How to take good photos in the rain (and other wet situations)

Planning a trip can be daunting. Agonizing over where and when to travel, researching places to stay, and making lists of things to do–all while trying to keep within budget–sounds and is exhausting.

Even with flawless planning, things can still go wrong in real time. Bags can get lost, hotels that looked good online can disappoint in person, and sunny skies can quickly turn dark and stormy.

As a photographer, weather plays a vitally important role when I’m on the road. And for the past two years Mother Nature has decided to test my patience and perseverance as well as my ability to adapt to unpredictable situations by treating me to travels filled with rain.

On a trip to Guatemala my plan was to shoot Lake Atitlan at sunrise and the ruins of Tikal at sunset. It rained the entire time I was there. In Iceland, I had hopes of shooting the unique volcanic landscapes in amazing light. It was pouring. And while I was in Sydney shooting for a National Geographic Travel guidebook and hoping to capture Australia’s biggest city in all its summer glory, it was the rainiest summer in the last 150 years.

When you’ve traveled very far and weather conditions aren’t what you were expecting, you can’t pack your bags and go home. You simply have to make the best of it, look for the silver lining to that cloudy day. As frustrating as bad weather can be, more often than not I end up with images that are far more special than anything I could have captured had the weather been “good.”

Here are five tips for taking great photos in bad weather:

1. Embrace the rain (but protect your gear). Most camera stores sell cheap rain covers that only cost a few dollars and wearing a poncho will keep you and your camera bag dry. These highly packable items will become your best friend when you’re photographing in the rain. While there are many rain covers out there, I like the Op/Tech USA rain sleeve for its simplicity and ease of use. DIY trick: If you forget to bring one and can’t find a camera store where you are, improvise by wrapping a Ziploc bag around your camera (secure it with rubber bands) and poking a hole for the lens. Trash bags double as ponchos, too.

2. Study human behavior. Once I have my rain sleeve on my camera, I love watching people scurrying around in the rain. I am usually able to capture a wide range of emotions and spontaneous moments that may not have happened otherwise.

Do you love the idea of taking dramatic portraits in the pouring rain, but cringe at the thought of getting your camera and gear wet?

With some care and common sense, you can protect your camera and lights but still create some amazing rain portraits. Someone who loves shooting in the pouring rain is Ilko Alexandroff, who has created this twenty minute video to show us all how we can shoot great portraits in the rain:

Gear Needed for Rain Portrait Photography

If you decide this is something you want to try, make sure that both you and the model are comfortable with shooting in the rain. As Alexandroff says, you will both get very, very wet, and not everyone likes that!

Alexandroff sometimes uses a Canon 1DX and sometimes a Canon 5D Mark II. He’s had them get really wet many times, and they are still working well.

Alexandroff points out that using a weather-sealed lens is a must. He uses a Sigma 135mm f/1.8 a lot.

For lighting, he uses compact speed lights such as the Nissin MG 8000. A bare flash head is preferred for backlighting his models. For fill lighting from the front, he tends to use a softbox rather than an umbrella, because he has more control over the light direction. His favorite softbox is a Cactus 60 x 60 cm softbox.

Lighting Options for Rain Portraits

• Backlight with silhouette. This is probably the simplest setup.
• Backlight and reflector. This is simple one too, using a bare flash-head behind the model and a reflector at her front to bounce light back onto her face.
• Backlight and lit object (window). Place the model so that their facial shadows are lifted by light in a large shop window.
• Backlight and RAW editing for face. Take a shot without any fill from the front and lighten the face in post-processing.
• Front light and back light. Light the model’s face with a second strobe and add a backlight.
• Cross lighting. Place the light behind the subject, but not directly. The strobe comes in on the diagonal from the left or right, lighting one side of the model’s face.

Settings for Rain Portraits

• Shoot at the widest aperture possible for your lens.
• Shutter speed varies between flash sync speed and 1/50 or 1/30 second. If you want the background super dark, shoot at 1/200 second, but if you want to include some ambient light in the image, drop the shutter speed.
• Use ISO 800 or 1000. Alexandroff shoots rain portraits when it’s dark so that he can control the exposure of the rain to his liking.
• Use a white balance that matches the color temperature of your main light. If you use colored gels, you need to take this into account.

