Trash the Dress 2 - Installment 5 - Behind the Scenes

This will be the last post about this shoot - I've got other stuff to talk about, I swear.

I've always loved a good behind the scenes picture, book, or story. Knowing how something was made is completely fascinating to me. I have been entranced many a Saturday afternoon by that show "How it's Made" and the segment on Mr. Rogers where he put the video on the train and we got to see how they make bubblegum was always one of my favorites. My bookshelf is filled with behind the scenes type of books on various films and shows. I think this was a big reason why I got a Master's degree in Animation and Film. I wanted to know how they do it. Of course, now I know, and I've made some myself too. And I LOVE the process of all artmaking - it is food for the soul. A photoshoot is no different. And lest you think it is all just putting people in good light and pushing the shutter (which is how it should feel if you are my client), there is much more that goes into a photo shoot like the Trash the Dress Sessions.

On Judy and Jeremy's shoot I had my trusty assistant Harmony with and I handed her hubby's Point and Shoot to capture some behind the scenes shots. I'm all over the place on a shoot like this and I come home utterly filthy, but it is always worth it. And any really fantastic shot takes some work on my part. And Harmony worked hard too - she was in the middle of a cold and it was a chilly 40 some degrees that day and I'm so appreciative that she powered thru.

Here is a collage of shots Harmony took of me working. See a description below it.

In the top left corner is a shot taken right after I said to Harmony "Make sure I don't fall into the water, okay?" Mind you, Harmony was at least six feet above us on the track platform and could have done absolutely nothing to help me. But my camera wasn't around my neck here so that if I did fall in I could throw it onto the concrete and save it from a watery death - I do have my priorities in order, see? I think the shot on the top right is when we discovered Harmony is afraid of heights as I leaned fearlessly over the ledge to get a sweet shot. I'm pretty fearless in general, which I think is a good quality to have as a photographer. Just under that is me and Judy climbing back up onto the track platform (her doing so in a full ballgown of course). At the bottom is on the train platform obviously, shortly after I realized one misstep could mean a broken ankle. And yet, we continued... The pic in the middle on the left is me taking this shot I think:

These men in a black SUV suddenly started following us, and then this guy stands up thru the sunroof and starts filming us. Crazy! Who knew we were this interesting? He didn't say anything, but I did get his liscense plate just in case. He had a pretty serious camera though, so I'm thinking not just some random dude. We attracted a lot of this sort of attention actually, a MIAD student also stole a few shots.

And finally, here is Harmony helping make that veil behave and do what we want it to. The top one meant she had to ignore the water she could see between the railroad ties below her and bravely confront that fear of heights. Gold Star Assistant, I tell you.

We also layed down on countless streets, stood in the middle of the street (Harmony stopping traffic), climbed a cherry picker, explored abandoned wearhouses, ran on very unstable loading platforms, crouched down in brambles, climbed trees, hung from girders, and played with a blow-up Bucky Badger. (Some of these things were done by Jeremy). When you are up for anything, anything can happen.

And for all those photographers out there who might be reading - yep, that's a Shootsac by the uber-fabulous Jessica Claire I'm carrying. It is the most fabulous photography bag ever. It was one of the first purchases I made for my company and I wouldn't shoot with out it. As you can see, I'm not particularly careful - and yet it keeps all my lenses safe, secure and close at hand for quick change-ups. I don't have any of the beautiful covers for it yet - I rock it in just plain black.