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Alternatives to... milk
Okay, I've been contemplating how to write up this post without sounding too weird for a while now, but at this point I'm going a little crazy and I don't think it can be helped. I have a shoot this weekend with a model and I have an idea involving a bathtub full of Milk. The average bathtub holds about 50 gallons, and I need about 25-30 gallons of milk to fill it halfway (water displacement is a bitch). The problem is, the average gallon of milk costs $3, and I just don't have the budget this week to pull that off. So has anyone managed to shoot a model in a milk-like substance that is inexpensive? Also keep in mind that the milk alternative must be safe on skin and hair. Jun 22 05 08:21 am Link One idea... You can dilute the milk with water and still have it look milky. Experiment with a small amount to find the best ratio of water to milk. Hopefully someone has actually shot something like this and can give you some better advice... Jun 22 05 08:28 am Link Posted by Low Tek: Not to mention that would be a giant waste. Jun 22 05 08:34 am Link Go to a Bath Store. They have Milk Beads that are extremely inexpensive and give the same look as milk (if you use enough) OR, get 4 boxes of Carnation Instant Milk, and add it to the Bath :-) Jun 22 05 08:56 am Link Bath beads! Brilliant! I'll check out the local Bath and Bodyworks today. Thanks! =] Jun 22 05 09:55 am Link Posted by Low Tek: I want an autographed copy of one of the pics when youa re done :-P Jun 22 05 09:57 am Link I think I can manage that. =] Jun 22 05 10:02 am Link Dilluted white latex paint. Jun 22 05 10:34 am Link Wouldn't tempra (finger paint) be easier to clean and gentler on the drain? Jun 22 05 10:38 am Link Milk also gets really stinky when it dries and bacteria get in it! I did a shoot with this one SLAMMING TFP chick in milk and she smelled like !(#&!(& the next day! I had to kick her out of bed - just kidding! Now I use tempera paint - you can get big bottles of it for next to nothing at craft stores and it's non-toxic and water-based so kids can eat it and not get sick. (Kids try this: drink bright red tempera paint and next time you use the potty afterwards call mommy in "what's WRONG MOMMY!"? and you'll get the day off school or a quick trip to the emergency room! FUN!) GWC! Jun 22 05 10:41 am Link Please don't ban GWC! Jun 22 05 10:43 am Link Tempra is probably a much better idea. When I spent an hour pouring fake milk on myself for a shoot, it was latex paint and there was no staining or irritation. But it was really insanely cold. Jun 22 05 11:21 am Link Well I called a couple of Art Supply stores around here and Tempra is a bit smelly from what I'm told. Also, 1 Gallon costs approximately $17, which was WAY out of the question. Just got back from the local Bath & Bodyworks store and asked about Milk/Bath Beads. Unfortunately they didn't sell it, but I told the saleswoman what I was trying to do and she grabbed a few products off the shelf and experiment in a sink. They had bath Salts which made the water opaque-ish, but also a little bubbly. We eventually tried Tahitian Bath Milk. Its this Opaque white substance that has the consistency of lotion. When mixed with water it simulated milk perfectly. $15 a bottle and I managed to get a Buy One Get One free offer. =] I'll post up the results of the shoot next week. Jun 22 05 02:01 pm Link boy, I've wanted to do a milk in bathtub shoot for years and years, I had a specific idea based on this one girl and her look but she chickened out and I've never done it... don't do it! Give me five more years to find my girl and let me do it first! haha Well anyway, aside from the cost I've heard milk doesn't look like milk in photos anyway. So this concoction you've got will probably be better anyway. Jun 23 05 04:43 am Link I wanna see too! Shoot, I want to do it (get your mind out of the bath tub  Black and white would probably look really cool too... Jun 26 05 07:18 pm Link I would have liked to do a shoot like this except that Dutch people tend to build the bathrooms very small so as you can imagine its not an ideal place to shoot unless you want to break your neck. Jun 27 05 06:21 am Link This might not sound so great but what about powdered milk? Jun 28 05 03:29 am Link Posted by XtremeArtists: I second that! Jun 28 05 03:38 am Link Posted by theda: