Jeff Newcum Photography – Boston and Metrowest Wedding Photographer

It was blasted all over the news. A hurricane called Irene was bearing down on the east coast. One of the biggest storms to hit the east coast in history. Wow! Batten down the hatches and hunker down for this? Nah, I had an engagement session scheduled and if my clients, Diana and Bryan, were up for it so was I. We met at Nashoba Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts at about 1pm. By that time the bands of rain were on a 30-40 minute cycle. As I was driving the rain started, I arrived and the rain stopped. We quickly moved through the vineyard and shot some fun images. No sooner was I hitting my rhythm shooting the rain started again. We quickly moved to a dry location, waited a little bit, and headed out in a light drizzle. Yes, I do shoot in the rain. This is why I use professional weather sealed gear.

We came upon a set of apple trees and I had this idea to capture them underneath it. Though, I had to light them to get the clouds to show up in the image. I ran back to my little Smart car, picked a sunflower that was nearby, and grabbed my Cheetah stand with a 580ex fired by the Flex 5. I choose not to use ETTL and went with a manual setting. I find it’s easier after learning DOFE. I setup the flash, fired off a few test shots, and nailed it after 2 shots. Yup, I was pleased with the results and had to chimp a little to show the results. We shot some  more but, for me this image was THE image that portrayed their love to me.

Shooting an engagement session is a chance for the clients to get to know their photographer. It’s also a time for the photographer to create unique images and tickle the creative soul. What I learned from the shoot is to never give up come rain or hurricane. Clear the tablet, get to know your clients, and make an effort to create images that represent their love.