Ralphie Rough Road

The day was hot and muggy.  In fact the most humid day of the summer.  The session was scheduled for an early afternoon making the heat even more intense.  To top things off, there was no shade to be found.  Sounds like a disaster for a 50th-anniversary photo shoot right?  Wrong.  The family had a great time.  There was a lot of laughter and many smiles.  Of course, there was a lot of “O.K.  everyone over here”, quick set up, everything looks good, and snap of the camera.  The humidity moved things along quite a bit.

Again, this was not a photographer’s dream photo shoot.  The time of day was wrong, lighting is very harsh at 1 pm.  The heat and humidity rushed things a bit,  I prefer to have time to set things up correctly.  But in the end, it was a great experience for everyone.  It helped me learn to deal with less than perfect conditions and still capture the personality of the family being photographed.  The family had fun joking around and celebrating the couple’s 50th anniversary.

When it came to post processing I definitely had my work cut out for me.  I had the harsh light to deal with and tone down but in the end, the photographs turned out well.

Another family was pleased with my work and enjoyed my personality during the shoot.  I had fun doing what I love to do.  This is what I call a win-win situation.

The take-home message is this if at all possible schedule shoots for early or later in the day.  If the shoot must be scheduled during the day, find a location with shade to offset the harsh lighting.  If none of the above can be accomplished, go with it and make the best of the situation.  In the end, new memories will be made and great photographs can come from even the harshest situations.

One more tip, bring plenty of water!