My Milk Bath Maternity Pictures + Tips
During my pregnancy with Brody, I took very few pictures to document my growing bump. I never realized how much I would miss the bump after birth. This time around, I have been trying to do a better job at documenting these special moments of our baby girl and I together.
When my sweet friend (and talented photographer), Dana, reached out to me about taking milk bath maternity photos, I squealed with delight. What better way to document the 36 weeks this little baby and I have spent together.
On a Thursday morning, we got together with flowers, milk, and lots of donuts to bribe our toddlers while we snapped pictures in the bath tub. The silhouettes of pregnancy created by the white milk and ethereal-like flowers are the epitome of femininity in my book.
I had so much fun with this little shoot and I know these will be photos I will treasure forever. Now, I cannot wait for Dana to capture the birth of our little girl in a few short weeks!
Curious about how to set-up your own Milk Bath photos? Here’s some tips.
1) Watch the water temperature. Be sure to use warm water rather than hot water to prevent the milk from curdling.
2) Use dry milk powder. We added a gallon of milk and 2 boxes of Dry Milk Powder to the water in the tub for the milky appearance. You can find dry milk powder in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
2) Use dry milk powder. We added a gallon of milk and 2 boxes of dry milk Powder to the water in the tub for the milky appearance. You can find dry milk powder in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
3) Add the flowers after you are in the tub. If you try to place the flowers in the tub before getting in, be prepared for them to sink. Your best bet is having the photographer add the flowers after you are in the tub.
4) Shallow tubs work best. Those deep claw foot tubs are gorgeous, but a shallow tub seems to work best for milk bath sessions. Make sure the tub has enough room for you to spread out, lean your head back etc.
Psst---pin this!
5) Go for skin colored undergarments. With the florals, milk, and lacey robe, there is a lot going on in the pictures. Nude undergarments seem to work best. I wish I had matched the color of my bra and underwear a bit better.
6) Have a ladder handy. For high above shots, having a ladder nearby came in handy.
7) Go bold with the makeup. I had Heather from Heather Artistry come over the morning of the shoot to do my make-up. I usually wear very little make-up, so the extra pop she added made all the difference.
8) Pick a color scheme for the florals. I knew I wanted light pink flowers with whites and greens. We used peonies, white stock, pink carnations, and eucalyptus for our shoot. Trader Joes is the best spot for fresh cut flowers in my opinion!
9) Use a pro. Bathrooms can be a tough space to photograph in since most (like ours) have florescent lighting. To make-sure your milk bath pictures come out with a milky white backdrop, be sure to pick an experienced photographer. If you’re in Phoenix, Dana is the bomb (remember these photos?). We took our pictures with the lights out and a little natural light streaming through the window.
Looking for the perfect robe for milk bath pictures? Here is the robe I wore (under $10!), or this one is beautiful and this one as well.
Did you take maternity photos? Have you ever taken milk bath photos?