Tips and Tricks for Rain Photography

There are also a few other things you need to know to take successful rain portraits, such as always keeping your backlight hidden by the model’s body.

Try to avoid lighting the ground around the model and making it brighter than his/her face. People always look at the brightest area of a photo first, so that should be the face. To help solve this, set the strobe one meter or more off the ground, pointing upward past the model’s head.

If you want good raindrop definition, you need to have the strobe close to your model—five meters or less.

Protecting Your Camera from the Rain

Last, but certainly not least, Alexandroff puts his camera in a clear plastic bag with a hole for the lens, and he covers his strobes with a clear or white plastic bag. Don’t use a colorful bag, or you’ll end up with some strange color casts!

Hopefully these tips will inspire you to get out there and shoot no matter the weather!

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No matter what niche of photography you are in, there is a good chance you are going to end up outside, caught in the rain or a wet environment sooner or later.

Photo by jk+too

The people who predict the weather are cruel at best and while they are a good guide, you should always be prepared when shooting outside. Here’s 10 tips for shooting in the rain and wet situations.

Be prepared. The old boyscout motto holds true for everyone. At the very least, a large ziploc bag (or disposable poncho) or two in your camera bag takes up no room and can be used in a pinch to cover your camera. Depending on which lens you have, you can actually shoot through a ziploc bag as a last ditch effort to get the shot.

Invest in rain gear. If you’re an outdoor shooter with sports, landscapes, people or always keep a camera on you, your chances of getting caught in the rain are even higher. Many companies make specific bags for different DSLR models that are designed to use most of the functions on the camera and offer a better shoot-through plastic protector compared with the ziploc bag. If you’re planning on hiking or even going for long walks, buy a rain poncho for yourself and always keep it in your bag. They are cut generously enough to cover you and your backpack or messenger style bag and help protect it from the elements.

Photo by peupleloup

Read the labels. Most camera specific gear for shooting in the rain is water resistant. That does not mean waterproof. Don’t go jump into the lake with a water resistant bag and expect your gear to stay dry.

Buy a wet-weather camera. Several companies make point and shoot cameras that produce very nice photos and are waterproof up to 30′ without any extra case needed. If you frequently are in or around pools, lakes, oceans or other wet zones investing in a dedicated wet camera could be the smartest choice.

Photo by Global Jet

Snow is wet. Shooting in snow can have as much effect on your camera gear as a light mist so treat snow the same as rain.

Let it dry completely. One of the least advertised features of waterproof point and shoot cameras is that they are only waterproof while the batter / memory card door is closed. When the time comes to get the memory card out and move the photos to your computer, wait until the camera has completely dried. I’d suggest at least eight full hours – more if you can wait.

Rinse it off. If you take camera gear, waterproof point and shoot or bagged DSLRs to the beach or in salt water, rinse them off with clean fresh water before they dry. The salt in the water can cause corrosion and dry-rot the rubber gaskets that help seal the memory card door.

Bag your bag. Most camera bags are not waterproof, although some premium bags come with a rain cover, it’s often the one accessory that’s tossed to the side after purchasing it. A large garbage bag will cover a backpack or messenger style bag to help protect the contents.

Keep silica gel in your bag. Those small pouches that say do not eat that come in bottles of vitamins and sneaker boxes are silica gel. They are used to capture moister and help keep things dry. Get a couple and keep them in your camera bag.

Photo by matsuyuki

Look for the reflections. Rain collecting in streets can cause some beautiful reflections. Point your lens down and look for reflections in the water of surrounding scenery and frame accordingly.

Photo by ramsesoriginal

Take a friend along. Take a friend with you to help hold an umbrella, and to be a second set of eyes to help look for reflections, patterns and subject matter.

Increase your ISO. With the rain come clouds which block the sun – these darker shooting situations are similar to shooting near dusk, so a higher ISO sensitivity is needed.

Those rainy days don’t have to be boring and keep you confined inside putting puzzles together. With some proper planning you can have a great time outside, or be prepared for an unexpected turn in the weather while you are outside with these simple tips.

