Alicia's "Trash the Dress" Session

Last weekend I was thrilled to photograph Alicia trashing her wedding dress - except it's not her real dress, and she's not married yet. She contacted me to do some pre-wedding Trash the Dress bridals with a wedding dress she got on ebay! I love it!



We went out to Sugarloaf Ridge Park off Highway 12 near Kenwood and Sonoma. I had never been before, so it was a fun exploration together. We were lucky enough to have a gorgeous, sunny crisp winter day, and we hiked down a dark, leafy trail to a small creek and waterfall. Alicia was amazingly game for all kinds of odd poses, including laying in a bit of mud, traversing a fallen tree, letting her dress drag in the waterfall, and even doing a backbend!

This shot was taken with a Vintage, 1920s 4x5" camera that I have, on Type 55 Polaroid film - so cool! This was one of the first shots I tried and that's when I knew we were in for a wonderful portrait session.



I mean, seriously, look at this gorgeous woman!



Although we obviously want to trash the dress (hence the name), when I do one of these shoots, that's not so much the goal - it's just that we went to collaborate on getting gorgeous bridal portraits without worrying about making her uncomfortable, dirty, or tearing the gown. I am still really careful to make sure the subject is comfortable, warm enough, having fun... but it's just amazing when I have a bride who's willing to do things like balance sideways on a stone wall in the winter.



Another 4x5 Polaroid shot that I adore:



One of my favorite images:



My kooky idea - since I couldn't make her cartwheel down a steep, slippery hiking path, why not try a backbend?



Alicia has absolutely gorgeous skin:



And loved lying in the mud! Anything for the shot! :)









Some of these remind me of the Cure song "A Forest":





Some of the aftermath (it got even dirtier after our steep hike back up):



Alicia, you made a fabulously gorgeous model for this shoot, and was so much fun to get to know and work with. Thank you so much!

PS Alicia wrote me:
"Wow you are quick! I triple puffy heart these :-) These are so cool, exactly the style I was looking for! They look way better than I thought they ever could...you are amazing!!! Thank you so much! I can't wait to see the rest but these are so great!!!! Thank you, thank you!! The waterfall ones are my favorites :-) (although the back bend is pretty funny :-)"

Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.

Portraits, Philosphy, and Praise (aw shucks)

I wanted to share some of the responses I got to the "Trash the Dress" photos - it's always nice to get feedback, thanks!

"I definitely think some of these photos would make people want to do trash the dress! it makes ME want to do it...Jessamyn you better still be in the bay doing weddings in a few years when its my turn ;)

i hope one day i get to roll around on the beach in a huge fancy dress...next time we might have to bring in the stomping grapes idea - so fun!"

"Hey Jessamyn,

I'm one of your blog readers and I have an opinion on the trash the dress sessions.

I totally love it! And, I'm bummed that I didn't do it (but maybe I still could??)"

"I just wanted to point out that this:



is a fantastic photo. straight up, no doubt, perfectly composed, ... dreamily lit. and all around hott.
... this particular foto borders on abstract, as far as the human subject... but sh*t man, the sash and the skirt with her hand right there.... it's just killer. double bonus golden gate in the background. wow. just wow. okay.. So you've gotten the point now that this shot has sucsessfully knocked my socks off? good."

"Jessamyn!!! Wow, those pics are so fabulous. i LOVE all the fun stuff you did with the lighting....I don't understand it, but it is so cool! those ones where there is more (?) light and the colors are almost surreal? so amazing. Colin got home last night and we made him look at it right away, he was also super impressed.
That was such a fun day, and I'm SO glad we did it. Thanks!!!! "

And, from Meeghan after we did the shoot:

"I had SO much fun at the shoot yesterday...I had a momentary freak out before you showed up, like "what am i doing?? i am not a model, is this going to be really weird??" and instead it turned out to be so incredibly fun and not weird at all.

your pictures were just so incredible, looking at them makes me relive the wedding and it was, by far, the most fun party I've ever been to. so thanks!!

