Into the River: Carl Thomson Creates Dreamlike Underwater Fashion Photography with Outex

Below the Surface: Turning a French River Into a Fashion Studio

British photographer Carl Thomson took a Nikon D850, a 14–24mm ultra-wide lens and an Outex underwater camera housing into a cold river on the French Riviera. The resulting photographs blur the line between underwater portraiture, fashion and fine art.

There are photographs that look almost too perfect to have happened. A couture dress floats through clear water. Shafts of sunlight illuminate its fabric. A model appears suspended among rocks as reflections and moving water distort the world around her.

For Carl Thomson, the photographer behind these images, that's part of their appeal. Everything you see was created for real, underwater and in-camera. No AI-generated environment. No studio recreation.

Just a photographer, model, couture designer, a remarkably patient safety assistant—and an Outex waterproof camera housing protecting Carl's Nikon D850 in the river.

From the French Riviera to Underwater

Carl Thomson is a British professional photographer and founder of Carl Thomson Photography, based near Cannes and working throughout Monaco and the French Riviera. With more than 25 years behind the camera, Carl's career spans weddings, international events, portraits, editorial and commercial photography. His assignments have included photographing Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace as well as figures including Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates, while his fashion and wedding photography has appeared in Vogue Italia. But alongside his professional assignments, Carl makes time for personal projects that allow him to experiment.

And one experiment in particular kept pulling him back underwater.

It Started With a Wedding Dress

The story began when Carl photographed Evey Preudhomme and her husband Michael's wedding in the South of France. They had planned an underwater bridal session shortly afterward, but approaching bad weather moved the shoot forward. So, the day after her wedding, Evey climbed into a swimming pool. In her actual wedding dress. The results were remarkable—but creating them was anything but effortless.

Once submerged, the wedding dress became extremely heavy. Trapped air had to be removed before Carl and Evey could begin controlling the fabric. Each photograph required repetition: submerge, shoot, surface, adjust an arm or expression or section of fabric, breathe—and do it again.

"Evey was extraordinary. I remember thinking during that first shoot that she was an absolute machine."

The photographs looked so surreal that Carl says people subsequently asked whether they were AI-generated. They weren't. And that experience planted the seed for something considerably more ambitious.

From Swimming Pool to Wild River

Carl wanted to move beyond the controlled environment of a swimming pool and create underwater fashion photography in a completely natural river. He contacted Evey again. This time the proposition involved colder water, rocks, current and considerably less control over their surroundings.

Her response?

"We didn't have any plans to come back to the South of France this summer, but we do now."

The project was on.

A Couture Dress Designed for the Water

Carl next approached Natasha Patient Couture in Cannes.

Rather than simply providing an existing garment, designer Natasha Patient created a couture dress specifically for the underwater project. She called it Ophelia.

The dress transformed beneath the surface.

Its fabric expanded and folded around Evey, catching shafts of sunlight and creating constantly changing shapes. In some photographs, the dress almost becomes another subject—sharing the composition with Evey and the river.

That unpredictability was precisely what Carl wanted.

"The way the fabric behaves underwater is incredible. It catches the shafts of sunlight, expands and folds around Evey, and sometimes almost appears to have a life of its own."

Natasha's Cannes atelier specializes in bespoke wedding and evening wear, with individual pieces designed and handcrafted in Cannes.

Nikon D850 + 14–24mm + Outex

For the shoot, Carl chose a combination he already knew:

Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Nikon 14–24mm ultra-wide-angle
Underwater housing: Outex

Carl has owned his Outex system for several years.

"I don't get the opportunity to use it as often as I'd like, but whenever I work on something like this, I'm reminded just how exceptional it is."

That ability to take familiar professional photography equipment into an entirely different environment is central to the Outex philosophy. Rather than requiring photographers to adopt a dedicated underwater camera, Outex is designed around the cameras and lenses photographers already use. The modular system accommodates a broad range of DSLR and mirrorless cameras—including the Nikon D850—and allows photographers to maintain access to their camera controls underwater.

For Carl, that meant his underwater equipment didn't determine his creative choices.

His creative idea determined the equipment.

Why an Ultra-Wide Lens Works Underwater

Carl's choice of the Nikon 14–24mm was deliberate. Underwater, getting close matters. Water between the lens and subject reduces clarity, contrast and color. An ultra-wide-angle lens allowed Carl to remain physically close to Evey while still capturing the extraordinary scale of the Ophelia dress and enough of the surrounding rocks, water and riverbed to establish a sense of place. Instead of isolating Evey from the environment, Carl could incorporate it into the photograph. That helped turn an underwater portrait into something much more cinematic.

