Outdoor sessions are beautiful.  Getting outside in beautiful light with space to move around makes for happier clients and beautiful images.  These sessions don’t always come easy, though.  The weather will greatly affect your outdoor session.  Whether we like it or not, we are at Mother Nature’s mercy.  In Northeast PA weather is so unpredictable and often changes quickly.  The weather can get frustrating for you and for me.  But it’s just not something we can control.  So let’s talk about it and be prepared.  Just remember that if the weather affects your session, it will be worth the wait!  I believe that everything happens for a reason.

What weather will cause rescheduling?

• RAIN!  This may be a no brainer, but rain will definitely be cause for rescheduling.  I prefer to wait as long as I can for rain if there is just a chance of showers.  I might even decide to go on with it and we may have to take a break or stop if it rains too much.  If it looks like  a wash out, I’ll call it earlier and definitely won’t even bother trying.
• WIND!  If there are heavy winds, we will reschedule.  I don’t mind light winds to give hair a wispy soft feel, but heavy winds won’t be so gentle and sweet.  Anyone with long hair will have it whipping around and disheveled. Wind will cause clothing to possibly cling to our not so favorite parts and frustrate us more than it’s worth.
• HEAVY CLOUDS!  I don’t mind clouds, I actually love them.  I don’t even mind shooting on overcast days.  What I do mind, are the dark clouds that look like it will rain, although it isn’t raining.  This really limits the light.
• Rain before the session can also make us decide to reschedule.  This will depend on the session and the location.  I love cuddling and being able to get above my clients, so I’ll have clients get down on the ground.  Little ones sometimes fall down when running around and parents often need to get down closer to their babies.  So if the ground is a muddy sloppy mess, this will not make for good pictures.  And who really wants their feet and bottom of clothing covered in mud?  We know how quickly little ones can get muddy.  So even though your session evening might be sunny and perfect, we may have to switch it because the days leading up to it were washed out and the ground is a mess.
• HEAT.  Now, I leave the heat up to my clients.  I will absolutely go out and shoot a session if it’s hot and muggy out.  If you (or someone in your session) sweats heavily in heat and humidity, you may want to reschedule.  We don’t want anyone miserable or dripping.  You know your limits.

How hard is it to pick a new date?

I don’t love rescheduling.  I try to avoid it because we all have busy schedules.  At the same time, photography is an investment for my clients.  You have invested in the session, products, wardrobe and your time.  I want you to have a beautiful session and great experience that was worth it.  The weather is nobody’s fault, none of us can predict or control it.  So we just have to accept it and work around it to get you beautiful images.

My schedule fills up quickly, especially weekends.  I try to keep some weekend slots available in the event of a lot of bad weather.  However, it’s possible that it just won’t be able to happen on a weekend so we may have to look at a weekday.

BOOK EARLY! – If you need images for something special or a specific date, book earlier!  Don’t schedule your session too close.  Not only do you have to factor my turn around time, but also possible weather rescheduling.

Have patience and be flexible!

Hopefully your session goes perfectly and the weather cooperates the first time.  This won’t be the case for everyone.  So just know that going into it.  Know in the back of your mind that we may face weather challenges that we will have to work around.  I want you to love your images and I’m in your corner.  🙂