...Do you always make all of your clients totally fall in love with you?? ; ) "



Um, I try, I guess! : )

For the record, ladies (and gents), there's no particular time frame for the "trashing" of your dress, or for what could be called the "day after the wedding" photo shoot (even if it's months later), so feel free to ask me to do one whenever you'd like! They'd be great as a first anniversary present to your husband. Heck, you don't even need to have been a "bride" to trash the dress - nothing wrong with rolling around on the beach or in the grass in whatever you'd like to wear! How about doing portraits for no reason at all...

One of the topics that came up on my last blog post's comments was that maybe the dress needs to be more thoroughly destroyed. I am definitely open to that (and to trashing ideas), but I also feel like my style aims to be fairly natural, so I didn't want to introduce gimmicks for the sake of a more full-on trashing. This doesn't mean I won't help you trash the dress even more ;), but in general I'm just hoping to use the beautiful juxtaposition of this elegant gown in a natural (or urban) setting to help bring out some subtle drama and loveliness in a portrait of you.

If you want to really TRASH the dress, let's play around with some ideas! I loved Richard's idea of green slime like in Nickelodeon's 80s heyday. Awesome!



I got some great responses to the questions from the last blog - although many of you still are too shy to post comments, and email me directly instead, that's fine. I have lots of ideas rolling around in my head and am trying to focus them into some more select ideas.

What's really standing out for me is the reminder that people are often too shy to get portraits taken for no particular reason - in our culture they tend to be tied to things like yearbooks, senior portraits, marriage, maternity, and family holiday portraits. Which is all great, cause those are big life events you want to remember, but I feel that it is absolutely important to have photos of yourself that you love from throughout your life.



I realize that just sounds like a sales pitch, but quite honestly, it's part of the reason I got into photography - I played around with taking a LOT of self portraits. I like to think it's because I was the most ready model available, and not because I'm an egotist, but it was also (cliche, but true) an exploration of who I am and who I seem to other people. I wanted a photo that captured who I "really" was (in a good way, for the most part)... so I just keep looking for that, because that changes every minute.



I had these senior portraits taken in high school, and though some of them turned out well, I tried in my shy way to tell the photographer that certain backdrops just weren't "me", and I didn't really feel that my personality was captured in the final proofs. I don't know what 17 year old knows who they truly are, or whatever, but I really want my work to make people feel that I have seen them, and have honored some of the essence of who they are. Is that too lofty of a goal? : )



In fact, a lot of photographers use the term "making a photo", rather than "taking". I understand the reasoning here (trying to change the language to represent the artistic and technical process of creation, rather than the more thief-like "taking"), but I still say I "take" photos. Because while my vision does get involved, I definitely try to capture what is already there, that most beautiful and unique part of each subject that reveals itself to me. It's definitely a collaboration in that way!



So, I'd like to figure out a way to make a "just because" portrait available to anyone who's interested! I do shoot portraits for no special reason all the time, and I want all of you shy models out there who would like to hire me to take their portrait to holler at me and let me know what I can do to make it worth your while to do a portrait session. What kind of things might appeal to you:



-a discount for single or couple portrait sessions?
-a "day in the park" mass portrait session, or another family and kid portrait day somewhere??
-a "buy one get one free" portrait session for family members?
-a gift certificate so you can give a portrait session to a sister/ brother, daughter/ son, or parents for their anniversary?
-a "birthday portrait special" package to make it easier for birthday kids of every age to have a lovely photo done of them once a year?

Help me brainstorm! : )



Sorry for such a wordy blog with not enough photos - MANY more pix (some goofy) are coming soon!

Meeghan's Trash the Dress Session, Crissy Field, San Francisco

Right after Meeghan and Colin returned from their warm, lovely honeymoon up and down the Baja peninsula, Meeghan was kind enough to model for me in a "Trash the Dress" photo shoot on the freezing SF Bay!

Isn't she gorgeous?!



