In honor of miss Kinslee Alexandra Renai Thompson’s birthday, here are 5 ways to land a special one-year milk bath photo shoot to celebrate a little girl's first birthday and nursing with mom for one solid year.

Special shout out to Makaila and Abbigail Thompson for coming to visit me in San Diego and Sarah Savage for joining me in the session.

1. Get the water right. Make sure to use the right amount of water and at the right temp. You can add just a small amount to cover babies’ bottom areas and then add more when adding mom or siblings to make sure they are appropriately covered. I recommend using powdered milk instead of a gallon of fresh milk so you have better control of the temp and creaminess of the water.

2. Deciding what to add. A plain milk bath will assure that your subject is the main focal point, but flowers and other organic decorations can give your photo some texture and contrast. You can use color coordination to make sure things match up if you are using greenery or have any decorations in the background. Playing with real flowers versus silk reusable flowers (like these pedals or these Eucalyptus Leaves) can help give you the edge on what floats, what doesn’t, what you can reuse and not. If mom or siblings are going to join, perhaps they can use sheer fabric (like these for mom!); it drapes across the body in the milk and creates an ethereal look while adding some coverage.

3. Where/What to shoot. Get up high (even with a ladder!), get down low. Shoot at eye level, make use of greenery or other pleasant-looking things like windows or vanities. I also suggest taking photos during set-up/take down; “aftermath” photos of how trashed the water can be are fun. They don’t all have to be perfect, if they aid in the storytelling they are worth it to mom! I promise. I also like to take BTS (behind the scene) photos to tell the story as well. In this case, I have Abbi making some smoke and Sarah shooting photos. I would suggest using wider angle lenses if you have them and shooting at a lower aperture to blur out anything you don’t want showing. (These are all taken with a Canon 35m Prime lens on the R5 mirrorless camera).

   Consider back stories; I have known Makaila for over a decade as my sister and she lost twin boys December of 2015. Capturing her memorial tattoo during this session was important to be able to gift to her.

4. Make it work. You wouldn't know this bathroom is still gutted and under construction but we made it work! Not everyone has access to tubs large enough, so my suggestion is to make your own: Get a blow-up or plastic kiddie pool and put a white cloth or tarp inside of it to cover the edges. This way you can even do it outside and you are not bound to a room. Use a ladder, use silly songs to get babe happy, etc.

5. Lastly, don’t force poses if babe or mom aren’t feeling it. Makaila is over 6 ft tall, I can only pose her so many ways in this claw-foot tub made for my short 5ft self. You’ll see a photo of babe unhappy trying to get her to lay down in the water; that was the only photo we got for that exact reason to keep her safe and happy!

   
   P.S. This is not a complete gallery, it has been edited to be suitable for online use.

Here are examples of babe with mom:

BTS and aftermath photos with Sarah Savage:

Our recent Instagram stories:

Are you in need of milk bath photos like these in the San Diego area? come to my studio! Send me a message HERE.

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Are you in need of milk bath photos like these in the San Diego area? come to my studio! Send me a message HERE.