With the vivid blue sky, white walls, and a ruby-colored dress flowing gracefully in the wind, it appears to be a picture perfect for Instagram likes.
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Originally taken on the gorgeous Greek island of Santorini, these photographs—known as “flying dress” photos—have since gained popularity in other travel destinations, including Dubai, Tulum, and Italy.
Though the images appear as though they were shot for a high-end fashion magazine, the photo shoots are actually quite inexpensive and are increasingly available on websites that let users book travel experiences, such as Viator and Klook.
A Greek island native
Evgenia Volokitina, who co-founded SantoriniDress with her husband Kirill Babenkov in 2016, is without a doubt the queen of flying dress photos.
The couple worked as both wedding and portrait photographers, and Babenkov was supposedly working on a shoot in the Dominican Republic when a stylist gave him the idea to recreate the look for tourists by adding a long train to a gown to add more drama.
They have since grown their company to include Dubai, Italy, and Cuba.
Since Volokitina and Babenkov used search engine optimization (SEO), which is a technique to stuff a website full of keywords to make it easier to find in a quick Google search, it’s nearly hard to find a flying dress photo online that doesn’t somehow link back to their website or social media profiles.
However, success has inspired others in other markets to test out a comparable business plan for photography.
When the coronavirus pandemic struck, she was employed as a wedding planner in Montego Bay, Jamaica, her hometown.
Rather than following her own travel ambition of staging a flying dress photo shoot in Santorini, she chose to take advantage of the trend back home.
She was also fortunate. Jamaica has mostly remained open throughout the pandemic, despite a few brief lockdowns and curfews. Hunter was still able to draw clients because travelers from the US and Canada kept coming to Jamaica for vacations.
Ironically, a good number of her clients were individuals whose vacation plans to Greece had fallen through due to changes or restrictions on travel.
Inside the action
Hunter offers everything from the dress itself—which comes in a range of inclusive sizes for women of different body types—to hair, makeup, and styling assistance upon request. Clients who schedule a photo shoot with Her Dress Jamaica, Hunter’s company, get to select from five different photographers based on whose style they like best.
Whether she owns a wind machine to get the dresses to swirl so dramatically is one of the most frequent questions she receives.
“We always have an assistant on every shoot,” says Hunter. “After getting our clients ready and getting everything in place, we work with the photographer to schedule a 1, 2, and 3 count. We toss the dress, and he quickly makes the shot.
These days, flying dresses have transcended solo experiences, just like most trends. Hunter has organized multiple maternity shoots and group photos for up to 14 women wearing various dresses.
Several analogous photography enterprises have had to devise unique strategies to elevate their game.
Dresses That Fly Based in the well-known resort town of Tulum, Mexico, the company has extended its product line to include waterproof “flowing dresses” that are ideal for floating in cenotes, the vibrant sinkholes filled with water that are scattered throughout the Yucatan peninsula.
In order to ensure that the ring photos are equally Instagram-worthy, other businesses can arrange for a proposal to take place mid-shoot or use a drone to capture the images.
Every flower has a thorn.
However, there are some things that are difficult for even the most exquisite dress to conceal.
One of these shoots was done in the California desert by Christina Kumar.
She tells us, “There were thorns all over my dress because it was in a location with very dense nature, and it was very hot.” The cameraman “had to do a quick rattlesnake check at my standing location.”
During the shoot, she opted to minimize her movements and let the dramatic dress do the talking.
Kumar’s shoot went really well, and she was thrilled with the outcome despite the possibility of catastrophe.
Hunter claims that the unpredictability of Jamaica’s weather is one of the main obstacles to her business. However, models can always wait out the storm in a covered area, and a local photographer accustomed to the weather can quickly take a few stunning images.