I know many brides worry about rain on their wedding day, but as a full time photographer I’m working day in day out so I’m used to photographing weddings in all conditions and all types of weather and no matter what happens on the day it’s my job to ensure that all my couples come away with a superb set of photographs from their wedding. And to be totally honest, I really don’t mind rain at all as it presents some exceptional and unique photographic opportunities.
So, here’s what we do with a rainy wedding...
Most of our equipment we bring to each and every wedding anyway, especially the mobile lighting as it produces such stylish, fashionable images I like to work with it even on sunny days. But the two items we use exclusively for the rain are our wedding umbrella’s. One white, one black. Our white wedding umbrella is beautiful for wedding photographs so of course we give this to the bride and groom should they wish to go outdoors for a few shots. You may recall the shots we did by the River Tay with Nicki and Stuart at their Dunkeld House Hotel wedding a couple of months ago. It is especially made for wedding photography so not only does it look 'photogenically weddingy' (new phrase of the day lol) but it’s also made with extra strength to keep it rigid so it won’t blow inside out if it’s windy too.
The black umbrella is for me. Diane will use this to keep me dry if I need to stand out in the rain for any length of time. Or, to be more accurate, to keep the camera lens dry. I use large, deep lens hoods to keep water splashes off the front of the lens but the brolly is useful in very heavy rain to ensure none of the pictures will have rain spots on them from drops of rain hitting the lens whilst taking the photographs. 
It’s also extra protection for the equipment which I will explain the importance off on rainy days in a couple of paragraphs.
For Lisa and Richard’s wedding I didn’t use the umbrellas as I wasn’t going to be standing in the rain for very long. I positioned them both in the Castle entrance, which is under cover, and then just ran out into the rain and fired off a few swift and smooth shots. I asked them to move into a couple of different positions for a few alternate compositions and within two to three minutes I’d shot about a dozen different photos.
You can see from the two examples coming up at the end of this paragraph the diversity that I managed to achieve. Firstly we’ve got a classical, traditional wedding photograph with Lisa and Richard standing together under the entranceway. I photographed this pose full length, three quarter and close up. After a couple of quick changes of position and composition I finished with the black and white close up which is a nice contrast from how we started being very contemporary and fashionable. So despite the pouring rain we’ve still got a good selection and variety of outdoor photographs.
Okay let me bore you for a paragraph about equipment, lol.
You will have heard the saying "it’s not the camera it’s the photographer that’s important". And without question that is most definitely true. However, on days where the weather is bad equipment choice can prove critical. I only use top of the range, professional camera’s and lenses. The main reason for this is that I want the ultimate image quality. However, the other reason is build quality and reliability. As you are aware water and electronics do not go together. Consumer camera’s, and even semi-pro enthusiasts equipment, are not designed to be used in inclement weather. Whilst they may initially take a few photos in the rain it’s no good when they suddenly stop working a few minutes later having got their electronics wet. I don't know if any camera can claim to be 
completely 100 % waterproof, which is why I have water proof camera covers and use the umbrella when needed, I knew I didn’t need to worry about working in the rain with Lisa and Richard as my gear is sufficiently sealed and water tight to withstand a few minutes of Scottish downpour. I am an Edinburgh wedding photographer after all! lol
Obviously for wet weddings a lot
of the photography will be carried out inside. For this I use portable lighting. These are basically lite versions of studio lighting, more lightweight and mobile yet producing the same visual effect. Ideally I’ll fit these with what we call shoot through brollys but sometimes when the weather is wet it means all the guests have to remain indoors too and so with working in less space it may not be practical to fit a brolly so instead I have a compact soft box that takes up 
less space but gives the same results. This set up is what we will also use for a fashion shoot and as you can see from the two pictures on the black spread and the staircase shots (note the rimmed effect halo lighting on the photo of Lisa leaning on the banister above), it gives such a contemporary, stylish feel to the images that I will often use it for the bride and groom session even when the weather is dry. This is the type of thing that makes the difference between a nice wedding photo and an award winning photograph. At Melville Castle weddings or indeed any castle wedding it is crucial not to kill off the character and ambience and the beauty of the studio lighting is that I can move it and manipulate it at will that gives so much creative control.
Many people may say that it helps to have such a beautiful and grand venue as a Castle for wedding photos when it rains. But as a wedding in photographer in Edinburgh I’ve worked at all kind of venues in the rain, Norton House Hotel weddings, weddings at The Royal Terrace Hotel, Harburn House weddings,
weddings at Craighouse, weddings at The Point Hotel, Houston House weddings, Dalhousie Castle weddings, the list goes on and on which I hope illustrates that no matter where you may be getting married please do not worry if it rains. You’ll have an amazing day and your wedding photographs will be fantastic!
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