, Lily Hill Park has an original yew walk and an Edwardian water garden, and dogs are welcome there too. Nearer Wokingham, Dinton Pastures Country Park at Hurst has 350 acres of lakes, meadow and footpaths, flat enough for a toddler taking early steps. Travel from Northwood to your home or park is quoted up front and set out in writing before you book.
A year of pictures
From a newborn in Berkshire to the first birthday
A cake smash is the natural bookend to a year that may have started with a newborn session in Berkshire and continued with sitter portraits. Seen together, the pictures show how much changes in twelve months. If you have not booked anything since the newborn days, the clean portraits at the start of the cake smash cover that gap.
For the whole household, a family session in a Berkshire park later in the year makes a good companion. The national cake smash photoshoot page has more on how the studio session runs, and the Berkshire photographer hub lists every service by county. Booking both sessions at once makes the date planning simpler.
Planning
Planning around Berkshire
Collecting the cake on the way
If you are buying from a bakery in Windsor or Reading, ask for no fondant and no hard decorations, and carry the box flat on the car floor rather than on a seat.
Pack for the drive home
A change of clothes, wipes, a towel and a favourite toy. From Newbury, about 42 miles away, a clean sleepsuit for the car makes the journey back easier.
No cake, still a birthday
A first birthday portrait without the smash works at the studio, or as a family session at home or outdoors, and the clean portraits at the start of each cake smash are exactly that.
Parks for a first-birthday walk in Berkshire
Berkshire parks and open spaces for a first birthday portrait without the cake, with the source for each.
- Salt Hill Park: Salt Hill Park on the A4 Bath Road opposite the old Town Hall was given to the town in 1907 by James Elliman Junior, and its lodge, Barn Café and landscaping were designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield. 1
- Upton Court Park: Upton Court Park on Upton Road (SL3 7LU), Slough's largest park, has woodland, wetland and streamside walks and views of Windsor Castle. 2
- Baylis Park and Godolphin Recreation Ground: Baylis Park, described by the council as Slough's most historic park, was part of the Baylis House estate and has formal gardens, a wildfowl pond and War Memorial Gardens. 3
Sources, facts checked October 2026
Town by town
Coming to the studio from Berkshire
Berkshire towns and their distance from the Northwood studio, which helps you plan a mid-morning cake smash around the drive and your baby's nap.
- Slough (10 miles from the studio)
- Windsor (12 miles from the studio)
- Maidenhead (14 miles from the studio)
- Ascot (17 miles from the studio)
- Bracknell (19 miles from the studio)
- Wokingham (22 miles from the studio)
- Sandhurst (24 miles from the studio)
- Reading (26 miles from the studio)
- Thatcham (39 miles from the studio)
- Newbury (42 miles from the studio)
Good to know
Cake smash photoshoots in Berkshire: questions answered
The sign to watch for is sitting up steadily without a hand behind them, which is why the session sits close to the first birthday. If the birthday lands in a busy party month, a date a week or two either side works just as well. Ask by phone or WhatsApp for studio dates near it.
The Northwood studio is about 10 miles from Slough, 14 from Maidenhead and 26 from Reading. Allow one to two hours for the session itself, plus the journey, and plan the drive around your baby's morning nap.
Yes, the cake is yours to bring. The backdrop and props are ready at the studio, so add spare clothes, wipes, a towel for the car and a favourite toy, and you have everything the morning needs.
Yes. Every cake smash is photographed at the Northwood studio, about 22 miles from Wokingham and 42 from Newbury, because the backdrop and props are ready at the studio. From the west of the county, choose a later morning slot so your baby can nap on the drive and arrive ready for the clean portraits.
Yes. Siblings and parents can join the clean portraits at the start, before the cake comes out, which keeps everyone tidy for a family group. After that the spotlight moves to the birthday baby and the cake.
Call or WhatsApp 07956 505383 and the current cake smash price is given on request. There is no travel to add for the studio session itself; if you also book a family session at your Berkshire home or in a park, travel from Northwood is quoted separately in writing.
Nothing is forced, and the session follows your baby's mood. A pause for a feed, a cuddle or a snack can reset things, and there is time in the one to two hours to wait for a second go at the cake.
Behind the camera is Kaushik Bathia, established in Northwood since 2001, FBIPP and FMPA, with five European Kodak Gold Awards.
First birthday
Is a first birthday coming up in Berkshire?
Tell us the birthday and your Berkshire town, and we will suggest a studio date and time that suits your baby's routine and the drive to Northwood.
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