The truth is that the best images may involves a certain level of risk. Sometimes that means taking the camera out in less-than-ideal conditions that may damage it. That’s why I always recommend thinking of the camera as a work tool rather than a valuable.

That being said, there are still certain precautions you can make to minimise the risk of damaging the equipment. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks – even when photographing or camping in a storm, standing in the splash-zone of a waterfall or getting close to the breaking waves.

Implementing a few simple steps into your workflow can make a difference. Let’s take a look at a few things that you should do to protect your camera when photographing in rain:

#1 Use a rain cover to protect the camera in heavy rain

High-end DSLR cameras are built to withstand harsh conditions but few of them are completely waterproof. They have no problem with light rain but too much water can damage both the camera body and lens. A rain cover is a good (and cheap) investment to protect the camera from heavy rain but can also be used when, for example, photographing waterfalls.

Personally, I don’t use a rain cover unless it’s heavy rain. I know that my camera is able to handle a fair amount of rain but as soon as the rain increases, the rain cover goes on. This is something I always have in my backpack and it’s something that I strongly recommend that you have too. It’s worth it on the days when the heavens open.

A common misconception is that rain covers are expensive. Yes, there certainly are pricy options out there but that doesn’t necessarily make them better options than those you get for a few bucks in the nearest electronic shop.

The biggest difference between a cheap and expensive rain cover is that the pricier version tends to be more flexible. What that means, is that they have two sleeves for your hands so you can easily adjust the camera settings while the cover is on. They will also fit the camera better so that less water finds its way in.

That being said, I tend to always come back to the cheaper versions as they are lighter in weight, take less place in the backpack, and do an equally good job of keeping water out.

Here are a few different rain covers that I’ve tried and recommend:

Disclaimer: I’m not sponsored or paid by the mentioned brands. These are products that I’ve purchased and used, are what I recommend based on my own experiences.

#2 Use an umbrella

Did you know that there are umbrella holders made specifically for photographers? Well, there are!

Using an umbrella might not be as efficient as a rain cover but it does a good job protecting the camera from light rainfall. Even more importantly, it gives some shelter to the camera, allowing you to change lenses without worrying about the sensor getting wet or dirty.

The best way to use an umbrella as a photographer is to attach it to your tripod using an umbrella holder. This means that you have two free hands and can continue working with your camera as normal.

I’ll admit that I don’t have much experience with an umbrella for photography as the weather here in Arctic Norway rarely allows for it. The winds are so strong that an umbrella would either break or transport you across the ocean…!

#3 Don’t change lenses in the rain

This should go without saying but you’d be surprised to hear how many times I’ve seen someone change lenses when photographing in rain or heavy winds. Is it really necessary to explain that this is a bad idea?

I’ve seen it too often that photographers change lenses in stormy conditions while photographing a seascape with big waves. I can only imagine how the sensor looks like afterwards. This is a recipe of ruining your camera.

Getting dirt on the lens is normal and it’s easy to clean using a microfiber cloth or lens cleaning supplies back at home but when that dirt gets on the camera sensor, it’s much worse. Yes, it’s unavoidable to get some dust on the sensor but there’s a difference between some dust, and raindrops, sand, or even worse, saltwater.

Changing lenses when photographing in rain or wind is quite possibly the worst thing you can do to your camera.

If you need to change your lens in such conditions, I urge you to be smart about it. Try to angle yourself in a position where you protect the camera and lens, use an umbrella if you have one, or find a shelter to do it beneath.

#4 Use microfiber cloths to remove water from the lens

There’s one thing that I can never repeat enough: you need microfiber cloths!

I always have a handful of them in my camera bag and I keep finding more in the pockets of my outdoor gear (and at the strangest places around my home!) These are without a doubt a photographer’s best friend when it comes to keeping the lens clean.

I’ve been using MagicFiber Cloths for years now and, I’ll admit, I panic a little if I find myself without one in my pocket.

