Guelph Grad Photos · Policies
The Weather Plan.
What happens if it rains on your grad session: we watch the forecast with you, light rain often photographs beautifully, and heavier rain means a free reschedule with your deposit intact.
It might rain. Here is exactly what happens.
You are booking an outdoor session in Ontario, so let’s answer the question every grad (and every parent watching the forecast from another city) eventually asks. What if it rains?
The short version: we watch the forecast with you, light rain usually goes ahead and often photographs beautifully, and heavier rain means a free reschedule. Nobody loses a deposit to a rain cloud. The longer version is below, because “trust us” is not a weather plan.
Light rain is a look, not a problem.
Some of our favourite frames come from grey days. An overcast sky is a giant softbox: even, flattering light across every face, no squinting into the sun, no harsh shadows under caps. Wet brick and limestone go rich and saturated, so Johnston Hall and the walkways around it photograph deeper and moodier than they ever do at noon in July. A clear umbrella, if you have one, turns from shelter into a prop.
Gowns are dark, forgiving and quick to shake off a drizzle. Hair and makeup are the honest casualties of real rain, which is exactly why the decision below is yours as much as ours.
How the call gets made.
A few days out, we start watching. We track the hourly forecast for your exact session window, not just the daily icon. A 40 percent chance of rain at 2 p.m. often means a dry 6 p.m., and golden-hour sessions dodge a lot of afternoon weather by default.
The day before, we decide together. If the forecast looks genuinely wet, we reach out and make the call with you by 6 p.m. the evening before your session. No guessing on the morning of, no standing under an awning wondering if we are still on.
Drizzle and light rain: we usually go. If the radar shows passing showers or a fine drizzle, our recommendation is almost always to keep the session, and the photos on this page are the argument. If you would rather not risk your hair, your makeup or a suede shoe, say so. Your comfort wins.
Steady or heavy rain: one free reschedule. If the day looks properly wet, we move you to the next open slot that fits your schedule, at no charge. That is the whole policy. No rebooking fee, no fine print about acts of sky.
Your deposit moves with you. The $50 deposit that held your original date simply holds the new one. Weather never costs you money with us.
If your date can’t move.
Some sessions have no wiggle room: parents flying out Sunday, a lease ending, a convocation week packed to the hour. Tell us when you book. For a fixed date we plan differently from the start, favouring covered and sheltered spots like the Portico, watching for the driest window in the day, and keeping the session moving so a 20-minute break in the clouds is all we need.
What to bring on a grey day.
- A clear umbrella if you own one. It keeps you dry between spots and makes a genuinely good prop.
- A small towel in your bag, for benches, balustrades and anywhere you might sit.
- Comfortable shoes for walking between locations, and your photo shoes in the bag. Nobody sees your feet between frames.
- A five-minute touch-up kit: hair brush, blotting paper, the lipstick you started with.
Book the date, not the weather.
Pick the date that works for you and your family. If the sky misbehaves, you have just read exactly what happens next, and none of it involves losing your session or your deposit.