I like to consider myself a good photographer, one who is willing to go the extra step and get the really cool shot. And while this has seemed to work out for me in past shoots, I think I took it one step too far this time.
When my sister-in-law asked me about doing her trash the dress session, I thought it would be fun. But that was only after much hesitation and reminding her nearly every time I saw her that her dress will never be pretty white again. But she was okay with that and she wanted some fun photos in her dress one last time. So we did it. We decided to shoot Lisa’s session around seven that evening. She wanted to go to Big Talbot beach, which is a beautiful beach, by the way! The whole way up there, Lisa, her husband, and myself had our iPhones out watching the storm on top of Jacksonville. Not just any storm, severe lightening, hailing, and possible flooding. (What can I say, we go all out when we plan for shoots!) Needless to say, I was a little concerned. And it wasn’t like we were going to a place when if all else fails, we can shoot inside. No. We were shooting on an isolated beach, with fallen trees, in open water. Not exactly the safest plan.
So we said a little prayer. Or two, or three, and so forth. We get out there and shoot for about one minute when we felt the rain. Yikes! My brand new camera and water do NOT mix. So my wonderful husband stood over me with a towel over our heads, my sweet bride and groom posed quickly, and we got the shots.
Does anyone know how big waves get during a storm? HUGE! Trust me, I was standing in them. My poor husband was still holding a towel over my head and had gotten the job of telling me when the waves were coming so we wouldn’t drown. We were not always successful. And I’m pretty sure we got dirtier than our bride or groom, by the way. But we said more prayers. These prayers of course were not by any means that it would stop raining. The prayers went more like this: “Dear Lord, I know we’re stupid. By standing in open water during a severe lightening storm, I feel as though we’ve proven our stupidity to You. Just please just don’t let us get struck by lightening and no one be able to find us.”
The rain eventually stopped and we were able to get in a few more shots. The storm made for a great sky and nice effects in the end.
To all of my current or future clients: If I ever encounter a rain storm, we will NOT be shooting and we will be rescheduling. :)
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