We all know that one person who HAS to be home to watch their favorite TV show. Maybe it's The Bachelor or American Horror Story that has them glued to their TVs every week, or maybe they're diehard Grey's Anatomy fans. Either way, most of us have a show we can't miss. For photographer Ute-Christin Cowan, it's LIVE With Kelly and Ryan!, and her love of the morning talk show has blossomed so much over the years, it's even sparked one of her most memorable cake smash photo shoots yet.
The idea came to Cowan after people went crazy for her last TV-inspired cake smash.
Cowan, who owns and operates Ute-Christin Photography, shared a photo series based on her other favorite talk show host, Ellen, back in September — and fellow fans couldn't get enough. Of course, after seeing the success of that shoot, the photographer tells CafeMom that some of her clients were demanding to know what other brilliant ideas were coming down the pipeline.
"And then I was like — OMG, how fun would it be to make a talk show cake smash series?" she recalls.
Being a huge 'Kelly & Ryan' fan, she immediately knew the ABC morning show was next in line.
Cowan admits that she's "a huge TV addict," which certainly helps fuel her creativity.
"I watch way too much TV, and Live with Kelly & Ryan is one of my absolute favorite ones," she says. "I have been to their show a few times in the audience and even flew to their After Oscar LA show once to see it there."
Knowing that "Kelly loves her carbs," she figured the talk show host would appreciate the photo shoot theme, if it ever made it all the way to the star.
And lo and behold, it did! In fact, both Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest saw the shoot and posted about it on their social media accounts earlier this week.
"Adorable take on some spooky costumes! Love this — well done :)" Ryan tweeted.
Meanwhile, Ripa showed her love for the shoot during an Instagram Live, which Cowan then shared in her own Instagram story.
The photographer says she wanted to continue the series as a way to give back to the community.
Cowan tells us that she did the photoshoot for free and chose kids who might not otherwise have had the opportunity.
"I had some free time and thought it through with my baker, Jade Ramos, [who] helps me with my cakes and decorations," she tells CafeMom. "We then decided it would be a fun way to give back to the community."
The response so far has been pretty incredible.
"I got so many emails of people interested, saying they would love this opportunity to have pictures taken, that we were able to pick these two little munchkins out!" she continues. "Jaxon reminded me instantly of Ryan and that little petite Emalyn just had to be Kelly! Their moms were delighted and loved the idea of the smash as they are all great fans of the show as well."
Cowan says she already has people clamoring to know what the next cake smash theme will be, though she hasn't yet decided.
"We have some ideas," she says. "This has been such a fun ride and combines my passion for TV with my passion for photography."
But overall, Cowan says, she mostly loves doing the fun and lighthearted shoots because of how happy it makes others.
"I love that people enjoy it, and I love giving back — plus if it puts a smile on someone's face — mission accomplished," she says.
