That’s what Sherine Loh, an award-winning and entirely self-taught photographer, has been capturing for the past nine years.
As the pioneer of “baby cake smash photos” in Malaysia, Loh has revolutionised the way a baby’s first birthday is celebrated. The 45-year-old has made a name for herself by immortalising these adorable, messy moments that fill families with joy and laughter.
FMT Lifestyle recently visited her studio in Damansara Jaya here to find out how Loh turned this playful concept into a family favourite.
“Celebrating your baby’s first birthday is one of the most important milestones,” she shared. What better way to mark the occasion than with cake?
When she first began experimenting with this concept, it was relatively unknown. “I believe I was the only one doing this here, and even in the US, it wasn’t very popular yet,” she mused.
The charm of these sessions is in their unpredictability. “You give a one-year-old a cake and they’ll just put their hands all over it. I look at the parents’ faces – mouths wide open. They can’t believe the mess their baby is making.”
But for her, the mess is part of the magic. “I always say that if it’s messy, it’s a success!”
She recalled a recent session with a baby who was mostly sleepy during the family shoot. But the second a cake was placed in front of him, everything changed: “He just came to life – playing and eating!”
One of her most memorable shoots involved six mothers and six babies who had met at a confinement centre and were now close friends. “It was such an amazing experience. Once one baby started crying, all of them set off! But it was really cute.”
Loh’s shoots typically last from one to two hours. Her style is minimalistic, with a focus on the baby’s natural expressions rather than over-the-top props or heavy editing.
And her photography isn’t limited to cake-smash sessions – she also captures everything from pregnancy to newborns.
For her, it’s important that the experience is a positive one: “If the session was so difficult and the baby was crying the whole time, that’s not a memory you want. I don’t like to force it.”
Given all this, you might be surprised to learn that Loh spent decades in the corporate world before picking up a camera. “It all started about 10 years ago when a friend asked me to capture their grandmother’s 80th birthday. I had never touched a camera before.”
Loh’s late husband, who worked in the entertainment industry, lent her his camera and gave her a crash course the night before the event.
“When my husband passed away three years ago, it was a really rough patch. But this work helped me cope,” she shared.
Word of her skills quickly spread, and what started as a hobby turned into a full-fledged career. Today, Loh receives clients from as far away as Singapore and Japan.
Indeed, many families return to her with their next child, creating a lasting bond between her and her clientele.
“I love capturing that whole journey,” Loh concluded, emphasising the heart of her work: “We don’t want just photos; we want memories.”
Check out Loh’s website, as well as Instagram and Facebook profiles.
Sherine Loh Photography
81A, Jalan SS 22/23,
Damansara Jaya,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Contact: 012-300 5033