If you could have any super power, what would it be? Read minds? Teleport? Fly? An awfully tempting choice for me would be to control the weather. My trio of trusty weather apps usually helps me make the right call about whether to proceed with a session, but every so often a dark storm cloud unexpectedly races across the sky, or the sun is naked on what was supposed to be a cloudy day. I of course want to photograph you under ideal lighting conditions, but if the weather surprises us with a lemon, we’re going to use it to make my mom’s lemon squares, because those are pretty awesome.
Last week I traveled from Raleigh to Savannah to attend a photography workshop that included a family session. The forecast was partly cloudy with a high of 70 degrees. Perfect. But at 5pm, within seconds of greeting the family, it began to drizzle and the skies grew more gray by the minute. Thirty minutes into shooting, it was dark, still drizzling, and my turn to take photos.
Cell phone shot of the low light that evening
I guided our adorable model to a shrub, tilted her face up toward the little remaining light, and channeled Tim Gunn to make it work.
Taken at the Twig & Olive Photography Workshop
Do you love seeing behind the scenes as much as I do? I regularly post screen recordings of me editing, session time-lapse videos, and before/after images on my Instagram stories. Come take a look!