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Posted by Trash the Dress. By Wikipedia’s definition, it is a style of wedding photography that contrasts elegant clothing with an environment in which it is out of place. It is the art of destruction or deconstruction of a brides wedding dress to create a new “artwork.”
I will be the first to admit that I dislike the term “Trash the Dress.” It just seems so…well…trashy. In fact, for the longest time, I quietly sidestepped all inquiries relating to this artwork of deconstructing a bride’s dress. So, for my sake, let’s refer to it as The Day After.</span>
In my mind, a bride is supposed to be beautiful. A princess. Clean. Perfect. Not wet and hanging upside down on a Harley Davidson.
But, then I realized, as with anything in photography, you can make it your own. Your own style. Your own creation. I actually liked the idea of photographing a bride the day after the wedding. I just needed to leave the cliche behind and incorporate my style into it.
Now, I COMPLETELY understand my version of The Day After is not for everyone. Some people want more edge. Some want more “trash.” Some want more sexy. And that is fine. In fact, it is PERFECT. Perfect that we all have our own vision, style, and artwork. That is the glorious thing about photography.
But, if you are like me and have avoided The Day After sessions for fear of defiling your style, the bride, or even dress, then I am here to tell you that it can be soft and editorial.
Here are a few tips on keeping the Trash the Dress…er…The Day After session fun, beautiful, and sexy…and leaving out the trash.
- Define your bride. The entire mood of the session will depend on your style combined with her ideas/personality. If she is bold and daring, take it a little more dramatic and sexy. If she is shy and quiet, opt for a lighter, fun mood. As photographers, it is our job to create art using our vision and skills, but it is equally as important to portray our subject as they wish to be portrayed.
- She just wants to be beautiful. Go in with the mind set that this bride still wants to look beautiful…regardless of her surroundings or how her dress is going to be defiled. It is easy to get caught up in the creativity of a shoot like this and we sometimes forget our number one job is to flatter and beautify our subject.
- Use your surroundings. You have a beautiful bride, in a beautiful white dress, in an unlikely environment. This is such a great situation to use elements you wouldn’t normally have with a bride to make creative and unique images. Textures from buildings, colors from an old car junkyard, sand and water…all examples of using the surroundings to create instantly unique images.
- Use the groom if possible. Using the groom in some or all of the Day After session can be fun and sexy. All nerves from the wedding day are gone and fun groom comes out. Bring in a small amount of sexy…just enough without making the viewer uncomfortable. The precious I-Love-You photos were for the wedding day. The Day After is a bit more intimate.
- Get intimate with the details. With the rush of the wedding day, sometimes we don’t have time to REALLY focus on bride. The Day After is for getting more intimate with the bride. Focus on the details…her curves, her eyes, her lips, her hands and feet. It’s called…quiet sexy.
- Don’t destroy the dress. Keep in mind that the bride will most likely still keep her dress after this session. So, if you were planning on lighting the dress on fire, you may want to rethink that one.
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