What happens if it rains: backup plans that work

The call usually gets made the morning of the session, not three days out, and it is mine to make rather than yours to worry about. Most of what people cancel for is not actually a reason to cancel.

Overcast is not rain

Start here, because this is the most common unnecessary panic.

A grey sky is not a problem. It is a giant diffuser. No harsh shadows, no squinting, even skin tones, saturated color, and the whole day becomes usable instead of just the hour before sunset. A number of my favorite sessions have happened under flat grey cloud.

What actually causes problems is heavy sustained rain, thunderstorms with lightning, and high wind. Wind is the underrated one: it ruins hair, makes light fabric unmanageable and makes everyone cold and tense, and unlike rain there is nowhere to shelter from it. I would rather reschedule for a windy clear day than a drizzly still one.

Two kinds of Philadelphia rain

They need completely different responses, and telling them apart is most of the skill.

Summer storms. Build in the afternoon, break hard, move through in under an hour. These almost never justify canceling a day. They justify moving the start time by ninety minutes. The light right after a summer storm clears is frequently the best light of the season: haze washed out, everything wet and reflective, dramatic broken cloud. More on that in the summer session guide.

Frontal rain. Spring and autumn systems that settle in for six or twelve hours. These do not clear at a convenient moment and there is no waiting them out. This is what an actual reschedule is for.

So the first question on a wet forecast is never whether it will rain, it is what kind of rain and for how long. An hourly forecast answers that; a daily one does not, and a daily forecast showing a rain icon is close to useless for this decision.

How the decision gets made

My approach, so you know what to expect.

Two or three days out: I start watching, and I will not cancel on a forecast this far ahead. Forecasts at that range change constantly and I have watched too many washouts turn into clear evenings.

The day before: if it is looking bad, I say so and we talk options. Nothing is decided yet.

The morning of: the real call, based on the hourly forecast and radar. This is when we decide to go ahead, move the hour, or move the day.

At the session: occasionally we start and it turns. We shelter, wait ten minutes, and usually carry on.

You will not be left guessing. If the weather is doubtful you will hear from me the day before, and the decision will be made clearly by a stated time rather than drifting.

The options, in order

Rescheduling the whole day is the last resort, not the first.

1. Move the hour. Same day, two hours later. Handles most summer weather and costs nothing.

2. Change the location. To somewhere with cover, or somewhere that works better wet. City locations with awnings, arcades and doorways handle drizzle far better than an open meadow does.

3. Shoot in it deliberately. See below. Not for everyone, excellent when it suits.

4. Move indoors. Your home, if that is an option. Window light on a rainy day is soft and lovely, nobody is cold, and small children behave better on their own ground.

5. Reschedule. When it is genuinely all-day rain, or there is lightning, or it is cold and wet together, which is the worst combination for a session with children.

Shooting under cover

Useful places to know about when the sky is uncertain.

Covered walkways, arcades and colonnades. Architectural cover with open light coming in from one side, which is genuinely good portrait light rather than a compromise. The colonnade at the front of a large public building is the classic example.

Deep porches and doorways. Philadelphia rowhouse architecture is full of these. A doorway with the street bright behind it is an excellent frame in any weather.

Underpasses and bridges. Better than they sound: strong shapes, even light and dry ground.

The covered bridge in the Wissahickon, which is exactly what it says and photographs beautifully in rain, though it is a walk from the car.

Market halls, station concourses and other indoor public buildings. Almost all of these require permission for a photography session, and turning up with a camera and a family is not the same as walking through as a visitor. Worth arranging in advance rather than improvising.

Your own front steps. Genuinely. If it is raining and you live in a rowhouse, your stoop under the overhang, with the wet street behind, is a better photograph than most parks.

Shooting in the rain on purpose

Not the fallback. Sometimes the better option.

Wet streets reflect every light source and double the amount of light in a frame. Cobblestone in the rain is spectacular, which makes Old City a rain destination rather than a rain casualty. Umbrellas give people something to hold and something to stand under together, which solves the perennial problem of what couples do with their hands. And rain empties public spaces, so the busiest locations become available.

If we do this deliberately: bring a clear umbrella if you have one, since it lets light through to faces instead of casting a colored shadow. Bring a towel for the car. Wear something that dries. Accept that hair will do what hair does in damp air, and that this is fine.

It suits couples far more than families with small children. A engagement session in light rain can be one of the best sessions of the year. A cold wet two-year-old is just a cold wet two-year-old.

The practical policy

Ask me about the reschedule terms when you book and I will set them out in writing, so a weather call is never a surprise later. The principle behind them is simple: a weather reschedule is not a failure and it is not something you should feel awkward about asking for. Rain is not your fault. The goal is photographs everybody is happy with, and a session shot in miserable conditions to avoid the inconvenience of moving it serves nobody.

One practical suggestion at booking time: if you are shooting in a season with unsettled weather, we can pencil a backup date at the same time. Nothing is lost if it is not needed, and it removes the scramble to find a second slot in a busy month. This is worth doing for anything in spring, and for anything tied to a deadline like holiday cards, where losing a weekend matters.