As Florida maternity photographers, we get this question a lot. If you know Florida, you know it can be raining on one side of the road and sunny on the other. The weather here is just so unpredictable! Weather apps can’t be trusted to get it right.
So what’s our rain protocol for maternity shoots?
We wait. We contact you about 3 hours before your maternity shoot to let you know that we’re checking the radar to find pockets of no rain. We’ll see what the weather is like up to one hour before your session to gauge if the rain will hold. That still gives us time to push back a little in order to provide your full 90-minute hair and makeup session.
If it looks like it’s clearing up, we can still do your shoot outdoors. Colors come to life after showers, so it might even work in our favor! If the rain is light, we can always work around it. (You’ll see how below.) Finally, if the rain is too crazy, we’ll make the call together on the day of your session. Thankfully we have a few backup plans in cases like these.
Let’s get into it.
1. Let’s head indoors to the studio
As beautiful as an outdoor maternity shoot is, we always have the option to head indoors. In fact, this is the option we recommend the most because we do maternity sessions so close to your due date. Rescheduling can get difficult because babies come as unpredictably as Florida rain showers! We don’t want you to miss your chance to capture this beautiful moment of motherhood.
Pompy Studio is located in the heart of Riverside in Jacksonville, FL. We have several sets and have been known to create some magical studio maternity sessions! If you want to keep your session date and move indoors, we’ll make sure you wish you’d have picked it from the start.
2. Give it 5, then reassess
As we said, Florida is known for its crazy weather. If the option is available to wait 5-10 minutes to see if the weather clears up, we will. It’s possible the rain will stop or that we may be able to spot a nearby outdoor location where it’s not raining. We understand that you have had this vision of an outdoor maternity session, and if an indoor session is just not your style we will work with you.
A little rain never hurt nobody
If we’re dealing with a light sprinkle, we can discuss whether working with the rain outdoors is an option. We don’t recommend this for Mamas bringing younger children or pets, because colds happen. If it’s just you, or you and your partner, a sprinkle of rain can actually enhance an outdoor session.
This opens the door for us to use umbrellas as props, get naturally slicked-back hair, and have dew drops framing you like a literal pregnancy glow!
A rainy session day is not the end of the world
We’re used to working around the weather, especially in the spring and autumn months. No matter what happens, trust that your photographer will make the final decision with you. You will not be forced to do a shoot that you end up regretting, and you will not lose your deposit. In fact, many of our switch-ups have ended up with Mamas in tears at their reveal session over how happy they are with their photos. (And no, it wasn’t just the pregnancy hormones!) That’s what we strive for when you choose us.
Interested in booking your outdoor maternity session? We’d love to capture your glow.
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