How Light and Airy Failed This Orange Beach Session

Island House Hotel Beach Portrait Session on a Rainy Evening

Why off-camera flash delivered vibrant, dramatic portraits when overcast skies threatened to cancel the shoot.

This session with longtime clients took place on a rainy evening. I gave them the option of trying another day but they wanted to give this session a go. I arrived an hour early and we watched the radar. After an hour we had a window of opportunity so we took it. This is where the “light and airy” style fails. It depends on a bright day for the best results. If it’s really bright it also means blowing out the details in the sky.

For this session I used my portable studio lights for most of the session to embrace the conditions. By using the Off-Camera Flash I was able to add depth and color to an otherwise dull setting. As a bonus we had a local sailboat charter Sail Wild Heart as a photobomb!