Wedding Cake Photography: Lighting, Lens Choice, and the Cake Cutting

On-camera flash pointed directly at a wedding cake is the single fastest way to ruin the photo. The cake is usually white or pale, so direct flash blows out the highlights, flattens the texture, kills the dimension of the tiers, and creates a hard shadow directly behind the cake on whatever backdrop the planner carefully arranged. I've seen this mistake in literally thousands of wedding galleries from other photographers. Don't do it.

The fix is simple: side light. Position your light source at roughly 45 degrees to one side of the cake. This creates shadows on the opposite side that give each tier depth and dimension, highlights the texture of the frosting (whether it's smooth fondant, textured buttercream, or hand-piped lace), and wraps around the curves of the cake in a way that makes it look three-dimensional in a two-dimensional photo.

If you're using a speedlight, bounce it off a nearby white wall to the side. If there's no wall, use a small shoot-through umbrella or a 24-inch softbox on a compact light stand. Position the light slightly above the top tier of the cake so the light falls downward, which creates a natural-looking gradient from top to bottom. The top tier will be brightest, the base tier will be slightly darker, and that gradient reads as elegant and intentional.

Window light is your best friend when it's available. If the cake is near a large window, shoot during the afternoon when the light is strong but not direct. The window acts as a massive softbox, wrapping the cake in even, dimensional light. I'll sometimes ask the venue coordinator if the cake can be placed near a window for this reason. Even moving it three feet closer to natural light makes a noticeable difference.

For buttercream cakes, which have a slightly shiny surface, you need to be more careful about hotspots. Pull your light source back a bit farther and use a larger modifier to spread the light more evenly. Buttercream picks up specular highlights easily. Fondant is more forgiving because it's matte, and you can actually benefit from slightly harder light that shows off any sculpted or embossed details. Naked cakes (those beautiful semi-frosted layered cakes showing the sponge) look best with warm, soft side light that highlights the texture of both the exposed cake and the frosting edges. For those, I'll sometimes warm my white balance to 6000K to enhance the golden tones of the sponge.

Your lens choice matters here more than you'd think. The 50mm f/1.8 is the workhorse for cake photography. At about 4-6 feet back, shot at f/2.0 to f/2.8, it gives you the full cake in focus with a gorgeous creamy background that separates the cake from the reception room behind it. This is the "hero shot" lens. Every cake gallery should lead with a 50mm image.

For detail work, switch to a 100mm macro (Canon 100mm f/2.8L or the Tamron 90mm are both excellent). This is how you capture the sugar flowers, the hand-piped monogram, the tiny fondant figurines, the ribbon texture. Shoot at f/4 to f/5.6 for details. You want the specific element in sharp focus with a gentle fall-off around it. At f/2.8 on a macro, the depth of field is so razor-thin that you'll miss critical detail. At f/8, you start pulling the cluttered background into focus.

A 35mm f/1.4 works when you need to show the cake in context with its surroundings, like the full dessert table or the cake in front of a dramatic backdrop. Just be aware that at close range, a 35mm will introduce some barrel distortion that makes the base tier look slightly wider than the top. For a perfectly proportioned cake image, stay with the 50mm or longer.

Shoot at the cake's eye level. I can't stress this enough. Most photographers walk up and shoot slightly downward because they're taller than the cake. Get low. If the cake is on a four-foot table, you should be crouching or kneeling so your camera is level with the middle tier of the cake. This perspective shows the tiers stacking properly and prevents the top tier from dominating the composition while the beautiful base tier disappears.

The cake cutting is a 90-second event that you get one chance at. There's no "let's do that again." Couples are self-conscious, the DJ is announcing it, guests are crowding in with phones, and the lighting is usually terrible. Here's how to handle it.

Pre-set everything. Before the couple walks over, I'm already at my position: about 6-8 feet back, at a 45-degree angle that lets me see both faces and the cake simultaneously. My camera is at f/2.8, 1/200th, ISO 1600, with a speedlight pointed at the ceiling behind me for bounce fill. I've already taken a test shot. The exposure is locked. When they arrive, I don't touch my settings. All I'm doing is focusing and shooting.

The 45-degree position is non-negotiable. If you stand directly in front of the couple, one person's face is always blocked by the other. If you stand to the side, you get a profile of one person and the back of the other's head. The 45-degree angle gives you both faces, the knife going in, and enough cake in the frame to tell the story.

Shoot continuously from the moment they pick up the knife until they finish feeding each other. You'll take 40-60 frames in about 90 seconds. That sounds excessive, but the winning shots are the ones you didn't plan: the laughter when the knife doesn't cut cleanly, the look they give each other right before the first bite, the surprise when someone shoves cake at the other's face. You can't anticipate those moments, but you can capture them by shooting through the entire sequence.

