A good wedding photographer is an essential element of any great wedding day as he or she will immortalise the great moments and people of your special day including all your loved ones, family and friends. With the average wedding catering for 165 guests, this is no mean feat. While you can search high and low for a good photographer, sometimes elements outside your control – like the weather – can still affect the end product.

A good photographer should be able to deal with challenging lighting, whatever the weather on your big day. In photography, the lighting is as important as the subject; if the sun refuses to attend your wedding, you may fear for your photos as without strong natural light, photographs can appear hollow and joyless.

Poor weather can also lead to the use of a harsh flash in pictures. This is what causes unattractive red eyes in photographs, and it can also lead to uneven exposure as well as giving shots a tinny quality. If your photographer needs to use a flash, they will also become more conspicuous, making it far more difficult for them to capture the natural, spontaneous shots you may be hankering after.

However, you need not worry. A good photographer will have plenty of tricks up their sleeve to create warm, well-lit shots whatever the weather. Diffusers, for example, scatter the light of the flash, thus softening harsh shadows and evening exposure. Some photographers even have angled flashes that they can point upwards. If your wedding reception takes place in a marquee, or any other venue with a light coloured ceiling, then the photographer can use the ceiling as an enormous diffuser giving a far softer feel to your reception pictures.

Many people want sunshine on their wedding day – but that too can create problems for your photographer. Unfortunately, a line of guests squinting at the lens will not make for a breathtaking wedding album. A great photographer, however, will make the most of bright light by taking some contre-jour shots, where the subject is backlit. When these sorts of photographs are taken well there is a strong contrast between the light and dark areas, thus emphasising the lines and shapes within the frame. These contre-jour shots are the classic look and can create a truly artistic and memorable photograph.

Under disastrous circumstances, you may end up with no photographs at all – which is where wedding insurance can make a difference. If the professional photographer fails to arrive, for example, wedding insurance should protect you financially. Wedding insurance may also provide financial support if your wedding films or negatives are damaged before copies are made, or if the original film cannot be developed. Most reputable wedding insurers will reimburse you for the costs of retaking your photos, including that all important ‘cake-cutting’ shot. However, all wedding insurance policies are different so it’s worth checking your policy documentation to see what you’re covered for.

So whilst wedding insurance can do little about the weather, it should help to protect you should your photographer let you down.