The Part You Don't See in the Finished Photograph

This is also where Carl's behind-the-scenes footage becomes fascinating.

The final photographs appear serene. Creating them wasn't.

Carl was simultaneously swimming, holding his breath, monitoring Evey, watching the dress, avoiding rocks, anticipating changing sunlight and trying to compose through an ultra-wide-angle lens. Then there was his wetsuit.

The cold water made it necessary—but its buoyancy kept trying to return Carl to the surface whenever he wanted to photograph from Evey's level or below.

"Occasionally, just remaining in position long enough to take the photograph was half the battle."

Unlike a swimming pool, the river didn't cooperate either. Depth changed. Visibility changed. The current moved. Evey moved. Carl moved. The dress moved. Sunlight moved across the riverbed. And somewhere within all those variables was the photograph.

"Can We Just Do One More?"

Underwater portrait photography can be surprisingly dependent on tiny details. A hand several centimeters out of position. An expression. The direction of the fabric. A shaft of sunlight appearing at precisely the right moment. Carl and Evey therefore developed a rhythm. 

Dive -> Photograph -> Surface -> Breathe -> Review -> Make adjustments -> Repeat.

"I think 'Can we just do one more?' became my phrase of the day."

The repetition paid off.

Safety Is Part of the Shoot

An ambitious underwater project also requires careful attention to the people involved. Evey remained in control of when she wanted to rest or stop, while Michael stayed in the water throughout the shoot to watch her and help ensure she was comfortable. Carl jokingly describes him as their "Baywatch safety department." That support was especially valuable because even though the Ophelia dress was lighter than Evey's original wedding gown, large amounts of fabric can become cumbersome underwater. With Michael focused on Evey's wellbeing, Carl could focus on creating the photographs.

Fashion. Portraiture. Fine Art.

Carl didn't want simply to photograph someone underwater. His objective was to create something that occupied the space between underwater fashion photography, portraiture and fine-art photography. The river wasn't merely a location. It became part of the image. Rocks provided structure. Reflections fragmented the scene. Sunlight created natural spotlights. The water altered movement. Natasha's dress changed shape from one second to another. Instead of trying to eliminate those variables, Carl incorporated them. The resulting photographs feel controlled and unpredictable at the same time. And that's perhaps what makes them so compelling.

The Camera Goes Where the Idea Goes

Carl's project also illustrates a fundamental idea behind Outex:

Water shouldn't have to determine which camera you use.

Outex's universal, modular approach is designed to work across a wide range of DSLR and mirrorless camera bodies and lenses. Photographers can retain tactile access to camera controls and configure the system around different equipment rather than treating underwater photography as an entirely separate photographic ecosystem. For photographers who also travel, that flexibility has another advantage: Outex is compact and lightweight compared with many traditional rigid underwater housings. So an underwater system doesn't necessarily have to consume another piece of luggage—or remain at home because you weren't certain you'd need it.

For Carl, the result was straightforward.

He could take the Nikon D850 and 14–24mm lens he wanted for the photograph into an environment where an unprotected camera could never go.

What's Next?

Carl isn't finished with underwater portraiture.

Through Carl Thomson Photography, he plans to offer a limited number of bespoke underwater portrait and fashion photography sessions on the French Riviera in 2027. And he's already thinking about what to create next.

About the Photographer

Carl Thomson Photography is based near Cannes and works throughout the French Riviera, including Cannes, Monaco, Nice, Antibes and Saint-Tropez.

Explore Carl's photography at carlthomsonphotography.com and follow @ctphoto23 on Instagram.

Credits

Photography: Carl Thomson / @ctphoto23
Model: Evey Preudhomme
Couture: Natasha Patient Couture / @natashapatientatelier
Underwater Camera System: Outex
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Nikon 14–24mm

Ready to take your own camera somewhere new?

Explore Outex underwater camera housings and find a system for your DSLR or mirrorless camera.

Photographer Carl Thomson has spent 25+ years shooting editorial and high-profile commercial work. For this project, he took his Nikon D850 into a French river — protected by an Outex underwater housing — to create a series of underwater fashion portraits with couture designer Natasha Patient, whose Ophelia dress was handcrafted in Cannes specifically for this shoot.

Learn more about Carl Thomson's work: carlthomsonphotography.com

About Natasha Patient Couture: Natasha Patient creates individually designed, handcrafted couture pieces from her atelier in Cannes. natashapatiencouture.com