Photographers worst nightmare: thunder and lightening an hour before your 8am shoot is scheduled.
Yup. I would be lying if I didn't say that I was kind of nervous for this shoot. It was scheduled at 8am at the Ford Yacht Club on Grosse Ile in Michigan. At about 5am and then again at 6am I woke up from the sound of thunder roaring through my window. Great.
As I got up and looked out side, I noticed that the ground was soaked. So Great. Well... it's time like this where you really become a professional photographer and you just have to make it work. The rain stopped, but became this misty wetness in the air, aka a hair nightmare. Good lighting is everything... or so they say. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
It worked. I met Erica and Terry shortly after 8am and the rain had (for the most part) stopped. We immediately starting shooting at the beach front of the Ford Yacht Club. Cute Fact: Erica and Terry met here, so it is a very symbolic place for them. I love when couples add their own personal touches like this to the engagement shoots. There are no signs or props, but just a place. This to me is the best way to really love and connect with your photos. Can you tell I'm not a fan of props?
Fun BTS (Behind the Scenes) fact #1: It was almost rained out. Fun BTS Fact #2: There was Goose poop everywhere. When I say everywhere. I mean e v e r y w h e r e. Romantic, right? As Erica and Terry got into their first outfits I went over to the beach and literally moved sand around with my feet to clear a spot for them to stand and move a little bit. You don't see it in the photos because that is editing magic. Big props to Erica and Terry for being such troopers. Without their good humor and spirits, this would have been a lot harder. New Lightroom ad campaign: Remove Goose Poop and Much, Much More! New RD Photography campaign: I literally will remove Goose Shit for you.
Anyway, back to the not-so-gross stuff. Erica and Terry's beach outfit is a great example of how you can still wear patterns in photos as long as both outfits are cohesive. I absolutely hate photos where everyone is wearing khaki pants and a white tee shirt. You do not have to match completely. The colors just need to work together.
This is also a great example of using your space. GET CREATIVE. This space was not big. The beach itself was only about 15 feet wide. So minus the goose poop area, we only had about 4 feet to work with. As a photographer, move around your subjects. Take it from all different angles to add variety to the shots. This makes 4ft radius sans goose poop look bigger and more interesting. We moved over again and I had them stand on a rock because it was the only part not covered in poop. IT WORKS. The best part of digital photography is that you can take a lot of photos and just delete the ones that don't work.
Overall, this shoot challenged me to be creative and work with what I've got. This is the key to all photo shoots and it's great to have this struggle every now and then to remember how to adapt. If I can do it, you can too.
