Every year, I donate a portrait session to CRUX, an LGBTQ rock climbing group in New York City, to auction off for the cause. Sean won it, and smartly cashed it in as an engagement session with Dan. The forecast in the days leading up gave us real odds of rain, then flip-flopped to "partly cloudy" right before the session, which should have been good news. The sky, apparently, hadn't checked the update, and the bottom fell out almost the second we arrived on location.


Sean and Dan handled it like absolute pros, going along with every slightly unreasonable idea I had for working the rain into the shots instead of hiding from it, ducking from one covered spot to the next between bursts. Looking back at the gallery, I'm convinced the rain didn't ruin the session — it made it, and gave them a story about their engagement photos that "sunny and perfect" never would have.

 

Two smiling men pose together on stone steps with lush green park and city buildings in the background.
Two smiling men stand together on a rainy city street corner, one with a tattoo, both wearing casual button-up shirts.
Two men stand under a covered walkway at night, with wet pavement and city lights visible in the background.
Two men standing on an ornate iron bridge surrounded by lush green trees in a garden setting.
Two men posing at an ornate wrought iron gate in a lush garden under dramatic stormy skies.
Two men standing on a rain-soaked garden path surrounded by lush green trees, with their reflection visible in a puddle.
Two men share a tender moment on steps in front of an ornate iron gate at dusk.