
If you're planning on a maternity session, but want something unique, then here it is:
Milk bath.
If you've never heard of a milk bath, you might be a little confused. Milk bath?? Like... bathing in milk??
Yes. That's pretty much exactly what it is. But not in a gross way.
There are many benefits to a milk bath session, one being that the photos coming out looking absolutely breathtaking, and another being that the bath itself is beneficial for Mom.
Here are a few tips for creating your own maternity milk bath photoshoot.
What to put in the bath:
The base of a milk bath is just water and milk. I recommend about a gallon of milk to make the water more opaque. I do not recommend using non-dairy milk purely because of the color; almond and oat milk are not nearly as white as cow's milk.
The milk itself is hydrating for skin, a gentle exfoliant, and is an anti-inflammatory. You can also add essential oils (lavender, especially) or Epsom salt to make the bath more relaxing for Mom.
The last addition, and arguably the most important, is the decoration. For my milk bath maternity sessions, I use real flowers that I buy from the grocery store on the day of the session. The flowers used in the photo above were from Walmart. They came in a bouquet and all I did was snip the heads off of all the flowers before tossing them in the bath and arranging them in a way that was pleasing to the eye. If you don't want to use flowers, you can also use greenery, lemon/orange slices, or really anything that will float on top of the water.

What to wear:
You could wear nothing, if that's your prerogative. There are many ways to angle the camera or cover up that can make a naked milk bath look classy and maternal. However, if you're not comfortable wearing your birthday suit in front of your photographer, you still have plenty of options.
For the session above, Tori wore one of the dresses that I have in my client closet. It's a simple, open, sheer maternity dress that doesn't cover too much, but has enough fabric to cover just enough. Underneath, Tori wore a nude strapless bra and white underwear.
You also have the option of lingerie or a cute underwear set. If you're using flowers like above, try to wear something that's neutral so as not to clash with your decoration. We don't want florals clashing with bright patterns.
And last but not least...
Consider doing before and after photos with your newborn!
Tori decided long before her maternity session that she wanted before/after photos. After her baby was born, we recreated her maternity milk bath and got some of the same angles with baby.


The results of the before/after are so cute and I would encourage anyone to try this!
If you try a milk bath and have any other tips, feel free to send them my way as I'm always looking for new and unique session ideas!
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