This phenomenon has been around for several years now and I think it adds a whole new arena to wedding photography. It’s simply a way for the bride to try something new and not be afraid of getting a little dirty. On your wedding day getting your dress dirty can rank right up there with natural disasters, it’s tragic and not something any bride wishes.
A trash the dress session gives brides the opportunity to expand from their formal wedding day pictures and have fun in more of a relaxed environment to let the creativity flow. I’ve seen some extreme shoots where the dress has been spray painted or cut or even torn almost in two! I’ve seen some trash the dress sessions that don’t look like fun. I’ve seen some really funny sessions as well! I think my taste is more along the lines of let’s-get-the-dress-wet-not-trash-the-dress-session.
Ever since I’ve heard of these sessions, I’ve always wanted to try one, both as the photographer and photographee. This May I’ll have the opportunity to experiment with one. My family is taking a week-long trip to the gorgeous Isle of Palms, SC and renting a house on the beach. This house offers both a pool and the ocean, plus Charleston is a mere 15 minutes away.
I’ll be photographing both my beautiful sister, Kelly and gorgeous sister-in-law, Katie, during our stay at the beach. Now, these girls were in no way going to ‘trash’ their actual wedding dresses, so we needed another alternative. Thankfully, there are some bridal dresses aren’t terribly expensive and they both found affordable dresses they didn’t mind getting a little dirty. It’s been a fun process, almost like getting a second chance to wear a different wedding dress. In both girls’ cases, they chose dresses that are completely different from the ones they wore on their actual wedding day.
Here’s where my dilema comes in. As I mentioned above, I’ve never shot one of these types of sessions before and I need your help. If you have any good advice or fun posing tips, I’d love to hear them! Feel free to leave me a message in the comment section telling me about your favorite trash the dress ideas. I’d love to start offering this to clients, but I need some practice first!
I can’t wait to see what you guys think! Leave me a comment and I’ll try to use as many ideas as we can fit into the session!
10 Comments