Little Things, Love ... and Reality: Tips for Wintry Photos -- When the Weather Isn't Cooperative

It's December 18th. DECEMBER 18th.

There is nothing but a mere dusting of snow on the ground. I still see grass.

Stupid.

I am certainly not complaining about the fact that we have had an extremely unusual fall. November brought some 50 degree days. It was amazing.

But, I'm over it. Though I very much dislike sub zero temperatures, I do very much like the snow. When I had kids, I started to love it!

I love December, because (usually) there is snow, but it's not quite as cold and January and February.

Well, image my frustration when I scheduled a photo session for December 13th, and minutes before the family shows up, it starts pouring rain. RAIN. In December.

What makes things worse, they were so excited for wintry/outdoorsy photos! They came with the cutest coordinating hats, scarves, and mittens. Ugh.

I channeled my inner Tim Gunn because, it was a "make it work" moment.

I am so thankful for my screen porch. Since it was rain, that meant it was warm enough that we could at least be "outside" on my porch.

So, when you can't go outside, but still want to create a wintry feel:

Tip #1 - Add some twinkle.

Set your subject a few feet in front of a background lit with Christmas lights, and use a wide open (at least 2.0) aperture to create some beautiful sparkly bokeh.

Since my tree was up, we used that. The look could totally change if the ornaments were simply taken off or the tree used was white or a fun metallic.

Tip #2 - Use a White blanket

Using a white (maybe even furry) blanket automatically adds a feeling of needing warmth in the cold, and obviously, the white makes us think about snow. Right?