Milk Bath Maternity Shoot Tips
- Posted in :
- maternity, photography
- Blog Post by :
- Wendy Conrad
I enjoy photographing my clients, but doing creative shoots where I am able to let my creative juices flow is my favorite type of photo session! This milk bath maternity shoot fit the bill.
I recently photographed a pool shoot and, after loving it, I knew I wanted to do a milk bath maternity shoot. I was going to do a model call on my social media for some expectant moms when I remembered a friend of mine is pregnant and due this summer!
Here are the details on how I planned the shoot:
POOL: I had purchased an inflatable kiddie pool at Target for under $30 for a previous shoot. For this milk bath shoot, I thought about getting a cheaper, round plastic pool. However, I found that the one I had bought previously would actually be ideal because it is so much bigger and can fit a whole person. A smaller pool wouldn’t be great for getting wider shots of my subject and definitely would not be as comfortable for my subject.
Here is a picture of my set-up:
LOCATION: My parents have an area in their yard that is shaded by trees in the later morning hours. The spot was large enough to accommodate the pool and was relatively flat. A word of advice – prior to the session day, make sure you check the area’s lighting at the same time of day the shoot will occur. Once you fill the pool up, you don’t want to have to move it around because the lighting has changed.
MILK BATH: I researched it a little bit and read that non-dairy creamer was the most effective and least expensive method for creating the milky water. I purchased a canister at the grocery store for under $4, along with some cans of condensed milk as a back-up. I’m glad I did my research because the creamer worked perfectly.
TIP: If you use this method, mix up some powder and (warm) water in a small bowl or cup before adding to the pool water. Otherwise, if you just sprinkle directly in the pool water you will get clumps of the creamer floating in the pool that you will have to fish out or mix up. I learned this the hard way!
FLOWERS: I bought a bouquet of flowers that were the type and colors I wanted. My Mom assisted me in cutting blossoms and adding them to the pool as I photographed my subject. I kept shooting as flowers were added so I could get different compositions.
TIP: Fake flowers are pretty, but they don’t float. Real flowers float beautifully and did so for the entire shoot.
I kept plenty of towels close by for my subject and also for my hands. I was moving flowers and hair around in the water and my hands would get wet as we worked.
GEAR (affiliate links): I used Canon 5D Mark III with 20mm Canon 2.8 and 50mm Sigma 1.4 lenses. The 20mm was used to get the wider shots.
I love the look of these images and will definitely be doing this type of shoot again!
Wendy is a portrait photographer based in South Florida. She shares her life with her husband and two rescue pups, Elsie and Camille. She’s a Florida native, self-taught painter, and animal lover. When she’s not taking pictures, you can find her singing karaoke, practicing yoga, or watching Golden Girls reruns.