What can be more pressure for a photographer than photographing another photographer?
Ooh-ooh, I know! Doing it in 10 minutes in low light and in the rain!
The Challenges
My first challenge was the time. Though we planned this shoot long ago, things come up, like an end-of-season Soccer game for Christine’s older kids. It needed to be a late afternoon shoot, so I knew the light wouldn’t last long.
Then, there was the darn weather. It was forecasted to rain today, and it did. On and off heavy rain. Even when it stopped raining, the rain clouds were heavy and dark, and we didn’t know when the rain would start to pour again.
Just before our shoot, there was about a 2 hour window of dry weather, so we decided to take a gamble and go for it!
Little did we know what was in store for us…
How It Worked
First, I switched the location to an open area to maximize the light. Our original location had too many trees, which is beautiful, but not good for a dark day. Plus, I wanted a place we could park right where we needed to shoot to maximize our time.
Next, I started shooting right away. I don’t usually do mini shoots because I like having time to get to know the family and giving children a chance to warm up. But today, we didn’t have time for that. We started a couple minutes after introductions!
My goal (and Christine’s) was to capture one nice family photo! As a photographer, I know how hard that is to come by! So I really, really, really wanted this for her! 🙂
How Long
I arrived at 3:15pm and I was back in my car at 3:30pm!
The shoot lasted roughly 5 minutes before the rain started coming down hard, and I shot for another 5 minutes in the rain. We called it quits when the kids were soaked and I could no longer see what I was shooting!
Considering the challenges with time, light, and pressure, I am happy with the turn-out. Here is a sneak peek from my mini-est shoot ever!
