This mama’s Delaware maternity session had me on my toes the whole time, y’all! We had a perfectly sunny day that very quickly turned to super dark clouds. I had stalked the weather and we prepped for light rain at the tail end of our session, everyone agreeing that a little rain was better than baby coming before we could get photos done! I loaded up the car, brought my umbrella… just in case, you know? And I was about five minutes out from the location when then the skies opened up completely. Y’all, this day turned so fast and it hit us with a metric ton of water before we reached the beach!

Turning off the highway, my wipers were at full speed. I called Ari and her partner, Dan, feeling like the worst person ever for not making a better weather call. Their response? “Let’s just try it!”

They showed up in full on rain gear, hopped out of the car, and then… it stopped. Just like that. The clouds were absolutely raging. And it was beautiful.

While I would never recommend shooting in a full on monsoon-like downpour, storms can bring a level of beauty to a photo that the sun can’t even compete with. They bring drama, bold colors, and more importantly, they bring even lighting. Even, soft lighting can open up all kinds of creative options; like shooting towards the sailboats along the Delaware for Ari’s maternity shoot.

As an artist, I find that a stormy day and darker skies can make family photos more playful, and maternity more empowering and strong, and I hope more families approach rain with the “let’s just try it!” attitude! Rain is not a bad thing, and in loads of cases, it can add so, so much to your session, just like it did for Ari’s Delaware maternity photos.

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