What happens if there is bad weather?
Will We Need to Reschedule for Rain, Wind, or Fog?
Weather is pretty temperamental on the coastal Delaware. Clear skies one minute, a thunderstorm the next. The perfect beach breeze that turns into chaotic wind whipping sand across the shore. Fog so thick you can’t see the ocean twenty feet in front of you.
So what does that mean for your session? Here’s how I think about it, and what it means for you.
I Can’t Predict the Weather, But I Do Watch It Closely
No one can promise a clear sky ten days out, five days out, or even one. What I can promise is that I’m checking the forecast in the days and hours leading up to your session, watching wind speed, rain radar, cloud cover, and fog, not just the little weather icon on my phone.
A lot of gorgeous golden hour light actually happens because of clouds moving through, so a cloudy forecast alone is never a reason to worry. Wind, rain, and heavy fog are the three things that sometimes call for a reschedule, and when they do, I’ll be the one watching for it so you don’t have to.
Coastal Fog Is a Hidden Beast
Fog rolls in off the water here in a way that’s hard to predict from an app. It can burn off in twenty minutes or sit heavy through an entire sunrise. A little haze can actually look beautiful in photos, soft and dreamy, but thick fog flattens the light and hides the shoreline entirely, which isn’t the look we’re going for. This is one more reason I wait until the day of to make the call rather than guessing early.
Wind Matters More Than You’d Think
A breezy evening can be part of the magic, hair moving, waves rolling in. But strong, sustained wind makes it hard to get comfortable, tricky to keep hair out of faces, and just less enjoyable for everyone standing on the sand. If wind is forecasted to be a problem, I’ll flag it as early as I can.
Doing a session and expecting wind? Read how to prep here.
What Happens If We Need to Reschedule
Coastal weather shifts fast, sometimes within a matter of hours, so I wait until the day of your session to make the final call. Checking too early usually means checking again anyway. Once I have a clear read on the day, I’ll reach out and we’ll look at your remaining days in town together to find another sunrise or golden hour window that works.
I know most of my clients are only here for a week, or maybe even just a handful of days, which makes “just reschedule” feel a lot more stressful than it sounds. You’re not going to be left guessing. I’ll be watching the sky right alongside you and I’ll have a plan ready before you even have to ask.
What You Can Do
- Book your session early into your trip, it gives us the most room to shift if we need to
- Share your full trip dates with me so I know what flexibility we have with rescheduling
- Sunrise sessions: We’ll text the night before and stay especially close if the weather is finicky. Keep an eye on your phone the morning of in case rain, wind, or fog puts the session in question
- Sunset sessions: We’ll stay in touch throughout the days leading up, since evening weather tends to show its hand earlier
Weather is one part of this job I don’t control. Everything else, the plan, the communication, the backup window, is exactly what I do control, and it’s how we make sure you still gets the photos you came here for, despite rain, wind, or fog.