1. Clouds Are Not Bad
I'm asked this question a lot. "Is a cloudy day bad for photos?" The short answer is no.
Have you ever seen a photographer use an umbrella or softbox over their flash? We pay extra for those accessories because they soften the edges of shadows and give the light a more attractive look. Clouds do exactly the same thing for the sun and we love it.
2. 10-Day Forecasts are Useless
Where I live in North Carolina, The weather can turn on a dime from hour-to-hour. I've even experienced all four seasons in the span of a week! Sometimes I'll receive an email from a client a week or more before our session saying the forecast is looking grim and asking if we should reschedule.
Unless you live in the desert, where the weather is fairly predictable, looking at a forecast any farther than three days out is a recipe for unnecessary stress for yourself. I don't want that for you. There are times when canceling due to weather is necessary, but we tend to have those conversations the day before, or even the morning of the session, based on the percent chance of bad weather.
3. Rain Won't Stop the Party
No one hopes for rain on their wedding day or portrait session. Still, it happens sometimes. When it does, your venue will have a plan in place to ensure everything goes smoothly. If you hire a wedding planner, they will be thinking about how to handle the weather for your event long before it might be an issue.
We created the images above at a wedding in Pinehurst in the middle of a hurricane. Right before the reception began, the country club lost power and the only light in the room was from the candles and the emergency lights over each exit. The caterer was able to use a backup generator to complete the dinner. The band switched over to acoustic instruments and everyone partied as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
For our part, we always bring our battery-powered flashes to every reception to add sparkle to the scene.
4. We'll Make the Best of the Situation
The images above were taken in the middle of a downpour during Hurricane Matthew. Hard to tell? I know! We took the wedding party outside on a covered patio and used our lighting to make them look great. We also made sure the background was nice and blurry so the falling rain did not show up in the photos.
The images below are of a bridal portrait and were also created during a downpour. I happen to know a few locations that, while they're fully outdoors, they are also fully covered, so rain won't stop us from producing beautiful images.
5. Umbrellas Make Pretty Cool Accessories
They're not in the same league as a gorgeous bouquet, but they do fall in the category of things you don't see in photos often. Because of that, I think they can be a nice addition to a session.