Clothing for Waterfall

This is my first post here aside from my introduction. I come to you today seeking advice on a self-assignment I wanna do, which deals with a waterfall and green foliage. I have attached a picture I took of the location. However, it doesn't show the entire area. What cannot be seen in this image is the large flat area out of the cameras view. Wish I had a image of the entire area, but unfortunately I do not.

I have an idea to do a single shot here at the falls location with a friend of mine. She will be wearing a long sun dress for clothing BUT I am struggling with what color would go with this scene. I'm think white would not for what I'm going for. I was thinking along the lines of a light yellow, but I don't know. I struggle with color advise when doing these types of shots.

First, I will compose everything on a tripod with her in camera view, then have her move out of the way and take a long exposure shot of the falls to get the look for the silky water. I will then have her enter back into camera view and take the second picture. Editing will be done in PS to get the final image. But again, I'm torn on what color sun dress to have her wear. Or if members have a different type of clothing ideal, feel free to let me know. And I will say up front, bathing suits are out of the question. Any help or information is appreciated. Thank You.....

Naked works at any water fall JK

I have no idea

I think white, pale yellow or even a pale green might work. Since you are doing separate exposures then try more than one dress.

Hope you are shooting this with a Nikon instead of the Canon you used here.

Don Kuykendall said:

I think white, pale yellow or even a pale green might work. Since you are doing separate exposures then try more than one dress.

Hope you are shooting this with a Nikon instead of the Canon you used here.

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Yeah, Don. The shots will be done with a Nikon D7000. I shot Canon for a while, this picture included, as you stated. However, I'm a Nikon user now, and have been for the past two years now. Had to learn the hard way...lol

tsmith said:

Yeah, Don. The shots will be done with a Nikon D7000. I shot Canon for a while, this picture included, as you stated. However, I'm a Nikon user now, and have been for the past two years now. Had to learn the hard way...lol

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The D7000 is a nice camera. I have one that my wife shoots. It is a real workhorse.

I'd let your lady friend pick the color. Show her the scene I'll bet she'll do a fine job. Me I'd pick red make her jump out of the scene. But it depends on what you want. You could always PS someone in to the scene and see what works for you.

I recently faced this exact dilemma. After much shopping for the "right" color we came to the conclusion it could only be white. In hindsight I still stick to this color as the right choice. It has this ethereal look. The only thing I could have wished for was some wind to blow the bottom of the dress more during the long exposure.

Looking at the background, you will need something tonally warm. If you go yellow, I would go toward saffron/raw sienna/yellow ochre. Stay away from any yellows with a hint of green as they will sour with all the green in the falls. If you want a more emphatic statement, go more to the red with burnt sienna/red oxide. Some of this will depend on the model, of course, and what colors sit well on her.

Don Kuykendall said:

The D7000 is a nice camera. I have one that my wife shoots. It is a real workhorse.

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It has been a great camera. I have a D200 I like a lot as well. Although it's considered a antique, it's still a fine camera.

Needa said:

I'd let your lady friend pick the color. Show her the scene I'll bet she'll do a fine job. Me I'd pick red make her jump out of the scene. But it depends on what you want. You could always PS someone in to the scene and see what works for you.

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i had thought about red after seeing some examples online.

Moab Man said:

I recently faced this exact dilemma. After much shopping for the "right" color we came to the conclusion it could only be white. In hindsight I still stick to this color as the right choice. It has this ethereal look. The only thing I could have wished for was some wind to blow the bottom of the dress more during the long exposure.

View attachment 167158

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i was thinking of a white, but maybe something like a cream white color.

wev said:

Looking at the background, you will need something tonally warm. If you go yellow, I would go toward saffron/raw sienna/yellow ochre. Stay away from any yellows with a hint of green as they will sour with all the green in the falls. If you want a more emphatic statement, go more to the red with burnt sienna/red oxide. Some of this will depend on the model, of course, and what colors sit well on her.

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Thanks for the suggestions. The model has very dark brown hair with a great tan.

Looking forward to seeing the end product.

Moab Man said:

Looking forward to seeing the end product.

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I am looking forward to taking it. Probably do it in a few weeks as water here is awful right now with flooding in the creeks and streams. It has rained hard and multiple times everyday on an off since Monday with no stopping in sight. If it does not stop in the next day or two, I'll just do a jungle scene because my yard is gonna look like one if I can't get it mowed.

Any nice pastel would work well, I'd think. White always goes with waterfalls too.

The obvious solution to me, is for her to bring along several sundresses of various colors that you and she think might work, and to wear a flesh-colored swimsuit or leotard so that she may freely and decently change dresses. Shoot all the different colors that she's brought, and then you can decide later which colors really look the best with this setting.

Pretzel said:

Any nice pastel would work well, I'd think. White always goes with waterfalls too.

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I agree with Pretzel--pastel or white. The area looks like it might be somewhat shaded, and if you go with darker colors, you may lose some subtle shadows in the shade. That would make the clothing lack dimension and depth.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I've got a lot better handle on things from your input.