No matter when the photo session is, clients are always worried about the weather. And I totally understand! You have put a lot of time, effort, and investment into planning this photoshoot, and you just want everything to look BEAUTIFUL.
Spoiler Alert
We can’t control the weather, and in my experience, there is really no use worrying about it until the DAY of, as the forecasts can change on a dime here on the coast. PLUS, we can still capture some stunning, heartfelt memories when it’s windy, or overcast, or sprinkling.
What I’ve learned over the course of my career is that everyone has such different ideas of what constitutes “bad” weather or what constitutes a “beautiful” shoot! That is why it is so important for the client and photographer to be completely transparent about what their expectations are. With experience in shooting in ALL kinds of weather conditions, it’s hard for me to cancel a shoot unless it is close to hurricane conditions outside. Why? Because I’ve had absolutely DREAMY photo sessions against all odds, in the gloomiest of conditions. Of course, I keep safety and comfort in mind, but if you are down for a little adventure and are open to going with the flow, so am I!
So, “What do we do if it’s raining?”
The short answer is: Reschedule!
I have a very flexible rescheduling policy with all of my clients. I always try to keep at least one other session time open during your available time frame, so that we can push the photoshoot back if needed.
There are some cases where this is not possible for my clients, so in these cases, we just go for it!
Many of my photo sessions are with individuals who are traveling on vacation and only have a limited number of days available to conduct the photoshoot before they leave town. We always discuss all of our date options and I always have a back up plan, but what I’ve found is that the majority of these families or couples prioritize having images captured with EACH OTHER over what the weather is doing in the photographs.
Sierra and Taylor were definitely leaning INTO the chaos on our photoshoot evening.
And I truly believe it made for CAPTIVATING results. A storm was approaching earlier than intended and nobody really realized it until I was trying to park at our meet-up spot. Multiple big red and white barricades blocked my entry into the sandy parking lot at my usual photoshoot beach access. My second favorite beach access was also closed! While I drove around, I called Sierra and let her know that I was on the hunt for a new spot.
Dang it! It didn’t seem that stormy yet? Are the beaches really that inhabitable right now?
I drove back into city limits to find that all of the city beach accesses were still open, so I hopped out of my truck to check for myself. There were many beachgoers admiring the contrasting clouds that raced across the sky. The waves were high and the sand was muddy and strewn with debris from the high tides. Not totally unsafe, but not the prettiest either.
The sun was setting fast, and we had to make a last minute decision. Rescheduling was not an option because Sierra and Taylor were not going to be back in town for a long while, and honestly, the sky was crowded with the most beautiful storm clouds that I did not want to pass up just because it was a little (very) windy. As I scampered back to my vehicle, a deep orange sun peeked in between the clouds for a few seconds, and I knew that glowing orb in the sky is what we had to chase.
On South Padre Island, the sun sets on the BAYSIDE. So, we parked our cars on the northwest side of the island and trekked through the sandy mud until we hit water. It was like our own little private oasis! The overcast weather made for such an intimate, romantic feel for this newly engaged couple. And when that captivating sun pierced through the clouds for the last time that evening, I knew our adventure spirits led us into a successful photo session.
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