Having a photoshoot with slime was a Nickelodeon inspired childhood dream come true. This shoot used 20 gallons of blue slime and resulted in some wild photos.
One of my goals this year is to explore as much new material as possible. My creative partner David and I usually use wood and paint for our sets, but lately we've been experimenting with new materials, taking our creativity down exciting new paths. I did.
The introduction of new material always causes a combination of excitement and anxiety, since the impact on the shoot is very unpredictable. Sometimes using new materials will improve the quality of your shoot, and sometimes it will fail. David stumbled upon a DIY slime kit on Amazon that offered him three different color options: green, pink, and blue. I feel like green slime is a bit overdone, so I chose blue slime instead. The goal was to come up with a photoshoot that could seamlessly incorporate slime. I wasn't really sure how it would turn out or if I could make something worthwhile with the slime, but I decided to give it a try.
We conceptualized a shoot-through set design with the goal of creating the illusion of peering through a window or porthole. To achieve this effect, we incorporated beadboard to introduce texture and carved out an octagon-like shape to act as a “window” for the camera to shoot through. The plan was for the slime to represent the toxic sludge that others can weigh on us.
Using slime in a photo shoot was almost a childhood dream come true for me as I was obsessed with Nickelodeon in the 90's. The DIY slime kit we purchased made so much slime! I made 20 gallons of slime and still had a lot left over.
The idea of ​​using slime was not only nostalgic, but also provided an opportunity to explore the interplay of texture, color, and movement within the shoot.
Making slime was surprisingly easy.
How to make slime
Things necessary
- A large plastic bucket (I chose a 5 gallon bucket because I would be making a lot of slime)
- water
- A large mixing spoon or a drill with a mixer attachment (we chose the latter for efficiency)
- DIY slime kit
step by step guide
Step 1: Purchase a DIY slime kit.
Step 2: Fill the bucket with water according to the amount of slime you want. I aimed for 5 gallons of slime per bucket.
Pro tip: If you're pouring slime on someone, choose warm water instead of cold water. We learned this lesson the hard way. Watch the video to see the model's reaction.
Step 3: Add DIY slime powder. 1 ounce of slime powder yields 1 gallon of slime. For slime with high viscosity, please adjust the amount.
Step 4: Mix the slime. Using a drill with a paint mixer will speed up the process, especially when producing in large quantities. For the photo shoot, David and I made 20 gallons of slime.
Step 5: Take an epic slime photoshoot.
Watch the video to learn how to make and film slime.
During the shoot, we positioned the camera on the set so that we could shoot the model straight through the window. We poured gallons of slime on model Hannah. Hannah was such a rock star that we threw buckets of slime at her. It really felt like she was slimmed down on Nickelodeon. Hannah seemed to be having a great time until we poured her a bucket of her ice cold slime.
Despite my reservations, using slime in a photo shoot turned out to be a really fun and exciting experience. To my surprise, it wasn't as dirty as I expected. This shoot was taken in a studio I rented from Peerspace. I was able to clean everything very quickly and easily. Since the slime is water-based, it is non-sticky and can be wiped off quickly without leaving any stains.
If you end up having a photo shoot with slime, please comment below and let me know how it turned out.