Rain, rain go away...I have a wedding today...

[_Jo_]

I know I should be no stranger to a wedding in the rain - I have done a few...but it has really set in today - cloudy, misty relentless rain. I need some quick inspiration! Post your best tips/ideas on how you coped with wicked weather on a wedding day. Pics would be great too, explaining set up.

The wedding was meant to be on a farm, outdoors with loads of hay bales!! :(

[_Jo_]

Be quick...lol...I leave in 3 hours.

[benny g]

use walls that have awnings... and shoot along the wall keeping the couple at a nice focal distance... it adds a nice depth to the photo.

dont worry...im in the same boat today, hopefully we dont need a boat but know at least you are not shooting in the wet alone... :)

[Valjoy]

I would love to help...Unfortuneately I have not as yet done a wedding in the rain.
I would also love to see some rainy day weddings and how photographers handled the situation.
I have seen some beautiful shots after rain...but not actually while it is raining.
Good luck and be sure to post some results for us.
cheers Val

[harroz]

use indoor areas and overhangs, umbrellas too:), look at the natural light and how it falls through windows/doors etc, you'll be surprised at the amount of good shots can be taken once you start thnking along those lines. don't be disheartened by shooting the wedding ceremony inside as opposed to what it could've been, you're there to record the day so click away.
I haven't done one yet, but I'm looking forward to having the chance to shoot a wedding in the rain one day:).

if you're in a barn with hay bales already there you'll be sweet

hope I'm not too late

[PeaceFire]

Later on in the evening see if the bride and groom are willing to go outside and get a little wet. There are some amazing "wet" pictures out there. Also get them standing in front of a window where you can see the rain drops through the window.

And remind the b&g that rain on the wedding day is good luck. It'll help lighten the mood which may be a bit down because of the rain.

Good luck!

[Wazza]

Hope you did well.
I had one yesterday, in the worst rain this summer. Very challenging indeed, and all depends how adventurous the newlyweds. We did a few shots outside with 4 white umbrellas, but the rest were mostly candids getting ready etc.

[tim]

Well it was sunny today in Wellington! Yesterday was HORRIBLE! Here's one from today, i'm sure I have better but i've only looked at about 10% of the 1800 photos from today - I was at the wedding 13 hours.

http://mrwild.co.nz/unprotected/temp/SunnyToday.jpg

[harroz]

at first i thought that was taken in a studio with a backdrop :)

how'd you get on Jo?

[benny g]

nice timmy... was it off camera flash for the fill?

[benny g]

so the rain parted for a little while... yet i dont know how wet their bums were...;)

benny

[tim]

nice timmy... was it off camera flash for the fill?

I'm not even sure if I used flash in that photo. If I did it definitely wasn't off camera, as my assistant who does that was on a pier at the time shooting from a different angle.

[lil_miss]

I'm not even sure if I used flash in that photo. If I did it definitely wasn't off camera, as my assistant who does that was on a pier at the time shooting from a different angle.

Looks like flash as you can see a shadow on her arms from the flowers... I was surprised to see the sun in Wellington.. I managed to do one of my portrait sessions outside, which was great!

Hope you survived the wedding Jo... I was thankful this was the one weekend in three months that I dont have a wedding! :O

How was yours Warren... ?

[tim]

Yeah I think you're right, I was below them so I must've been using flash to cause those shadows given there's shadows on the other side from the sun. For part of the day I was at ISO100 F2.0 1/8000th!

[Peacefield]

At the risk of hijacking a perfectly good thread, I have questions about how you as photographers deal with the rain. If you shoot alone as I sometimes do, how do you protect the equipment when trying to shoot in bad weather?

[tim]

If it's wet don't go outside. That's a complex solution I know, but it works for me ;)

[_Jo_]

Well, we had some breaks in the weather so managed to get some good outdoor shots! It did make for a nice stormy sky in the car shot. •g•

1 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-263.jpg

2 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-348.jpg

3 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-357.jpg

4 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-280.jpg

5 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-287.jpg

6 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-301.jpg

7 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-460.jpg

8 http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/jostewartphotos/Weddings/Ruddle-389.jpg

[_Jo_]

seriously! It had previously been pouring down...I was very lucky the sun come out when it did.

[lil_miss]

Nice work.. shame the bride looks so tense :(

[_Jo_]

Nice work.. shame the bride looks so tense :(

Thanks. I think that is just her 'look'...she wasn't tense - certainly not by the end of the day!! lol...they had a great booze/snack hamper during our photos.

[tim]

Can you recover the highlights in the dress?

[_Jo_]

Can you recover the highlights in the dress?

I tried - but the sun was so bright shining on her dress that when I try it darkens the face and other areas to much. I tried to balance it - does it not work?

[_Jo_]

Can you recover the highlights in the dress?

This is one of the original raw versions - feel free to have a play and see what you can come up with. If you do - let me know what you do! Cheers.

[tim]

Did you use highlight recovery within RAW? If not then try shadows and highlights, do it on a 2nd layer and use a layer mask so it only applies to the dress.

[tim]

This is one of the original raw versions - feel free to have a play and see what you can come up with. If you do - let me know what you do! Cheers.

I don't see a link. I don't have time to mess about as I have a bunch of weddings in my queue, but the techniques I described above should work.

[_Jo_]

Did you use highlight recovery within RAW? If not then try shadows and highlights, do it on a 2nd layer and use a layer mask so it only applies to the dress.

ok - I will give that a go.

[howzitboy]

ive shot in rain lotsa times. i just wear a rain coat and hide my camera inside it until im ready to shoot. then blast away and wipe away raindrops on lens with my towel. where i shoot, umbrellas dont work cuz the wind is usually so strong, the rain goes sideways.

BUT, i always ask couple if they dont mind getting wet before we venture outside. if they dont want to get wet, ill shoot from inside the church(in doorways) towards the outside. i try to get it to look like we arent inside the church.

[lil_miss]

We're going to be in this boat this weekend.. another torrential rain storm planned.. bummer.... oh well :D lol

Try the "Recovery" slider in CS3 Camera Raw.. that should bring your highlights back and not the face....

[tim]

Wellington doesn't sound like it's going to be quite as wet as up there, the forecast says to put anything inside that could end up flying around! Fingers crossed we get some outside photos down here before the weather hits. Fortunately it's a church ceremony, so we'll stay dry, and we can probably take some nice photos at their reception location even if it's wet - it's the oldest golf course/club in the country.

[lil_miss]

Ours will be forced indoors if its wet unfortunately.. there are a few locations indoors for photos, but the whole venue has stunning gardens which is a shame :( :( They're not fussed on getting their feet wet with an umbrella, so if its not TOO bad, I might still be able to get a couple of shots outside... ack.. lol

[tim]

My plan is to have them stand in a large doorway and shoot from high up so you can see the gardens outside.