Your "bad" weather plan?

ssimmonsphoto · March 7, 2009

I'm currently in the process of gearing up for the coming "season". I'm feeling pretty good about everything except for potential weather issues. So, I have a couple questions for y'all here since I'm still a novice in the field.

How do you prepare yourself (and your equipment) for cold (aka winter) weddings? I know about condensation and all that jazz, but I'm curious if there are things that I haven't thought about. I have a shoot in a month in the middle of no where and I know we'll still have a boat load of snow in Maine come then.
What do you bring with you to protect your equipment in case of rain? My Tenba bag, which I am in love with, has a rain cover and will keep its contents fairly safe. But what about the gear I'm using? I have a wedding in June and the bride & groom don't have a back up plan for their outdoor ceremony. I've thought of picking up a pack of emergency rain covers for my camera (saw some in the latest Shutterbug, but the name escapes me right now) that would likely work in a pinch. Or just having my husband get his arm exercises for the day and hold an umbrella for me. But I'm wondering what you guys do.

Thanks for all of your advice. I've learned a great deal over the past few months and feel pretty good about the gigs I have booked for this year. :barb

Snowgirl · March 7, 2009

I'm in New Brunswick (Canada) so I know what you mean about north east weather.

I bought a KATA rain cover for my camera and 200mm lens to shelter them from the worst of rain / snow / wind. My Think Tank backpack also has a rain cover - but that doesn't help much if I have to set it down on the ground somewhere. I'm thinking about taking along a couple of VERY large Rubbermaid tubs to keep my stuff in - and dry. That should help with the worst of the possible situations. Either that, or everything except what I'm using at the moment stays in the car.

jeffreaux2 · March 8, 2009

I had an unforseen experience last summer.

-the night before the "big day" playing goony golf.

go carts...actually captured in a light drizzle...I learned that Phoxles CTO flash gel wasn't waterproof!

I live a few hundred miles from any beach and had never shot a beach wedding, but was hired to travel to Gulf Shores, Alabama to spend a weekend with a couple and their families.....documenting the "goings on" of the weekend and photograph their wedding on the beach. On the day of the wedding...but earlier on...I rode to the beach with the couple as they were going to catch some rays and splash around in the gulf for a few hours. Upon exiting the car with my camera, my lens immediately fogged up. Not the easy condensation on the outside surfaces, but rather inside...between the elements. It took a full 45 minutes before it cleared up.

-That morning at the beach...

I had estimated that the wedding might last ten minutes. If I hadnt had this experience prior to the wedding I would have been hard pressed to get the lenses unfogged before the ceremony was over.

-in the hotel room....before the wedding...

Solution....An hour before the wedding I placed all my gear in the car with the bag open to allow everything to heat up. Transporting from the cold hotel room to hot damp surfside was the culprit. Problem solved. BTW...the ceremony lasted 7 minutes from the procession to " you may kiss the bride".

-later on that evening...

I had feared that sand might be an issue. I brought a large beach mat....covered it with a beach towel....and set my camera bag there. Rather than opening and closing the bag...I left it open, but kept it covered with an additional towel. I relied on two lenses for the ceremony....the two that I had circular polorizer filters to fit....a prime and a zoom. I began with the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 zoom....and switched lenses at some point in the ceremony to an 85mm F1.8 prime.....keeping the spare lens in my cargo shorts pocket....rather than risk fumbling with and possible dropping a spare camera in the sand. Everything else spare was a few feet away in the open bag.

When quoting an outdoor wedding my first question is what is the alternate plan in the event of rain. Regardless of the answer I make it a point to be sure they understand that driving rain and electronics don't mix and that I am unwilling to take chances with gear that cost me...what I think...is a rather large sum of money. My contract also reflects this fact. I would be perfectly willing....and would even welcome the opportunity to shoot in any type of rain that could be managed from beneath an umbrella!

Lastly, I keep a plastic garbage bag in my camera bag that is large enough to hold the entire bag. This is for emergencies and has been used on more than one occasion.

Your "bad" weather plan?

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