Inclement Weather...It is an Opportunity!

Hello every one and welcome back to another Terrific Tuesday!

Last week I was doing some on location photography for one of my classes, the day was sunny and hot and not a cloud in the sky.  About one hour into the shooting, some clouds appeared and lo and behold, it started to rain.  My first reaction was to close shop and tell my model to come back another day, to my surprise before I had the chance to say anything she said; “Lets’ take some pictures in the rain!”  I was like: “Ok, but your makeup and dress are going to be a mess”, to which she quickly replied with a “no problem”.  For the next 1 ½ hours I followed her through the park getting images of her with different backgrounds that included some great cumulus clouds, rain in front and behind her, rain splashing in the creek and pond, etc…

Don’t go wondering what is the point, it is simple; inclement weather is an opportunity, not a hindrance.

You might be thinking that you need to be prepared for it, well sometimes you need to be, but that is a quick fix.  Always have some type of protection for your camera, simple!  Some of you might also be thinking that photography is all about light, which is true, but that light don’t always have to be with a strobe, the sun, tungsten lights, continuous lights or hot shoe flash.  Sometimes the challenge might be using clouds as a filter, rain as part of the background, catch that lighting coming down, there are many different challenges to think about when dealing with inclement weather.  Let’s see some of the challenges that you might face.

1.    Your mind set might be that everything has to be sunny and bright for great images.  Your comfort zone is too comfortable to expand out of it?  Nothing wrong with that but consider that sometimes going outside of your comfort zone might improve you as a photographer.

2.    You like to plan ahead and never had a thought about planning for pictures when inclement weather is forecasted.  Well, not you can think about it and plan ahead some shooting, you don’t have to be out there, do it from your porch, window or patio.  Whatever you do, NEVER put yourself in danger around inclement weather!!!

3.    Planning a shooting that require some moody concept or theme?  Dark clouds and somber atmosphere is helpful, so besides some studio scenario, plan ahead and use the weather to set the mood.

4.    Be prepared for it.  Yes, you have a notion of what you want to shoot and how to shoot it and you have planned for your vision, however, sometimes a little change here and there can make your vision more like a revelation!

So, there you go, you see clouds coming your way why not think “I wonder what great opportunities that will bring my way!”  And above all have fun and be safe!  Want to read more about the topic, then follow this link for an article about inclement weather:

http://digital-photography-school.com/the-6-challenges-for-photographers-to-making-the-best-of-bad-weather

Take a look at the pictures in this blog, they were all taken either after a big storm or during the actual rain, let me know if you like them!

Have some comments or questions about what I have shared?  Drop me a line, we can all win by sharing our experiences and opinions.  Until then, see you around cyberspace!

Tuesday Ambassador