So I am an outdoors photographer, which means I have to battle daily Northern Ireland's greatest enemy and joy - RAIN! It rains a lot here. When we moved here from the south of England, my husband - born and bred here, as opposed to me coming here for summers from humid countries and thinking It was a blessed relief - warned me of the lush, green, soggy landscape and its perpetually overcast skies. Bah, said I. I've summered here, plus I've lived in England half my life. I KNOW wet weather!
Boy was I wrong. It's so wet here.
And I have chosen to be an outdoors photographer! Am I punishing myself by not deciding to go down the path of having a warm cosy studio?! You'd think so ... but no. I just really love being outside, I love nature, I love natural light, and I love how excited and free kids are when they're outdoors. And believe me, if you add rain, wellies and umbrellas into that mix it gets a whole lot more fun! And trust me, parents; even YOU will find yourself jumping in some puddles, kicking water at your small person and finding that inner child is jumping for joy!
Some of my clients here in Northern Ireland are people I have known since I started up here. They come back to me because they love their images, and the experience they have with me photographing them, which makes me really happy. They want to have those photos of their kids giggling, running, jumping, playing, and they want to be a part of that too!
When I get enquiries, I often get asked the following questions pretty regularly. I thought I'd do a post to answer some of those questions for existing and future clients! Here we go...
What if it rains?
This is the best place to start, as it's hands down the most regular of the regular questions I get asked. And really, it depends; because a small amount of rain isn't going to ruin anybody's day, but bucketing down, gushing, apocalyptic rain is likely to ruin everybody's day! I keep a close eye on the weather in the run up to all photo sessions, and may be in touch to reschedule to earlier or later in the day if very heavy rain is fore-casted. So it helps to be flexible; when dealing with the outdoors, flexibility is essential anyway!
I always carry a waterproof blanket in my car and a couple of umbrellas, and my wellies. I'd suggest you bring wellies and waterproofs if it is looking like it might be a bit wet. And yes, if there's just a bit of rain fore-casted, then let's get out there! If you have a session booked with children who can walk and we were going to have a playful session running around and exploring then we can usually find gaps in the rain and the wet ground isn’t a problem – jumping in puddles is lots of fun! That said, if it’s absolutely pouring with rain then of course we’ll rearrange, to a date that we decide on together.
It's cold - I'm worried my child will freeze outside!
As someone who hates being cold, I can empathise with this. Being cold is the worst! But also, my favourite season to photograph outdoors is autumn, and it can get pretty chilly. My advice?
LAYERS!
Get layered up! Multicoloured, warm, fabulous layers! Just as you would if you were taking yours kids out to the park, or for a healthy, invigorating (!) walk. You could consider making the outside part of the look; you can pick up cheap accessories like hats and scarves in shops like Primark, H&M (I particularly love H&M for the way it changes its tones for for the seasons), or even pick matching coats for the kids. Thermals, tights, leggings, socks, vests, t shirts, jumpers, gloves, hats, scarves .... just layer them up, if they do end up too warm the beauty of layers is you can strip them off one at a time.
Don't forget too that your small person/people are likely to be running about and kids are generally more resilient to the cold than us grown ups. I usually have a pair of tights on under my jeans, and at least two pairs of socks on if I know I'm going to be outside anywhere for a long time. And a thermos of tea/hot chocolate!
Where will we go?
I have a few places in Armagh and the surrounding areas that I know produce gorgeous photos. We can discuss where we will go, as a lot of people have their own special place they go to with their family and want that place in their photos. There are so many beautiful spots, and you'd be surprised what you can achieve out of some of the places that don't look quite as picturesque as others - beauty is everywhere!
So please don't be concerned about booking an outdoors session. I will be in touch before the session, and if needs be we can reschedule - flexibility is important when booking an outdoors photographer! But take that leap of faith in nature with me - you will be rewarded with some gorgeous photos!
All photos in this blog are from rainy days :) To see more of my photos, please head to my portfolio! And you can check out my Facebook page, and my Instagram.
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