Drown the Gown - Kiwi Style :)

[lil_miss]

My best friend and I found a couple of wedding dresses locally for cheap - one never worn, and headed out to the local beach to drown the gown/s. We had someone videoing it too.. It was tonnes of fun ! We did some at a waterfall near the beach while waiting for the sun to set with one dress and a huge train - then headed to the surf with the other dress when the light was perfect. My first time doing anything like this and I'd love to do more... Hopefully this will be enough to encourage some others :D Lol

There's a couple more on the blog too :)
1
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7096.jpg
2
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7142.jpg
3
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_5435.jpg
4
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_5437.jpg
5
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7373blog.jpg
6
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7382.jpg

[jessika]

hi :) i am a fan of your work .. a very BIG fan .. you might remember posting something on one of my threads .. but i LOVE these .. do you mind telling me the camera settings you used for these gorgeous pictures?

again .. VERY big fan :)

cheers .. jessika :)

[lil_miss]

Hiya

I've gone back and added numbers and will put some of the settings below :)

The first two were ISO 100/200, F3.5 just with direct on camera flash (430ex), Canon 30D, 17-55.. I was in AV mode from memory

3. Taken by my other half, 10-22 at 10mm on 40D, 1/125, F5.. the sun was behind her and an off camera flash (580ex) to the left of the frame just out of shot.

4. Same settings as above just without the flash.

5. Manual mode (Somewhere I dont venture often!) :) ISO250, 1/250th to expose for the sunset, F4 - 17-55 at 17mm... flash compensated itself being in manual mode.. I boosted the saturation on the sunset ever so slightly in PS.

6. Similar to above but 1/125th second - all in manual..

The last two were taken at 9pm after the sun was well down..

Does that help at all? I was playing around a lot and changing all sorts of things.. lol

[j2photography]

The flash, imo, is a little harsh in three, but other than that, this set is amazing.
I love the last two. Great shots. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work :)

[lil_miss]

Thanks - third one was taken by my other half playing around with off camera flash :)

[j2photography]

Playing around is good.
:D

[_Jo_]

*wow*

Those are fantastic! Lucky you...!!

I can't wait to do a drown/trash the gown.

Well done :)

[FlyingPhotog]

"Drown The Gown" sounds so much more fun than "Trash The Dress"

Very nice work, this!

[lil_miss]

thanks :D I thought Drown the Gown was more appropriate given the location :D and its not so much a trashing as the dress is still useable :D Lol

[babuszka]

Lovely! The last one is really nice (others are great, but in the last one I love the way she's posed & the sun set).

Not to sound like a complete idiot but I have a question for the experienced photogs....
I've seen plenty of pictures of brides in water, wonderful and gorgeous pictures, but is there ever a concern that the wedding dress might get some damage?
My hubby and I are not very traditional, and I did not really care to have a dress or a fancy big wedding or anything, so I don't really know.
:confused:

Do you usually bring up having the bride get into the water? Do they ever not want to do it because they might ruin the dress or something? How delicate are wedding dresses?

I love shots of brides in positions that aren't very traditional....in water, in a field, rocks, whatever, and something I would consider experimenting in when I get into wedding photography...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, :D

[g-money]

Really nice work. I like all these except #3 for some reason it just doesn't do much for me. I think it is her expression and stance, but the rest are great. Nice job!

Greg

[harroz]

you scored with those dresses. that second photo the dress looks awesome... heaps of material to work with :-)

[lil_miss]

Lovely! The last one is really nice (others are great, but in the last one I love the way she's posed & the sun set).

Not to sound like a complete idiot but I have a question for the experienced photogs....
I've seen plenty of pictures of brides in water, wonderful and gorgeous pictures, but is there ever a concern that the wedding dress might get some damage?
My hubby and I are not very traditional, and I did not really care to have a dress or a fancy big wedding or anything, so I don't really know.
:confused:

Do you usually bring up having the bride get into the water? Do they ever not want to do it because they might ruin the dress or something? How delicate are wedding dresses?

I love shots of brides in positions that aren't very traditional....in water, in a field, rocks, whatever, and something I would consider experimenting in when I get into wedding photography...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, :D

These particular photos were not of a bride.. just my best friend and a couple of dresses :)
Typically though the Trash the Dress/Drown the Gown is normally done after the wedding day and if people are only going to wear the dress that once then I guess why not... I imagine if you were wanting to onsell it you'd be a bit careful though. And i'm sure if it was worth $$$ you probably woudlnt go anywhere near water either..

