Photography is a matter of precision, from the right gear to the right lighting. Rain, despite being beautiful, can make your photo assignment a bit difficult. For the days when the weather is not your friend, we have some tips for you. Rainy day photography can turn out extremely stunning, granted you know what you’re doing. If you want to up your photography game, especially when it is rainy, or if you want to learn how to capture amazing photos despite the rain, then this blog post is for you! We have some amazing tips that can help you to capture your subject or subjects perfectly.
But before that, we have something you’ll need to remember. Always keep your gear protected. Generic protection is common for your photography gear, most photographers are careful of that. However, on the days you can expect rain at any time, you should dress your gear appropriately. Make it a point to bring your:
- Waterproof bag
- Waterproof camera housing
- Raincoat and boots (for yourself)
- Camera rain covers
- Lens hood
- Camera Sleeves
- Microfiber cloth pieces
To keep your camera and gear safe in rain, you should create two kits for your camera, one for your regular day photo assignment and one for the days when rain is expected. Before you go out for your photography assignment, make sure that you check the weather report before deciding which kit to carry.
Now that we have that cleared up, let’s talk about the different ways that you can implement to make a rainy day your best friend for your photography assignment:
A cloudy day can be the absolute worst for your photography assignment only if you don’t know how to make use of the environment to your advantage. Sure enough, a rainy day is devoid of the natural light that always lends you a hand. But all is not lost. One of the best rain photography tips is to make use of the clouds.
If you’re facing a day with rain, be it a shower or soft rain, the sky can add a dramatic touch to your photos. The cloudy sky can add a variety of colors and visual appeal to your photos, especially when you take photos of your subject or subjects. To make complete use of a cloudy sky, increase your dynamic range, and keep the dramatic part of the cloudy sky. A dark sky with pockets of light is perfect for dramatic photos because it helps you to focus on the sunlight.
Another helpful tip is to keep your eyes on the sky. Always be aware of the dramatic cloud formations, and try to include them in your photos.
- Don’t be afraid of the reflections
A rainy day is full of possibilities and most of these possibilities come in the form of puddles. No, we are not asking you to jump into puddles but to make use of the puddles. Not only that, you can even make use of the cityscape reflections in your photos. Taking photos of your subject or subjects in a puddle will help you to give a creative effect.
When done right, your photos will not turn out dark and gray. However, for you to make use of reflections, the puddle should be calm. Wait for the rain to stop, before you try and make use of reflections. Another way to make use of reflections is on the windows of stores, cars, and any other object that reflects the light.
The composition of these photographs is up to you. You can take photos in your regular format, or use the upside-down effect. You can even compose a photo with your subjects placed a little further away from the puddle, capturing them and their reflection in a puddle in the same frame, this will give you a mirroring quality to the photo! You can even look for larger puddles with fallen leaves to add more colors to your composition.
- Master the art of backlighting
Backlighting can help you create wonderful photos! All you’ll need is extra lights and an external light source. Making use of an external light source, placed about five to six feet away from the subject on a cloudy day or a light rain shower will give you an impressive photo! You can experiment with the distance and the light from the subject. A point to remember with this rainy day photography tip is to keep the light source at a chest-high length.
Another useful tip to keep in mind is that you can use CTO gels on the flash to have a warmer glow in the photo. Furthermore, to take cute rainy day pictures you should pay attention to the:
- White balance,
- The background, and
- The surroundings.
Additionally, this tip is perfect for cloudy days as well!
Apart from making use of an external flash and light source, you should go big on your camera’s flash as well! More use of your flash will help you get better results with skin tones when you shoot close-up shots. What’s more, you can make use of some CTO gels, which can be used on your subject’s skin for better effect. Using your camera flash, and adding an external flash will help you ease out the too gray look of a rainy day.
- Pay attention to your surroundings
One of the best ways to have a successful rain photoshoot is to ensure that you have a clear idea of what you want to do. And that brings us to the point of keeping an eye out for any opportunity around you. For example, you can make use of a rainbow if you see one after the rain stops. Or you could make use of a car window with raindrops on the window, or make use of a variety of ideas for street photography in the rain.
Your surroundings can help you add a creative flair to your photos. All you need to do is find the opportunity.
Additional tips to improve photography on a rainy day
Whether you’re looking for better rainy day portraits or family photos, you’ll need these additional tips to keep in mind:
- Avoid dialing down the ISO to the lowest level. Keep your camera’s ISO setting at high or low. This will give you better photos in low light.
- For better photography on a rainy day, use fast shutter speed. Fast shutter speed helps you to capture moving objects better. For example, raindrops or splashing water will be easier to capture. Remember, don’t overdo it. Overly fast shutter speeds can leave you with no focal point.
- Don’t forget to tweak your aperture, set it to capture depth. A large aperture will help you allow more light in the photos. However, if you want to focus on rain as well, go with a small aperture. Try starting with f/8, and work from there to find the balance that you like.
That being said, these ideas above are recommendations. You can make use of these ideas to find your balance. Mastery of photography in the rain will come only with experimentation and practice. Try out different ideas, and work with different forms of compositions to be prepared for an assignment on a rainy day.
