What comes to mind when a client from Romania flies to you for a trash-the-dress shoot? A certain blood-thirsty folklore character, right?
Wrong. I’m just messing with you, clients, and the title. You know I love quirky titles… and I loved this cover image, so why not tap on the legend for a moment? Let I be forgiven for I wouldn’t mind be stamped shah al-Hafiz, Edgiz Khan (because I’m a tatar), or whatever in some photographer’s story. 😛
Let’s get serious, there won’t be any vampires this time. Meet cutie Mya and her impossibly funny husband Sorin. They did fly from Romania after finding me as one of Fearless Photographerâ„¢ award winners. Having lived in Romania for two years and speaking Romanian a little, I had fun with my clumsy attempts to dig out my vocabulary during our Skype discussions and the shoot itself. Their wedding took place in Romania and they planned their honeymoon in the States with a stop in NYC for a photo shoot. Naturally, landmarks would have needed to be incorporated and we visited several of them, starting from Times Square, Long Island City, Dumbo, Brooklyn Bridge, and ended at the Grand Central. And this being a trash-the-dress shoot, we could climb and crawl!
A curious thing is that we started at 4 AM to get more or less empty Times Square which gave us exclusivity with Revlon’s #LoveIsOn huge screen feature and a sneak onto the empty TKTS Red Stairs. This came at a personal price of skipping a sleep as I drove some 250 miles from Vermont where I finished shooting a German-American rustic wedding around midnight.
Sadly, it was Mya who felt weak and was close to passing out several times because of the jet lag and hectic travel schedule. I applaud her stamina and determination, and Sorin’s gentle care for her. Those shots when he’s comforting her on the ground and a bench were not staged… and undoubtedly, artistically and emotionally powerful.
We were lucky to be in the company of a full moon for a neat shot like I’ve never done before. At some point, I was pleasantly surprised to run into a good peer of mine by the Jane’s Carousel, William of William Chang Photography, who was doing a nicely staged wedding shoot with his team that early morning (check out a sample from it). Later, some runners ran into us on the Brooklyn Bridge but they were friendly.
Once the session was over, I headed back home but not to sleep yet—to spend the rest of the day with my cheerful daughter, still finding energy for it! Here are some favorites from that fun six-hour trash-the-dress shoot for your enjoyment.
(Click images for full size)
UPDATE 10/22/15: On top of my own one, I received some behind-the-scene shots from Dionizio Brandão who came forward to volunteer assisting me shortly before the shoot. Kudos to him for getting up that early in the morning as well!
