Rain and still getting the shots

Bsimon

All of you more experienced photogs, please let me know how you handle rainy wedding days and still get great shots outdoors.

How do you protect your lights?

Camera and lens?

I would obviously consider having someone hold an umbrella but that wouldn't really help the lights, nor would I always have someone available to hold the umbrella in the first place.

Do you use the camera rain bags? Simply make sure you are under cover and give the bg some cool looking umbrellas?

Moogle Pepper

Well how rainy are we talking? If it is storming out I doubt nothing less than an adventurous couple would want to be out there in the crazy pouring rain on their wedding day.

But... zip lock bags and duct tape for the camera! For lights? natural light.

tenoverthenose

Torrential downpour = http://www.aquatech.net/DC-5V2-Canon-5D-MarkII.php

Otherwise, I take advantage of my 1dii weather sealing. I haven't had a problem yet.

heatherfeather

Well... funny you should ask. I just experienced the raniest summer in Alaska since the 50s... and had a wedding every weekend. Fortunately, Alaskan girls are brave and willing to play in all sorts of weather... But it does pose a problem for my equipment.

Here is what I do... Put a brolly on a lightstand and pivot it so the lightstand holds the umbrella above me. And I haul it around like an IV pole and hunker down under the "shelter". I have a 60 inch umbrella if it is really bad, but for light rain, usually a 40 incher is fine.

I do have rain sleves, but those are SUCH a pain to work with. I did use them for a couple weddings, but seriously... they inhibit quite a bit.

I did find one photo of me using my tactics... here is a shot by my second shooter of the day... Obviously I wasn't the subject, so excuse my cut off everything... you get the idea. (Also this did not make it into the set, for obvious reasons)

I actually bring 2 umbrellas to every single wedding for the bride and groom just in case... Il do what I can to talk people into playing outside!

DC-Photog

Most outdoor weddings have tents.

I've never met a couple who wants to go into heavy rain. Maybe a light drizzle if we have a nice, large black umbrella with us.

smurfy

Find a portico, porch, carport, or anything with a roof big enough to protect the three of you to shoot under. Bank drive throughs, high school or courthouse steps with pillars and a large overhang on the roof, the carport at some apartment building or hotel entrances... Any stucture that will give you a place to take pictures without getting drenched, while hopefully having some pretty greenery or architecture you can use in the background or foreground. Of course, you may need permission to use some places.

An umbrella can add a lot to the photos even if the couple are in that protected location. No need to worry about camera equipment because it's not really being exposed to the elements.

Since rainy days have soft, diffused, beautiful light for portraits, there's no need to do much with that light, perhaps beyond a reflector or a touch of fill if you feel you need it.

The only rainy day wedding where I got no outdoor shots at all was a full blown hurricane two years ago; it was the wind that made outdoor photos impossible.

Matthew Saville

Bsimon wrote: »

All of you more experienced photogs, please let me know how you handle rainy wedding days and still get great shots outdoors.

How do you protect your lights?

Camera and lens?

I would obviously consider having someone hold an umbrella but that wouldn't really help the lights, nor would I always have someone available to hold the umbrella in the first place.

Do you use the camera rain bags? Simply make sure you are under cover and give the bg some cool looking umbrellas?

Stay out of the rain as much as possible, and let weather sealing handle the rest. Drying the camera off as often as possible is usually just fine for a drizzle, or for a downpour then yeah an umbrella on a light stand or tripod would do the trick.

=Matt=