After a wonderfully beautiful sunny summer, mother nature seems to have taken a turn for the contrary. It seemed over the month of September and now into October, we had one sunny day out of every six or seven. I have had to become a weather wizard, continually watching the weather on cloud-based websites (such as the Weather Blog) for a hole in the clouds. Let’s look at trials and tribulations of photographing architecture during this fall and all this cloudy weather.
Waiting for the Right Photography Weather
Waiting for the weather has taken not only the skills of a weatherman but also a lot of patience. At least 16 postpone shoots had to be postponed and rescheduled until I was able to capture the requested photography. I am writing this while I’m waiting again for the sun to come out here in New Bedford in front of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Waiting for Photogenic Blue Skies
Lots of blue sky north of New Bedford and clear skies all the way down on my drive. But, of course, it was cloudy over the museum. Cue the waiting game. Fortunately, an hour later it came out for about 10 minutes.
Waiting for Traffic and Parked Cars
Finally, that blue sky and the right light to shoot in. Not to mention most of the cars left, an important factor less seasoned photographers might overlook.
When You Can’t Wait for the Weather
Of course, you can’t always just wait at a site for the weather to change. It could be overcast the entire day, or it could even be the wrong season to get what you want (check out my blog, Photography in Winter: Making Lemons into Lemonade for more info on that). There are workarounds.
The Change of Light in Fall
This also brings up another complexity of Fall photography. The sun angles are changing every day. North surfaces no longer have sun on them, with northwestern surfaces having limited sun. Adjacent buildings can now add long shadows, quickly eliminating sunniness. More details on that in my blog, What’s the Best Time of Day to Photograph a Building?
This image was actually combined from multiple files to add people and life to the shot as mentioned in this previous blog.
We’re quickly reaching the end of prime fall photography for your building exteriors. As the days grow short, cloudier, and the trees drop the majority of their leaves, you don’t have much time left. If you need professional architectural photography done this fall, contact me today to get them into my schedule, even if the interiors are not ready yet.