In one of my photographer groups of people, one had asked how she should deal with the wind at her next shoot. It was supposed to happen that day, and the wind was blowing upwards of 15-20 miles per hour. While this definitely isn’t ideal conditions, it is something we all have to deal with at one point or another. I thought since I was pretty well versed in this I could write up a few tips for shooting portraits in the wind.

Wind

On the east side of the Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest, it blows. All. The. Time. When I worked in Ellensburg, everyone would joke about the wind. They laugh when it’s blowing 15+ mph, talking about the “light breeze.”  Some won’t even say the word because “it comes when you call it.” When there’s a few days in the year that aren’t windy, it’s like some weird phenomenon is happening. Even the trees can tell you it’s always windy! When you look at them, you’ll notice they all have this permanent lean to them. It’s seriously ALWAYS windy. And usually REALLY windy. Come a little further east, and you get into the desert of Washington. I know, I know. All you hear about Washington is Seattle,and it’s rain, and how green it is, but most of Washington isn’t really like that.

Central Washington is a desert. Full of sagebrush, a few cacti (though most are just planted by homeowners), wildflowers, tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes, and a whole lot of wind.

Just a few months ago we had record breaking wind here, and at one point they clocked gusts at 97 mph. It was insane. I didn’t get to witness it, because I was over in Ellensburg, and it wasn’t near as windy there (but still windy), but I have had people who have lived in Mattawa since it wasn’t even on the map tell me it was the worst they had ever seen it. I think my roof can attest to that with my lack of shingles.

There’s been many a times when I have a session booked and the day of the session is GORGEOUS. It’s a beautiful day, light breeze, around 75 degrees, really just perfect. And then, just like that, around 5 or 6 PM, the wind starts to pick up. Before you know it, it’s blowing like crazy. Crap. You know your clients aren’t going to be happy with their hair everywhere, in their lip gloss, dirt in their eyes, the works, and you don’t want to deal with it either, but there’s a few things you can do to make it a little less crazy.

Look for Natural Wind Blocks

This is one of the easiest ways to combat the wind. Wind blocks can be anything, from a building to even a row of trees. The trick is to find what direction the wind is coming in and block it strategically. Sometimes, all it takes it to just pick a different location all together. You clients would rather have a plain wall from a building behind them than crazy medusa hair. At least most of mine would.

Ian and Sarah’s Wedding day lived up to the Ellensburg standard. It was blowing about 30 miles per hour. ALL DAY. Luckily, we were next to some great barns that we were able to step inside and be blocked by the wind!

Bring Bobby Pins and Hairspray

Another easy fix to calm a crazy hairdo is to bring bobby pins. Your client may have had ideas to have her long wavy hair down, but once that wind picks up, it’s going to be flying everywhere. Just simply pull into a low ponytail, or over one shoulder, and then hairspray the heck out of it. And make sure it’s the firm hold hair spray. Like Aqua-net status. 😀 You may have a few fly-aways but at least you’ll have most of it taken care of.

Colors of the Wind

I know what you’re thinking. “Misty, what does Pocahontas have to do with shooting in the wind?” Well remember when she’s on the cliff singing the end of colors of the wind. She faces into the wind. And her hair looks AMAZING. Now, I know we can all have perfect Pocahontas, Disney princess hair, but if you shoot with your clients face into the wind, it won’t be as difficult to keep her hair out of her face. Be cautious with this one though. If it’s too windy, they may look like their hair is just slicked back. Then maybe one of the other options would be better.

Use it

This is one of my most favorite ways to deal with the wind. Wind can create this amazing movement to an image if you get it right. Some clients may not love the crazy windswept look, but if you have some more adventurous clients, they may be surprised by what you get, and LOVE IT! Obviously, they knew it was windy and they shouldn’t expect every little hair to be in it’s rightful place. But you want to make sure they are comfortable, and that you own it. Yeah, it’s windy. No biggie. Still have a great time!

I can’t take credit for this photo. My hubby got this shot, but i just LOVE it! 😀 Crazy hair and all. This was a fun weekend trip in Long Beach, WA.

Hopefully those tips will help you be confident the next time you have a session without the best weather! Just be confident in your skills, and your clients will feed off that as well! Happy shooting!