Hi, we are in April already and can't believe we have received the update that the next three months are going to still be a bit gloomy and rainy for our beloved Netherlands. It is said this is due to "El Niño", so I thought it was best to address rain situations in our photo sessions as here in Amsterdam we are more than used to having rainy situations, so we have an answer to it, and even a table I use that can help you have a better understanding of what I do in terms of photo sessions as we think we are all here for the best experience possible.

On this day we programmed the session before the raining time. Can you see the black clouds in the background? But we photograph in the sun in between rain moments.

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Usually, rain in The Netherlands is not constant, and we frequently have four seasons on the same day. Due to this, I take a maximum of four sessions a day, two in the early morning and two in the late afternoon, which gives me plenty of time to change the time on the same day if needed, even when I'm fully booked. The maximum number of weekly photography hours is 12; we need at least 3x for editing and post-production which makes 12 hours more than a 40-hour working week.

When we met it was raining, so we waited for 30 minutes in a café before we started photographing them. Raincoats were right on our side, but the full lenght of the photo session it was dry.

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Even in usual cases, rescheduling is completely possible, considering that I still have time on the calendar and we are working as a team. This means you will also give hours for which we can reschedule, like the time you expect to stay at the park or in the city. Weather is something we cannot control, and that is why flexibility is given in those cases, but for that, I also have a table with rain levels and what we can do in each condition:

• 0.0-0.2mm This is entirely possible to work, and no umbrellas are needed
• 0.3-0.5mm We can do a photo session, but umbrellas are needed.
• If more than 0.6mm, we reschedule on the same day. Usually, when there is time to wait and we see a dry window like in 30 minutes or 1 hour, we wait in a café.
• When we have national orange and yellow codes, we cancel the session. This means we have a storm which is extreme weather conditions. In this particular case, the country recommends staying home, meaning we cannot work outside. Then, a refund is made if moving it to another day is impossible.

The levels and alerts we are mentioning here are according to the Buienradar app, which we recommend downloading if you are coming to The Netherlands. We will update you 3 days in advance and the day before if we see rain in the forecast. But keep in mind the weather changes, and even if we see rain three days before, we can have clear skies on the same day of your session. So, postponing the session is only a last-minute decision.

On their session day, it was stormy, not a national alert yet, but it was the day before. The drizzle was constant and the wind was cold. Still, we had a 2-hour session and have beautiful memories from it.

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In past cases, I have worked even with 1.5mm if the client agrees. This usually happens in Amsterdam on proposals and weddings, in which we cannot change dates or hours, but I understand that the Keukenhof/Tulip Gardens photo session could be better in dry weather.

On this day it didn't rain, it poured! We had a surprise engagement proposal planned, and we couldn't find an alternative time/date, so we did it in the rain. We needed to pause in the middle of the photo session to warm up inside a café, but we finished the hour with fantastic memories and a newly engaged couple in Amsterdam.

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For family sessions, we typically change the time. For example, today, I met a family at 7:20 am, and it started to rain a couple of minutes after that (0.6mm), even with the dry sky expected until yesterday, so we postponed it until the afternoon. We had clear skies and a happy time photographing during their entire 30 minutes, then we had two hours of rain that lasted right until my next photo session in which we also had clear skies. We will have dry windows and we will use it.

Do you have any other questions about the weather and how we manage it during our photo sessions? Write it them in the comments or send them through my DMs. I'm always happy to help.

We waited for 30 minutes in a café for the rain to pass. Waiting a bit makes a full difference, but that means we need flexibility on both sides. It is always possible to photograph in Amsterdam, with a bit of patience, or with the help of a clear umbrella that also is a fantastic prop for photos.

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And keep in mind this phrase very common in The Netherlands when it comes to going out in the rain: "We are not made of sugar".

See you soon from the fairytale city of Amsterdam,

Joanna, your Photographer in Amsterdam

Write me in English or Spanish; I conduct photo sessions, photo documentaries, and lifestyle routes in both languages. Also, I understand Portuguese, but my replies will be in English or Spanish.