What are you doing to rain-proof your wedding photos?

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Permalink Reply by David Sherjan Photography on November 22, 2010 at 2:54am

David from DSP writes:

Outdoor ceremonies are always fun and our preferred choice of setup. Shooting wedding all across the UK, a set of umbrella's should never be far from the bag. I can already see UK readers nodding in agreement. Reference communicating with the couple if there is a decent chance of bad weather, I always ask them firstly to bring some umbrella's for the individual shots or as we like to call them, 'The money shots'! And secondly, we tell them to get ready for some arty umbrella poses and of course make sure they are ok with it. They can come out great! I'll always try and have at least one back up location that's sheltered though. When it comes to the wedding portraits, have your poses memorised to suit both the couple and the location and an internal brief of how you want to shoot them. This is especially important in bad weather as you don't want to be shooting in the rain, umming & rrrring, experimenting with poses too much. The couple might start to lose their comfort and this will put pressure back on you.

Shooting the groups indoors is normally a little dull so if bad weather is forecast, I immediately plan one more trip to the venue/s to try and secure a covered outdoor spot to see if there is a chance of still shooting the groups outdoors. Preparation preparation, preparation.

We also have an umbrella supplier on hand, a friend of mine owns the business which is handy, to borrow a couple of umbrella's to match the couples colour scheme. If you have a budget and want to get some with customized messages on then that can be fun too. We have a pair that reads (in smallish text) 'I do, whatever the weather!' If it's wet/rainy, and the couple are game, and you're in a countryside setting, donning wellington's and going for some fun rural shots can be a great addition to their wedding reel. If they have booked a videographer too, and he's either your regular guy or a videoman you know, make sure you liaise with him on how you are planning to shoot in the bad weather as any videographer worth their weight will work in some stills to the final edit. If you can get to the venue with your/the videographer in advance of the day then great as you can throw some ideas around with him. Of course, you should be visiting the venue at least once before the day anyway if you're serious about your work. We had our editor work in 'singing in the rain' one time, when the heavens wouldn't close their curtains, for the wedding portraits and it came out great in slow mo HD.

Oh, one last thing and one of the most important: if bad weather is scheduled...bring appropriate clothing/footwear + spares for you and your team. It's sounds like common sense for most but I've seen it overlooked. There's nothing worse than ruining your smart shoes and having nothing else to wear for the remainder of the day. Not to mention trampling mud around the reception venue!

That's all for now, there are a few other points I'd make but these are the first few things I'd think about.

Happy shooting/filming/singing in the rain.

Best,

David
DSP

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Brunelle on November 22, 2010 at 5:49am

I prefer outdoor wedding ceremonies over any others, but 2009 was a horrible summer here in Massachusetts with the rain, I got a protective cover for my camera just in case, but still it's tough as a wedding photographer with a photojournalistic approach to wedding photography because my brides are hoping to have their wedding captured exactly as it happens. They are going through with their wedding rain or shine, but as a wedding vendor I had no choice but to include a clause in my contracts that I have the option to stop photography if the weather is that bad. There's only so much you can do as a photographer during an outdoor ceremony if it starts raining since you are putting your equipment at risk, and you are also taking a chance the overall quality of the wedding photos being much less than acceptable, but what can you do?! I would love to hear from other photographers who have come across this issue to see what you do when the rain starts...???

Phillip Brunelle
Phillip Brunelle Photography
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Permalink Reply by Mark Anderson on November 24, 2010 at 5:58am

We all have an expectation that the weather will be fine on our wedding day particularly if our wedding day is in mid summer. In many cultures rain on your wedding day is in fact a lucky omen. The Italians have a saying “Sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata” which means that a wet bride is a lucky bride. Although most brides and grooms would prefer to stay dry rain is also a good luck in Germany, Sweden and France as rain is associated with a bountiful harvest, and thus, fertility. In fact the rainier your wedding is the more children you will produce!

Not all cultures consider rain to be a good omen. The saying ‘Happy is the bride whom the sun shines on” can be guaranteed in parts of Spain if the bride’s mother’s chickens can lay a dozen freshly laid eggs and delivered by the bride to the nuns of the convent of St. Clare. Another way to guarantee good weather if you’re catholic is to hang a rosary outdoors on the morning of the wedding. Feeding your cat in the morning will also make the rain go away.

From a photographers point of view rain can really add to the fun, you’ll get some great shots of the guests scurrying around under umbrellas, and you and your new husband can add to the intimacy of the photography by cuddling up together under an umbrella. When you’re getting the wet weather plan in place try and order colourful umbrellas as it will really lift the photographs. The wedding party under a row of red blue or green umbrellas looks much more fun than they will under a row black umbrellas.

Before the ceremony It’s a good idea to think of an alternative choice of footwear to avoid squelching up the isle in soaking wet Jimmy Choos. If your dress gets a little dirty a bit of judicious photoshop work will clean it up for the photographs.

So if you’re getting married in France and the weatherman says it will rain don’t worry, they have a saying “Mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux” which means that you will have a happy marriage as a result of a wet wedding.

http://www.weddingphotographerslondon.uk.com/category/wedding-blog/

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Permalink Reply by Ian Hamilton on November 24, 2010 at 7:32am

I agree with David - umbrellas are a must for UK weddings, no matter what time of year!

But I think that brides need to be realistic when planning the wedding, especially in temperate climates - there's always the chance that it'll rain a little on your day, so plan ahead, talk to your hotel about where the photographs could be taken and where your guests can congregate, and very importantly, include your photographer in the conversation!

It's much better to be ready for the worst-case scenario and then, if things are on your side, you'll have the prefect day. But, if you trust in fate, and think that a summer wedding guarantees good weather, you could be bitterly disappointed.

This is probably the most important day of your life so far, and it's worth having that contingency plan in place - just in case it's needed!

Here's hoping for sunny days ahead for all of us!

Ian.

http://www.ianH.co.uk

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