Here's a trick that saves me regularly: I ask the coordinator or DJ to have the couple cut from the side facing me. Many couples default to cutting from the far side of the cake, which means the cake blocks the knife and the action. A simple "cut from this side" instruction, given to the coordinator 30 minutes before, changes everything. It's a tiny detail that separates professionals from amateurs.

Shooting from above when the cake has beautiful sides. This is the number one mistake I see. If the baker spent 20 hours creating cascading sugar flowers down the side of a five-tier cake, shooting from above hides all that work. Overhead angles work for single-tier cakes with decorative tops, but for tall tiered cakes, the shot needs to be at eye level or slightly below to show the full design.

Waiting too long to shoot. Once guests start hitting the dessert table, things get messy fast. Fingerprints in the frosting. Pieces of confetti from the dance floor. Lipstick-stained napkins on the table. I shoot the cake within the first 20 minutes of the reception space being ready. Before the doors open. Before anyone touches anything.

Ignoring the background. The cake might be perfect, but if there's a trash can, an exit sign, or Uncle Larry's coat draped over a chair directly behind it, your photo has a problem. Take three seconds to check what's behind the cake before you start shooting. Move a chair. Ask a server to relocate a bus tub. This is basic composition that gets overlooked in the rush.

Using only one angle. I see photographers take three photos from the same spot and move on. Shoot from the front. Then move 90 degrees and shoot the profile. Get a detail from close up. Step back and show the cake in the room. Each angle tells a different part of the story, and the baker will want variety for their portfolio.

Missing the first slice. I watched a photographer at a wedding put his camera down to grab a drink right as the couple started cutting. He missed the entire thing. The cake cutting doesn't get announced with a 5-minute warning. One second the DJ says "the couple will now cut the cake," and 30 seconds later they're feeding each other. Stay alert after dinner. Keep your camera within arm's reach. This moment waits for no one.

Not every wedding has a traditional tiered cake anymore, and honestly, some of these alternative displays are even more photogenic. Donut walls have been trending hard for the past few years, and there's a reason: a wall of colorful donuts with a neon sign above it is Instagram gold. Same lighting rules apply. Side light brings out the glaze texture and the depth of each donut hole in a way that flat front light can't.

Macaron towers photograph beautifully because of their symmetry and color. Shoot them head-on to emphasize the tower shape, then get close for macro shots of individual macarons. The colors pop when you slightly underexpose by a third of a stop and recover in post. Cookie bars and dessert tables work best shot from slightly above and at an angle, showing the variety and abundance without losing individual items in the frame. A 35mm at f/2.8 is perfect for these.

The display I love shooting most? Pie tables. Particularly at rustic or backyard weddings where someone's grandmother made six different pies. There's a warmth and personality to a pie table that a fondant cake can't match. Get the wide shot showing all the pies with their handwritten labels, then close-ups of the lattice crusts and filling textures. Warm your white balance a touch and those golden crusts absolutely glow.

One trend I'm seeing more frequently is the small cutting cake paired with a full dessert spread. The couple has a modest two-tier cake for the cutting ceremony, and the rest of the dessert is a full table of cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and pastries. Photograph the cutting cake first with the same care you'd give a five-tier masterpiece. Then document the full spread. This combination gives the couple the traditional cake-cutting moment and the visual abundance of a dessert bar. Best of both worlds for the photographer, too, because you get variety in the detail shots.

Here's something most newer photographers don't realize: cake designers are one of the best sources of client referrals in the wedding industry. A baker who loves your work will show your cake photos to every couple who walks into their studio. That's free advertising to engaged couples who are actively booking vendors. I've gotten at least 20 bookings over the years directly from baker referrals.

The way you build that relationship is simple. Shoot their cake well, and send them the images. Within a week of the wedding, I email the baker 3-5 fully edited, watermarked cake images. I tell them they can use the photos on their website and social media with credit. That's it. No complicated licensing agreements. No awkward conversations about usage rights. Just good images delivered fast with a friendly note.

Some bakers will ask to be present during the cake setup and want specific angles. Accommodate this when possible. If the cake designer says "make sure you get the hand-painted gold leaf detail on the third tier," write that down and shoot it. They know their cake better than you do, and those specific shots are what they need for their portfolio.

One more thing. If the cake arrives damaged or if something goes wrong during setup, be discreet with your camera. I've seen fondant crack during transport, tiers shift, and flowers fall off. The baker is already stressed. Taking photos of a damaged cake to post online is a terrible move. Help if you can, document the final result once it's fixed, and move on. Building a reputation as a photographer who supports other vendors in tough moments is worth more than any viral post about a cake disaster.