The Dunes
On our way back to Las Vegas after shooting in the morning at Rhyolite, we planned an afternoon of rough camping and epic shooting at Amargosa Big Dune. The sand dunes cover about 3,200 acres, about 29 miles south of Beatty on U.S. 95. The Amargosa Dunes formed over time when wind blows excess dirt from a bend in the Amargosa River.
One of the (funny) challenges of the Amargosa Sand Dunes was actually getting into and out of the area. The dunes are known for their off-road camping, dune buggy riding, and shifting of the soft sand as you drive across it. Some of our non-4-wheel drive attendees did in fact get stuck! But there were plenty of people to get them back to safety.
Once we all arrived at our destination, we ate a fantastic catered lunch at our mobile glam camper, courtesy of the Jody Rael Photography team. Everyone fully enjoyed the smoked pork and all the fixings. After we tanked up, we hit the dunes in the back of pick-up trucks for our first shoot there, BoHo.
14 ONE COLLECTIVE REPS - 11 PHOTOGRAPHERS - 3 DAYS
The soft sand inspired the Boho look. Each model styled their own version of Boho. Whether it was gauzy fabrics or muted pastels to full exotic jewelry to flower crowns, we loved seeing what each girl created!
Our second shoot of the day, however, was a bucket list shoot for most of the photographers who attended, our parachute dress shoot. These studios and reps truly went all out. From the bright bold colors to the long flowy gowns, we knew that the wind and spectacular views would make these images something truly special.
Speaking of wind, that was our other main challenge of this particular location. Lots of very sandy wind! We all had tons of exfoliation and were finding sand all over the place after the shoot. Of course for all of us photographers with reflectors and extensive lighting setups, the wind was not our friend. It was a great thing we had tons of parents hanging around who were more than happy to lend a hand holding our lighting aids or fluffing dresses the right way. It was truly a team effort to pull off this awe-inspiring photoshoot.