What It Is Like to Photograph a Wedding in the Rain

I estimate over 90% of my shots are taken indoors, so I don’t give much thought to how my cameras would perform in a rainstorm. I’m in the minority with my lack of concern in this area, apparently, because I frequently see photographers voice their concerns when a new camera is announced that does not have weather-sealing.

I can understand someone not bringing their camera outdoors in a downpour, but I’ve never understood why some shooters are overly protective of their gear. Furthermore, I’ve seen photographers remove a lens cap, take a photograph, and immediately replace the lens cap. I recently made a video about the absurdity of Leica photographers leaving a plastic strip on the bottom of their camera to protect a metal baseplate. You may have seen companies offering kevlar-style covering, in which you can house your camera for protection. I contend that when you protect your camera to such a degree that it still looks new when you are looking to sell it, the only thing you have done is ensure that the camera’s next owner is getting a great deal on his used camera purchase. I’m proud of every nick, scratch, and abrasion on my cameras, as these battle scars are a testament to my actual use of my tools.

Photographer Reggie Ballesteros recently found himself tasked to shoot a wedding where he had no choice but to use his camera in the rain. He details the experience in a vlog-style video that recounts his experience using the Fujifilm X-T3, XF 18mm 1.4 WR, and XF 50mm 1.0 WR in the falling rain for three hours straight. For the vlog, Reggie uses a shoulder mount video camera that gives the viewer a first-person viewpoint of what Reggie is seeing while he is shooting, and this is a great perspective from which to watch a photographer direct subjects and create images. I won’t ruin your viewing experience by telling you how it all turns out, but I will say that I appreciated the fact that the video depicts a real-world situation faced by a working professional photographer rather being some sort of laboratory test. This incident also serves as a reminder of the importance of having backup gear with you on a professional shoot, so if you have to risk shooting in the rain, you would be able to do all the rainfall shooting on one body and save the second body for use if the first body fails.