Make sure that you have at least a few available when photographing in rain or wet conditions. For example, it’s an essential way to keep your lens free of water drops when standing at the base of a waterfall. In those situations, the workflow looks something like this: wipe, shoot, wipe, shoot, wipe, shoot. I’m sure this sounds familiar to some of you.

A microfiber cloth can also be used to wipe off water from the camera. They might not be intended to be used as a towel but sometimes, that’s the only option you’ve got. The bigger cloths are especially useful for this purpose.

You can’t always bring a towel in the camera bag but there’s always space for a few microfiber cloths. The best part? It works!

Conclusion

As landscape photographers, we spend a lot of time outside in harsh conditions. Either we’re hiking in the remote mountains and camping in a storm, standing at the base of a waterfall, or photographing a rugged seascape beneath the rain, we expose the camera equipment for less than ideal conditions.

Luckily, technology has come a long way and most of today’s cameras have some sort of water sealing but that doesn’t make them invincible. Too much rain, or too rough conditions, will at some point damage the camera. Take that from someone who’s lost more than one camera due to bad weather!

It’s a part of our job to push the limits but that doesn’t mean we need to take unnecessary risks. Be smart about your choices and the camera will last a lot longer, and your image files will look a lot better.

A rain cover and a few microfiber cloths is a small investment to protect camera gear worth thousands of dollars.

لازم نیست برای عکاسی منتظر روزهای صاف و آفتابی باشید. در واقع، زیر باران رفتن هم راهی عالی برای گرفتن عکس‌های جالب است _ به شرطی که مواظب دوربینتان باشید. اینجا نحوه انجام این کار را ببینید.

ساده‌ترین راه خیس شدن، تمرین عکاسی در باران است، اما تنها این مورد نیست. همه تکنیک‌ها، نکته‌ها، و ترفندهایی که در این مقاله توضیح می‌دهیم نیز در صورت عکاسی از امواج خروشان، نوردهی رود جاری یا آبشارها به کار می‌رود، در غیر اینصورت فقط دوربین در دست خیس می‌شوید.

چرا موقعیت‌های مرطوب برای عکاسی عالی است

گرفتن عکس‌هایی مشابه دیگران آسان است. فقط به همان مکان‌ها رفته، در همان زمان (معمولا غروب آفتاب)عکس بگیرید. این حساب اینستاگرام را چک کنید تا ببینید چقدر می‌تواند بد باشد.

اما گرفتن عکس‌های ناب و خلاقانه هم بسیار آسان است. فقط در مکان‌ها یا زمان‌هایی که دیگران عکاسی نمی‌کنند این کار را انجام دهید – به همین دلیل روزهای بارانی برای عکاسی خوب است. اگر بقیه در خانه می‌مانند یا از نزدیک شدن به قطره‌های آب دوری می‌کنند، فرصتی برای شماست تا عکسی بگیرید که آنها نمی‌گیرند.

روزهای خیس هم برای عکس‌های جالب‌تر ساخته شده‌اند. زمین خیس و باران خورده عناصر مختلفی را به عکس‌های شما اضافه می‌کند. انعکاس‌های داخل گودال آب می‌تواند به شما چشم انداز و زاویای جدیدی برای کار بدهد، و معمولا فضای مطلوبی ایجاد می‌کند.

حالا ببینیم چطور می‌توانید این کار را به بهترین نحو انجام دهید.

دوربین خود را سالم (امن) و قابل استفاده نگه دارید

آب برای تجهیزات عکسبرداری جهنم است. نه تنها می‌ تواند به داخل دستگاه نفوذ کند و به لوازم الکترونیکی حساس دوربین آسیب برساند، بلکه تنها چند قطره آب روی لنز دوربین شما می‌تواند عکاسی را غیرممکن کند. اگر می‌خواهید زیر باران عکاسی کنید، باید توجه داشته باشید که تجهیزات خود را سالم، خشک، و قابل استفاده نگه دارید.

