Naturally, when you book your family photography session with me, you’re probably going to be crossing all your fingers that you get a perfect, sunny day, right!? The only problem with that being, that we live in Victoria – literally the only predictable thing about our weather, is that it is completely unpredictable (seriously, I’m fairly sure even meteorologists here in Vic are only aiming for a 50/50 success rate with their forecasts)

I really suggest trying not to get too caught up in the weather forecast. If it’s really clear that it’s going to be wet and miserable, we’ll absolutely reschedule (though I always suggest waiting until the day before to make the final call). But I definitely don’t suggest rescheduling purely because it’s going to be cloudy, and here’s why –

1) The weather can change SO quickly here on the Surf Coast

What that means is, you may reschedule from an evening that was forecast to be overcast, which then turns into an absolutely beautiful sunset. And on the flipside, you may reschedule to a different date, that is forecast to be sunny and ends up overcast anyway. I had a shoot recently where there was a 5% chance of rain during the time of our session, but it ended up raining for almost the duration of our shoot. You can check out some photos from that beautiful family session here, as you can see – it certainly didn’t put a dampener on the photos in any way!!

2) Cloudy skies produce beautiful light for photos

When there is cloud cover in the sky, it diffuses the light from the sun, which makes for really soft, beautiful & flattering light like in the family photography session I’m sharing below

3) Cloudy skies often result in absolutely spectacular sunsets

Have a look through this recent session here – the forecast was overcast and for the majority of the shoot, it was cloudy, however right at the end, the sun poked its head through the clouds which resulted in this beautiful sky

(obviously, I can’t promise or predict what sort of sky you’ll get for your shoot – mannnn I wish I had that magic ball though!)

4) Cloudy skies will not result in dark & moody images

I think a common misconception is that an overcast sky will result in “dark and moody” photos, while a sunny sky will result in "light and airy” photos - in actual fact, this has far more to do with the way your photographer shoots & edits their images and what their style is (as you can see from the photos below, despite the extremely overcast skies, there is nothing dark & moody about these images, because that’s just not the way I shoot or edit!). If you are after dark & moody images, there are many talented photographers who will be able to create those for you!

5) The weather is a distant second to something far more important – YOU GUYS!!

This is the final and most important reason… Capturing your family having fun and spending time together is literally 1000 times more important than the weather. If you are relaxed and ready to just play with your kids and enjoy yourselves, you will have BEAUTIFUL photos… don’t believe me? Just scroll down and check out this beautiful family. It was windy and overcast for the duration of Eve, Matt & Paddy’s family photography session – but let me ask you, is that what stands out to you!?

No!! Of course not, what you notice is a family who clearly love each other more than anything in the world, who are fun, happy and making the most of every second together!! THAT is what matters…that is honestly all that matters!

If you’re ready to book your own family photography session or have any questions at all, please get in touch!

Contact jess

I’m now based in Torquay on the beautiful Great Ocean Road. There are so many stunning locations down this way and I cannot wait to explore them together and capture your precious family memories.