Tempra has milk in it and though slower, will still have the same issues as milk. I do not see a problem if fresh but bad Tempra is nasty. Jun 28 05 04:07 am Link Posted by Low Tek: Isn't it milk displacement? Jun 28 05 09:54 am Link Posted by GWC: LMAO...to funny, I have 2 boys so this is really funny, they would do this..lol, thank god they don't read MM posts Jun 28 05 09:57 am Link I actually saw a picture a photographer did just like this idea, it was really cool. I think he used some kind of paint as well, but it got corny when he had the model eating cookies. Dunk, the cookies, not the Model. (Waste of Good Milk) Jun 28 05 10:34 am Link if you can contact a food supply company , you can try to find white food colorant. you have to order the powdered version . it cost around $15-20 of packet of 150g but i can assure you that it will be more than enough to color 100litre of water . and you can even add gelatine powder in it to avoid splashes. the effect look great but it takes around 1 hours to get the mixture ready. Good luck Jun 28 05 10:42 am Link Posted by George Butler: I think I saw that, that was sad, very sad. Jun 28 05 10:53 am Link This was shot with 3 gallons of milk in a big Jacuzzi Tub... honestly I think i shoudl have used less - i believe it would have been whiter with less - it gets cloudy with more..  Jun 28 05 09:26 pm Link Wow Brent, I like that shot. The model's eyes really draw you in. My shoot went pretty well. The Tahitian bath milk smelled really good too. The model was happy since she got to take a warm relaxing bath at the end of the shoot. =] If I manage to retouch one, I'll post a link to it here. Jun 29 05 08:02 am Link Posted by Brent Burzycki: The flowers are a very unique touch! Jun 29 05 08:44 am Link Mmmm... I'm wondering what would happen is I added red food coloring to this mix...  Been thinking of doing a shoot with a tub of blood, hehe! Jun 29 05 08:52 am Link Posted by Rich Mohr: It will stain your models skin more than likely.... Jun 29 05 01:41 pm Link Got to be honest and say it ws not 100% my idea - I sort of semi stole part of it from another photogrpaher I know... but I will say it was hard to drap her out of the tub.... Thou come to think of it - it is hard to drag any model out of any tub shoot I have done..... wonder why... Posted by George Butler: Posted by Brent Burzycki: The flowers are a very unique touch! Jun 29 05 01:42 pm Link I won't tell! Jun 30 05 06:20 am Link Posted by Low Tek: Gee fella. I hate to burst your bubble but, been there, done that, and did one with black liquid too. ...too lazy to scan the slides to show you. Jun 30 05 06:32 am Link Posted by Udo R Photography: Posted by XtremeArtists: I second that! He's my friend first Jun 30 05 06:36 am Link Posted by Joe K. Perez: Posted by Low Tek: Gee fella. I hate to burst your bubble but, been there, done that, and did one with black liquid too. ...too lazy to scan the slides to show you. Black Liquid, now that probably was interesting Jun 30 05 06:48 am Link Posted by Joe K. Perez: Gee... thanks for your informative post. You're one of those idiots who reads the first line of the first post then just responds to see his post count go up. Jun 30 05 09:37 am Link Try DRIED MILK POWDER!...might not only be cheaper but you won't look like you've fathered a city of children with 4 more on the way as you leave the store!! ha! You can buy this in bulk at anystore such as Costco, Smart and Final, Sams Club or something of the sort.....but any grocery store will have it too. In addition to this, dilute the mixture a little more and milk the solution for all that you can while still enabling a creamy white texture (no pun inteded). Good luck hun! We all wanna see the final product! Talitha Jun 30 05 09:44 am Link Wow, the picture posted by Brent is absolutely awesome!!! That makes me want to do a milk shot as well. Also, can't wait to see the shot Low Tek (sp) got either. That would be a cool perk to close the door of the bathroom and leave the model to a nice relaxing bath after the photo shoot. She would be thinking about that the next time you asked to shoot with her!! Doug D2Images Jun 30 05 08:43 pm Link |
What about some kind of white powder that can be dissolved in the water? I know you can buy powder milk. Not sure if that would work any better than regular milk, but I think it might be cheaper. I use it in my bread machine. 
