Help! It’s raining for my photo shoot!

Help! It’s raining for my photo shoot! Ever since photography entered the digital era, client expectations for photographers have skyrocketed. With the advent of digital cameras, Photoshop, and You Tube photography tutorials aplenty, the prevailing mindset is that photographers can now control and manipulate anything and everything:

• We can change color to black-and-white and vice versa
• We can change lighting, creating every imaginable mood under the sun (or moon)
• We can change errant photo bombs, adding and subtracting at will
• We can change teenage blemishes to baby butt soft skin, frowns to smiles, and out-of-control hair to perfectly coiffed hairdos.

But as of yet, the one thing photographers can’t change is the weather. As Mr. Buffett croons, “Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you.”

So what do you when on the big day of your photo shoot the weather just doesn’t cooperate?  This past fall I had a maternity photo shoot in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on the weekend/week/month of record breaking rains. The shoot was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. On Saturday it rained six inches. On Sunday it rained eight inches more.

I wish I could say everything went perfectly and the shoot came off without a hitch. But my client and I did learn some valuable lessons. If you’re a client, there are a few things you need to know about your photographer and the weather:

Lesson #1 – Photographers can control everything except the weather (though we’re working on it). It seems rain, snow, darkness, smoke, and lightning can show up at the most inopportune times. I’ve come to the realization that weather is a part of life – sometimes welcomed and sometimes not welcomed – so make the best of it.

Lesson #2 – Even in the most dire weather conditions, your photographer will be able to capture a few good shots. Truth be told, no photographer is ever fully satisfied with a photo session. Even when shooting the perfect client at the golden hour of the day with extra time thrown in, most photographers will look back on the session with a whole list of, “What if” and “I wish” and “Drats.” But a good photographer can make the best of uncooperative weather.

Lesson #3 – Schedules permitting, it’s okay to reschedule. Sometimes if schedules permit, it’s best to just reschedule the shoot. This is in the best interest of the client and the photographer. You want to set your client up for success in any and every way you can and you don’t want a monsoon ruining your photos, much less your gear. A good photographer will make the best of adjusting schedules.

At Beaufort Photography Co. we’re used to shooting in every imaginable weather condition. And while 13 inches of rain in Myrtle Beach might not be enough to scare us off, we’ll do everything possible to reschedule your shoot or to make the best of it, come rain, sleet, or snow.