Adding milk bath mixture to white bathtub with visible tattooed arm.
Professional Neewer photography light stand and softbox setup next to floral decorations.
Close-up of bathtub edge decorated with pink roses and greenery.
Delicate arrangement of pink roses and baby's breath along white bathtub edge.
Delicate peach and blush roses arranged in soft romantic floral display.
Behind-the-scenes view of milk bath photography session with camera and floral decorations.

Karlie's Floral + Dreamy Milk Bath


Let's talk milk baths. I have seen these on Pinterest, and I think they're so beautiful and dreamy. The combination of fresh flowers, creamy white water and a beautiful expectant mama in a beautiful lace gown is just gorgeous.

*Swoon*


I was asked to do a milk bath for Karlie, who is a repeat client of mine, (she was the bride at the first wedding I've ever shot, as well as my first Gender Reveal shoot, and her baby will be my first newborn session!) Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to do one of these beautiful baths, and add it to my growing portfolio.

I THOUGHT I knew what to do. Wrong. The more I deep dived into the Pinterest universe, the more I discovered that I had no idea. LOL. First of all, I learned that fresh flowers must be used, as fake ones don't float well. (Real ones are prettier anyway, just saying.) I did use some artificial eucalyptus stems and a few artificial flowers around the outside of the tub. I found a wonderful tip that said to cut little circles of bubble wrap the same size as the flowers, poke a hole and insert the stem. (I left about 2-3 cm of stem on the flowers when I cut them). This really helped them float longer and not get soggy. The flowers stayed so pretty and nice that my client was able to use them the following day as extra table decor at her baby shower, which I also shot. :)

The next tip that I learned was to run the bath FIRST - warm water, not hot - and THEN add the milk. This prevents bubbling that can take longer to settle. For my clients garden tub, we used 3 gallons of whole milk and three cans of evaporated milk. I read that the evaporated milk will help achieve a brighter white color, and it did! I swirled the water, we waited about 10 minutes for the water to settle, and then I had Karlie get in the tub and get posed and comfortable BEFORE adding the flowers around her. This is so that the flowers don't get moved too much and risk sinking.

For lighting, we utilized a window that was directly in front of the tub, and I used my Nikon SB-800 flash on a stand with a diffuser umbrella. This combination of light was perfect.

Honestly, the shoot went off without a hitch. My weeks of research were SO worth it, and if you're planning on doing a milk bath, maybe my tips will help you too. I couldn't have asked for a smoother session, especially for my first time trying it.

SUCCESS!!


To see the collection of photos from this shoot, check out Karlie's gallery in my 'Client Galleries' section.