Do you hear that crackle, bubble, pop? that's the sound of the dry ice bubbling. I had been wanting to give dry ice a try for a little while. There is a lot to think about and a short amount of time to get it right. I decided that if I got one decent image, I would be happy. I put together two different looks. I then recruited a willing participant. Tamara is such a good sport, as soon as I explained my idea, she was game! I then put Stephen to work being in charge of the dry ice and put my Aiden Skye to work taking behind the scenes, because I knew I was going to want it for this shoot. Then the experiment was in full swing! Set-Up: I made a quick (and sloppy) cardboard coral containing the fog. I gaff taped a white backdrop to the floor, put my coral over it, and then started styling my first set. I had Tamara lie down, propped her head, adjusted her hair, and then styled it around her. In the first set, I used fabric and artificial flowers to see what kind of texture I could create. I knew I wanted an antiqued look, so I stuck with stained and muted tones. We practiced the poses before the dry ice was brought out and my exposure in my camera was already set.
Dry Ice Precautions: Dry ice can cause the room to be stuffy, so I was concerned about this, and in my preparations, we talked about how we would need to get Tamara outside and open the windows immediately after each look. My studio has high ceilings and this turned out to not be an issue at all. Dry ice doesn’t last very long at all, so I went and purchased it right before the shoot. I brought a cooler with me to the store that could pop open if pressure built up inside, that also was not an issue, but I was prepared. I had Stephen assist so that he could be in charge of the dry ice during the shoot. He kept a heavy glove on one hand so that he would be able to handle the dry ice without getting burnt. He set containers with chunks of dry ice around Tamara and poured boiling water on them to start the fog. We quickly learned that the hot water and the dry ice both have the potential to splatter on small dishes, so he quickly incorporated a shield to protect Tamara.
We learned a few things: I had first wanted to do poses with Tamara’s arms above her head and out to the side, but to get the dry ice close enough to surround her body, put her arms at risk of being splattered when the dry ice was bubbling. So I switched to poses that kept her arms in. Long shallow and plastic containers would be ideal for this type of shoot. It really is a short amount of time, so be ready!
The second set went much smoother. Stephen rotated containers of dry ice and kept the water coming.
Comment below what you think! Is it a little scary? Would you give this a try?