OK, so this is my first post of my photos, essh. These are of one of my best friends who got married this past April. I have been wanting to do a 'trash the dress'. She amused me but nothing crazy like jumping in a pond or anything. These are some of my favorite. We just drove around downtown Baltimore looking for cool places. I think we were pretty successful. Comments welcome!!

that shot by the garage door is super hot. love it

Love the railroad track shots... would lighten the skin tone and dress just to make her pop a little more. Beautiful work!

#3 is my favorite as well. I agree they seem a hair on the dark side.

I WANT HER BOOTS!

Well Maria you asked for comments, but I may just be grumpy, so here it goes. Why did you label this Premier TTD? There's nothing premier here so that got me going in a negative way. I've done work like this on a wedding day! The shots really aren't doing much for me. No creative lighting to speak of. I would agree that the door shot is the best of the bunch but I wouldn't label it hot. Work angles more severely. try some off camera flash to punch up the drama.

My honest two cents.

Mark,

I totally get your points. But I do think the OP meant her premiere like, her first time doing TTD. That's how I took it anyhow!

way harsh.

Welcome to OSP! I think it's great that your sister posed as a model. It's super hard to practice on inanimate objects, so real people are always a bonus.

Here's what I noticed.

The rail road pole is growing out of the top of her head in #1. Next time, try shooting from a lower angle if your backgrounds are a mess, and have the train track rails pop in from the corner of your photo to provide leading lines. Your third one is sweet, but straighten it. Use your focus points to get level horizons in camera.

....and about off camera flash...only use it when you need it....otherwise your work will start to look like everyone elses' who are all gung-ho on blasting everything with flash. I used to be like that,then noticed that EVERY one is using off camera flash now. It's a trend that will die down soon enough.

I meant my first one. Sorry if you were misled and grumpy about it. Thanks for the tips though.

Maria... Mark is typically the gentle giant... I can call him that bc he called me a miniture person... ...LOL

Anyway, I sort of wondered the same thing when I read the post but it totally makes sense now.

I agree with mark, if you're supposedly shooting a TTD session, you gotta get outside the norm. Otherwise it's a standard bridal session in a weird location... TTD are honestly best done...

1. without smiling
2. Interesting angles
3. Abstract composition
4. Uncomfortable posing of the bride (it feels uncomfortable to her but looks great)
5. Better use of surroundings

Having a bride stand on railroad tracks isn't TTD. Have her lie down across the tracks, or on her back looking at the camera from a low angle. Don't be afraid to cut off parts of her in your composition to focus on something interesting. All the normal rules of wedding photography go out the window, don't worry about severing a leg or elbow. Get her posed in more interesting ways. Like the door shot, dont have her leaning back against the wall, have her sit up straight, left leg bent like it is, but right leg dangling down off the edge and bent back, maybe her left elbow resting on her left knee with her left hand up in her hair, with some sultry eyes and pouty lips.

#2 woulda been better if she was just looking down at the ground to her right, and not at the camera, with some dark post processing, maybe tinted vintage with some added grain.

Think outside the box on these more. Less looking at the camera. Less (or no) smiling. Less standard wedding poses. Think of how a fashion magazine would do this with a regular model, and not how you'd pose a bride in front of a church where she has to keep her hair, makeup and dress pristine.

um...did you just make that all up?

For a minute I thought you were joking.... but then I realized that you are not.

EDIT: I did want to edit my post by saying that interesting angles and good use of surroundings are applicable to ALL kinds of photography... not just ttd.

Also, most of what Chirs is saying is HIS vision of ttd. Not necessarily the ONLY WAY TTD IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE

Well, there has to be a distinction between TTD and "bridal portrait in odd location". I don't think these shots portray really anything trash the dress, as it has really become known as. Obviously you don't have to TRASH a dress to do one of these sessions, but you should take it farther than you did in these photos.

And yes, good angles and use of surroundings is applicable everywhere, but most sessions don't take place in alleyways or industrial trainyards, and the only shot she really took advantage of was #3, sitting against the wall. The other poses looked as though you could cut out the background and paste in any other background and the image would look the same. I think really using the surroundings means that you could have ONLY taken THAT shot in THAT location, it wouldn't have worked at the beach, or a park, or a garden.

While I think you make some good points, I don't think that those are hard and fast rules. I think that every woman will have different ideas on trashing their dress. I saw a cool picture where the couple was playing in paint and completely covered in it, and they were BOTH smiling... so.. I would definitely say that was trashing the dress, but they were having fun and it wasn't particularly "vogue".. so I think it can be trash the dress and vary greatly. I think a lot of "Trash the Dress" ends up being just high fashion edgy bridals and the dress barely even gets dirty.

I do love this one thou:

"Uncomfortable posing of the bride (it feels uncomfortable to her but looks great)"

I always tell people .. the sillier you feel, the better you look.

I agree Brandi, obviously the situation will dictate how you pose the bride, and yes if they're throwing paint or rolling in the mud, they'll probably be smiling... but if its just the bride standing there not doing anything, it doesn't really fit to say "i'm a bride in my dress and I'm giddy about lying down on these train tracks".

I do admit that my take on trash the dress does go more towards the fashion end, so I favor shots with no smiling, but anything can work as TTD as long as the pose and the expression fit the scene.

I do agree with and totally support this statement!

Ok, I totally don't have time to post right now, somebody hit me, I'm late!!!!!!!!!!! But ah shucks, Jessica called me a gentle giant.

Sorry, I was grumpy and didn't mean to be harsh. And not I didn't get the premier thing. I will still say that I think theyare lacking emotion or punch or drama or something. But I gotta get to my shoot tonight and get ready for tomorrow aaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BYE!

Thanks for the comments.

This was my first attempt so my regards if I didn't live up to the definition of 'trashing' the dress. You have to start somewhere. She is a friend and I asked her to do it, and she wasn't willing to destroy it. I do think my strengths are catching the moment so I struggled with posing her in the fashion-y poses. I also felt that her 'no smiling' looked more pissed off than seductive so I didn't post those.

So the gist is that the expression and poses didn't match the surroundings... so how would you pose someone on train tracks? Also, I need to better take advantage of the location and be more creative with poses that use what I have instead of being cookie cutter?

pose her with caution tape and angel wings..... yes, that was a joke.

it takes experimenting and a patient model. it also takes the willingness to make mistakes and grow with them. yes, this was your first, and what have you learned? - you have learned that you need to improve on your posing, angles, and adding in the drama factor.

not many people nail it the first time, that is why its highly recommended that you use ebay or thrift shop wedding dresses and willing models.

look at the trash website and glean off there - use it for inspiration and then add your own touches.

dont be afraid to go outside the box. once your are outside your comfort zone, take one more step.....