A Rainy Weekend
I cannot even begin to talk about this amazing couples photoshoot in the rain, without first saying a HUGE thank you to my dear friends Niamh and Josh. This was a bit of a spur the moment passion project. Niamh and I had been talking about doing a photo session but after having to reschedule once we ended up at this rainy day session! I had expressed a moment of inspiration on Instagram one rainy weekend and Niamh and Josh were sooo happy to step in! They were totally on board with my vision and they love a good rainy day.
Creating a Romantic Vision in Rain
I obviously, may or may not have been inspired in part by that ICONIC scene from The Notebook, but was also just hungry for something unique. Niamh is also a photographer (she specializes in fashion and you should SO check her out- Niamh Falter) so we had as much fun daydreaming ideas for this shoot as we did shooting! The goal for this was playful, romantic, timeless, and a level of movement.
N + J are such fun humans that we knew we needed to capture that integral part of their relationship. But we also really wanted to push some boundaries artistically. We both agreed that some more abstract shots would be amazing to mix in with intimate and playful photographs. I am most proud with this session, that we truly shaped it to be an authentic reflection of who Niamh and Josh are together. I truly could not be more over the moon with how we captured their love. Niamh even told me after that they had never had professional photos taken of them- even at their wedding! I may have then cried. What an honor it was to photograph this couple!
Tips for Doing a Couples Photoshoot in the Rain
Rain can be such a beautiful and romantic element in photography but uhhhh…. it’s a little intimidating right? I mean our cameras are (mostly) digital at this point so rain + tech is not a great mix. But there are ways to protect yourself and your gear! I posted a Reel over on my Instagram if you’d like to watch and not read my DIY tip on protecting your camera in the rain. But if you’re here for the blog post I’ll go a bit more in depth. So let’s talk about shooting in the rain.
Protecting Your Camera
Protecting your camera is top priority (besides safety of your couple- maybe don’t shoot if there’s lightning ya know). There is of course some pretty expensive water housing kits you could get but I find this is a bit excessive for your average photoshoot in the rain. What I found that works is this little DIY trick. Take a plastic bag (I re-used a produce bag) and put it over your camera with the bottom of the bag firm against your lens. Then, take your lens hood and fasten it on over the bag. Once, that’s done simply and carefully cut that part of the bag away so it doesn’t impede your lens. The lens hood will keep the bag in place to protect your camera and the lens hood will keep most the rain off your glass.
Fun Shooting Techniques to Try
However, I must say that you can get some beautifully dreamy haze around your image if you also want to play with letting a bit of the bag overlap your lens! Just something a little fun and weird to try. Other techniques you may want to try in the rain, would be playing with your shutter speed and aperture! With the constant motion of the rain you can get several different looks just by slowing/increasing your shutter speed or stopping up/down your aperture. With a fast shutter and small aperture, you could really freeze those droplets in motion or if you decide to slow things down you may get some beautiful motion blur from the rain to create an interesting environment for your subject. Either way, this is the best time to just have fun!
As always, if you enjoyed this post, please scroll down to see the rest of their gallery or head over to my Couples page to check out booking a couples photoshoot of your own! xoxo, Randi
