Venue
- Venue: Rough and Ready Vineyards
- Florist: Hillside Blooms Floristry
- Flower Crown: Miller Made Goods
- Make-Up Artist: Sasha Thalia
When we first started talking about planning a milk bath shoot for one of our clients, we really had no idea where to start. For one, where would we find the perfect bathroom? What’s the best ratio of water to milk? What type of milk should we use? That last one is a bit weird, but have you been to the grocery store lately? Variety is definitely not an issue in the milk section.
We’ll make it super for easy for you on your first try by sharing some tips and tricks we learned along the way – or if you’ve done one before, maybe we’ll provide some needed inspiration to mix things up next time.
Flower Choice Matters
We had a color palette in mind when we started planning our shoot, so to get the right kind of flowers to fit our vision and make sure they’d be good floaters, we asked our florist to make some recommendations. We ended up going with white Chrysanthemums, Cappuccino Roses and Spiral Eucalyptus.
While it may be cheaper, don’t go for fake flowers. They either won’t float at all or they won’t float well. We picked up our flowers a few hours before the photoshoot, so they were beautiful and fresh. If you can’t get flowers the day of, try to get them as close to the photoshoot as possible in order for them to be at their peak appearance.
All Things Milk
To get the creamiest mixture with the water, we recommend using whole milk. We bought 2 gallons to mix in the clawfoot tub at Rough and Ready Vineyards, but we ended up only using one. Fill the bathtub to your desired height, remember not to make it too full because the water will rise once your model gets in. Add the milk after the water is in the tub so it settles without bubbles and pour as much milk as your heart desires until you’ve reached the desired opacity in the water. There is no magic combination, it really depends on how you want your photos to look.
Model Behavior
Remember that being pregnant can be uncomfortable at times. Fill the tub with WARM water. No one wants to sit in a tub of ice cold water. Our model said it was one of the most relaxing experiences. The milk-water mixture makes your skin feel really soft; it’s very spa-like. However, make sure they have access to a shower afterwards or else the milk will leave a sugary film once it dries on the skin.
And that’s it! Just have fun with it and be creative. Oh, one last tip—bring a step stool! Most bathrooms are tighter spaces so shooting from a high angle down can be the best way to keep things clean in your frame.
Let us know what you think!
– Justin & Lauren
