Flying dress photoshoots in Dubai
A flying dress shoot is built around one thing: several metres of light fabric, wind, and someone to throw it at exactly the right moment. Done well the dress becomes the whole photograph — a wave of colour across the frame with you at the centre of it. Done badly it is a woman standing in a field holding a lot of cloth.
The difference is timing and someone competent handling the train. Both are included; you do not need to bring anyone.
The dresses
There is a range of long-train gowns in several colours, free to use during your session — you do not need to buy or hire anything. Choosing a colour is worth a moment of thought:
- Red and burgundy against pale dunes — the strongest contrast available, and the one that reads best small on a phone screen.
- White and cream — softer, and the natural choice for bridal or maternity work.
- Blue and emerald — made for the beach, where they pick up the water.
- Black — graphic and unusual, and it holds up at sunset when everything else goes warm.
Where
The desert is the classic. Constant wind, a clean uncluttered background, and dunes that give the fabric somewhere to fall. Best at sunrise, when the sand has no footprints.
The beach gives you sea breeze, which is more reliable than desert wind, and water in the frame. Sunset here is exceptional.
Downtown works for something more editorial — architecture behind you instead of open sky.
How the session runs
Allow about two hours on location. The dress goes on over your own clothes, so there is no changing tent required and you can switch colours easily. Then it is a lot of repetition: the train gets thrown, I shoot the two or three frames where it is at its peak, and we go again. Twenty throws might give five photographs worth keeping, and that is a normal, good result.
Wear something plain underneath and bring hair ties — the same wind that lifts the dress does other things too.
What is included
- Use of the dresses, in whatever colours you would like to try.
- An assistant to handle the train.
- A personal driver to the location and back.
- Water throughout.
- Selected, retouched images at full resolution.
Pricing
Quoted per booking, depending on location, length and the number of retouched images. Tell me your dates and where you would like to shoot, and I will send a price. Book a date with a $50 deposit — flying dress work is in the portfolio.