Meeghan, Colin, and Meeghan's sister Caitlin all live in a rad apartment in the North Beach area of SF - hey, I bet you guys could be a hilarious, wacky sitcom, no? Anyway, we first had some fun playing in rush hour traffic in their neighborhood:



Then drove in horrible traffic down to Crissy Field in the Marina, at the mouth of the SF Bay. Not only was it one of the absolute windiest days I've ever seen, but there were hundreds of runners going in a circle around the field itself... we have no idea why. Luckily, they weren't interfering with us on the beach, and luckily for me, Meeghan was a total champ and trooper as far as getting into the shoot. I could barely feel my fingers and face after a few minutes, and I was fully clothed with a jacket! Meeghan didn't mind getting down on the sand, and even a bit in the bay! This isn't like Southern California (much less Baja!)... the water is not only very cold, but dangerous, so I wasn't going to push Meeghan to get in if she wasn't comfortable, and she was totally brave and amazing! Thank you!!!














Here's when I asked Meeghan to give me her best "innocent" look - like, "oh, who, little old Victorian me??". I love it!



I had a lot of fun playing with some of these shots digitally - you can see where I've messed with the contrast, saturation, converted to black and white, etc; you can't see where I've occasionally taken out a kiteboarder or kayaker. I love how glowy the sunset makes everything, and how the GG Bridge is just about washed out, but not quite. I love San Francisco!

Edited: Slideshow has been removed, 10/16/2008.



Okay, so I know I have a lot of quiet readers on here, cause you guys email me and tell me in person that you've been keeping up with the blog. Here's where I need your help! I am wondering if this type of shoot has a place in my packages - I loved doing it (although that could be partly because Meeghan and Caitlin are such fun sweethearts), and would definitely do it upon request. Your feedback can help me decide if there's a demand for this kind of thing in my world.



So here is your quiz - I'd love as much response as I can get on here.
Does this kind of photo shoot float your boat?
Meeghan felt a little nervous beforehand but totally worked it and (with Tyra in mind) let me gently coax her into having photos taken of her looking fabulous. Most of us have boring yearbook photos taken throughout school, but then rarely make a point of having portraits done later in life.
Many of my clients are untraditional, but I know they have lots of "bridal sessions" in the South and Midwest - would this interest you?
Also, do you like the use of digital actions and post processing? Or do you prefer a more natural look? For example, how does the difference here strike you?:





I've been operating on the theory of "all things in moderation", and working with just a few favorite shots from each wedding in black and white and high contrast / low saturation, etc. Is that something you'd like to see more of in all of my work?

-Where would you "trash" the dress? I was thinking of the top of Mount Tam (rolling around on the dry grasses), walking around SF (or even on the bus), outside the De Young, stomping grapes (! who wants to do this with me?!), or taking a dip in a pool or in the Tomales lagoon. I also love the idea of going to Stinson Beach, maybe digging sand castles... What comes to mind for you?

And, finally,
-What would entice YOU to get into the freezing SF Bay?! Money, fame, hot chocolate... or a really nice photographer asking please?

Luckily, both Meeghan and myself used to be lifeguards!

P.S. This mirror lives in Meeghan's apartment, and apparently is cracked and distorts just enough to make women who come over look at themselves in despair... so here's their correction for it. I love it!



The lovely bride getting ready to face the elements - pink flip flops, a wedding gown, and a down jacket. Sounds like San Francisco to me!

Trash the Dress

there's sort of a movement among certain wedding photographer circles called "trash the dress". The idea is that after the wedding (usually the day after, particularly on destination weddings in sunny tropical beachy places), the photographer takes the couple to the beach, forest, around the city, etc., and gets all kinds of awesome shots where the bride is no longer worried about ruining her dress...

Here's their blog...

I'm a big fan of swimming so I like the underwater ones best! Someone remarked on the "Ophelia-like quality" of these kinds of shots, which (while maybe a little grim) is really lovely and poetic.

I haven't had the chance to officially "trash the dress" yet, although I love getting couples to lie down in the grass or wander into nature - but of course, I try to be conscientious of how much the bride cares about getting her dress dirty. I'd love to try something crazy, so if anyone's interested, just let me know...