When I do actual weddings, I try to get an idea of what the bride is up for in terms of sitting on the grass/seats etc - some are completley dead set on keeping their dresses white, other are not so.

The dress above that was used at the beach, I put through the washing machine on delicate cycle and its come up perfect (apart from the odd fleck of sand floating around). It didnt get overly dirty though, it was just wet and covered in sand. The other dress did get a bit dirty from rocks etc and didnt come up so well in the washing machine, but i'm sure with dry cleaning it would be fine... I dont have any intention of onselling these two dresses though as I did have to "modify" them with scissors lol :D

[lil_miss]

you scored with those dresses. that second photo the dress looks awesome... heaps of material to work with :-)

Thanks :D it has a stupidly long train lol

[Kiddo]

I love these!! Great job!!

[ofdphoto]

#1-#4: I like these composition-wise, but the facial expressions and posing are a bit too boring and un-engaged for me.
#4 would have looked better if the flash was diffused.
#5: just looks uncomfortable. Nice sky tho.
#6: again, not feeling a real connection here.
#5-#6: stick out as direct flash images. I hate direct flash ... it takes away texture and shape and casts shadows where they shouldn't be.

Overall, a nice set, but as a showcase for "drown the gown", I think you'd do better to work with a client and/or have a clearer creative vision. These look like splashing in the water for its own sake, which IMO doesn't sell this type of thing very well. Also, getting the dress dirty doesn't have to involve water. And finally, where is the groom? :D

[lil_miss]

Thanks... I think :)

Eventually I would like to use actual "clients" but just wanted to have some fun and practice on a friend to start off without that added pressure.. specially having not done anything similar before. I'm not even sure if this sort of thing would take off over here.. I've also not takentoo many photos after sunset that involve people in that way, so it was a huge learning curve there too (so it gave me a chance to practice and have a go).

I had all intentions of off camera flash, but had to use direct flash on the last couple as the trigger for our off camera flash went for a swim.. whoops! :)

Overall I did have a vision of what I wanted to achieve and felt I got what I wanted out of it... :) Onwards and upwards really and now I know what to do and not to do next time. I still have the dresses and she's keen to do it again, so no doubt we can improve.

And as for the groom.... her boyfriend didnt want to participate.. lol i did try though :)

I have more here : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56073&id=45425207417
and here's a couple more though

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7252.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/_MG_7224.jpg

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/momentzphotos/Blog/n45425207417_1247296_7123.jpg

[babuszka]

These particular photos were not of a bride.. just my best friend and a couple of dresses :)
Typically though the Trash the Dress/Drown the Gown is normally done after the wedding day and if people are only going to wear the dress that once then I guess why not... I imagine if you were wanting to onsell it you'd be a bit careful though. And i'm sure if it was worth $$$ you probably woudlnt go anywhere near water either..

When I do actual weddings, I try to get an idea of what the bride is up for in terms of sitting on the grass/seats etc - some are completley dead set on keeping their dresses white, other are not so.

The dress above that was used at the beach, I put through the washing machine on delicate cycle and its come up perfect (apart from the odd fleck of sand floating around). It didnt get overly dirty though, it was just wet and covered in sand. The other dress did get a bit dirty from rocks etc and didnt come up so well in the washing machine, but i'm sure with dry cleaning it would be fine... I dont have any intention of onselling these two dresses though as I did have to "modify" them with scissors lol :D

Well it sounds like it was a pretty fun shoot!
Thanks for the input.

[lil_miss]

Also, getting the dress dirty doesn't have to involve water.

Oh you're right there.. it was just something I wanted to do :)
I've got some ideas in mind of other things to do.. but probably wont have time till Winter now

[ofdphoto]

Oooo I like #7 (not numbered, but 7th in this thread) :)

Defo a good start all round :) I look forward to see more ...

[lil_miss]

Doh! sorry forgot the numbers :D
Thanks for your help and comments.. its much appreciated :D :D
I'm open to ideas and learning

[airbutchie]

#6 is my favorite... Very nice composition..

- airbutchie