Interview with Kenny, by Elizabeth

We had the chance to talk with Kenny Kim, a professional photographer and winner of the 2010 The Knot Best of Weddings award.  Although brides are often antsy about the weather on her big day, Kenny discusses how he can take seemingly glum, wet wedding conditions to take phenomenal photos.

Editor's disclosure: Shiny Orb, a search site for bridesmaids dresses, receives no form of compensation from this wedding vendor.

How do you capture beauty in a photo with seemingly dreary conditions such as rain?

There is an old saying: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." At every wedding, there is going to be a surprise waiting us around the corner. Regardless of what that surprise might be, we as wedding photographers try to make the best of all the situations. Inevitably, we are going to have days where mother nature will try to hinder the day. Instead of being discouraged by the situation, I think of it as an opportunity to get creative with photos. A wedding day is not about the weather but it is a celebration of a couple's commitment to spend the rest of their lives together. Capturing their emotion is more important than having nice weather.

When humans lose one of their senses, the other senses heighten. As a photographer, when we are faced with limited options, our creativity gets heightened and often times we tend to see things that we did not notice before.  Some of my favorite photos from weddings have come from days when it rained. 

It was a rainy day in Detroit and the bride & groom wanted to take a photo in front of Detroit Tiger's CoAmerica park. I walked ahead of the wedding party to figure out a location to shoot without anyone getting wet. When I looked back at the wedding party, I saw a scene of a painting called "Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte and quickly took a few shots of the wedding partying walking together. Although this was not a planned shot, it ended up being one of my favorite image from that day.

Umbrellas are great props to use for the photoshoot and often add little more romanticism to the photo.

Had it not rained, I would not have found a little spot like this to shoot. The bride stayed dry while I was able to step back and create a nice photo.

I love the symmetry and balance of this building which was used as a nice background for this photo opportunity.

There are plenty of places where there is shelter that you can stand under to stay dry from the rain. The wedding party was a great help in coming up with different ideas for the shoot.

Another location which I would have never found had it not rained that day.

Kenny Kim is a professional photographer based in Chicago. You can find more photos of his work on his website and his stellar reviews on Pictage.