بیشتر بخوانید: چگونه بهتر عکاسی کنیم؟

اینجا چند نکته هست:

• دوربین خود را حفظ کنید: وقتی از دوربین خود استفاده نمی‌کنید، آن را داخل یک کیف ضد آب نگه دارید. یک کیسه زباله پلاستیکی در مواقع اضطراری موثر است، اما یک کوله پشتی مناسب با کاور باران بهترین گزینه برای شماست. صحبت از کاور باران شد…
• یک ژاکت بارانی برای دوربین خود تهیه کنید: برخی از دوربین‌های حرفه ای غیر قابل نفوذ هستند اما اکثر مدل‌های مصرفی اینطور نیستند. اگر چند قطره آب روی آنها بریزید خراب نمی‌شوند، اما باز هم نباید اجازه دهید خیس شوند. یک ژاکت بارانی دوربین می‌تواند بدترین شرایط آب و هوایی را هنگام استفاده از آن دور نگه دارد.
• زیر پناهگاه بایستید: هر زمان که توانستید زیر یک سایبان یا لبه پنجره بایستید. این کار باعث خوشحالی بیشتر شما و دوربینتان می‌شود. اگر می‌خواهید کاملا خشک بمانید، می‌توانید از پنجره‌ها یا از داخل اتومبیل خود عکاسی کنید. چتر هم خوب، اما یک دردسر اضافی است، خصوصا اگر هوا طوفانی باشد. تنها به این دلیل که در حال عکاسی از باران هستید، مجبور نیستید خیس شوید.

• جلوی لنز دوربینتان را تمیز نگه دارید: اگر این کار را انجام نمی‌دهید، نمی‌توانید عکس‌های مناسبی بگیرید. حتی چند قطره برای خراب کردن عکس شما کافیست، بنابراین هر کاری می‌توانید انجام دهید تا آن را از این آب و هوا دور نگه دارید. درپوش لنز را بگذارید و وقتی آن را برمی‌دارید، دوربین را از باران دور نگه دارید مگر اینکه در حال عکسبرداری باشید. از هود لنز خود استفاده کنید.
• لوازم پاکسازی لنز را به همراه داشته باشید: چند پارچه میکروفایبر برای پاک کردن قطرات ریز روی لنز به کار می‌آید. برای قطرات یا لکه‌های بزرگتر، به اسپری یا دستمال مرطوب نیاز دارید.
• سریع کار کنید: مگر اینکه کاملا در پناه گاه باشید، عکس بگیرید، و بعد در اسرع وقت دوربین خود را بپوشانید و از باران دور کنید. اگر کادر بندی زمان زیادی ببرد، احتمالا دوربینتان خیس شود.
• بگذارید دوربینتان خشک شود: وقتی به خانه رسیدید، وسایل خود را فقط در کیف یا کمد رها نکنید. رطوبت طولانی مدت هم می‌تواند به اندازه باران به آن آسیب برساند. حتی ممکن است با قارچ‌هایی در لنز روبرو شوید.

بیشتر بخوانید: ۱۲ نکته برای عکاسی پاییزی

گرفتن عکس‌های خوب

با دوربینتان که به درستی حفظ شده، می‌توانید به منطقه باصفا رفته – عکس‌های عالی بگیرید! موارد زیر را به خاطر بسپارید:

• فقط حضور در آن جا کافیست: فقط با بیرون رفتن در هوای دلپذیرتر، بیشترین حجم کار سخت را انجام می‌دهید. اطراف را بگردید و به چشمتان اعتماد کنید، مطمئنا چیز خوبی پیدا می‌کنید.
• از استاندارد بالاتر از حد نرمال استفاده کنید: وقتی ابرهای تیره بارانی در اطراف وجود دارد، نور کمتری برای کار وجود دارد. راه کارهای دیگر ما برای کار در نور کم، مثل استفاده از دیافراگم بازتر، را ببینید.
• راهی برای نشان دادن قطرات باران پیدا کنید: ثبت قطرات آب سخت است، بنابراین به دنبال موقعیت‌هایی برای پررنگ‌تر کردن آنها باشید. نور پس زمینه زیاد، تکه‌های شیشه، و نزدیک شدن به سوژه به شما اجازه می‌دهد تا قطرات باران را در عکس‌هایتان بگیرید. حتی می‌توانید از مقدار کمی نور برای روشن کردن قطرات پیش رویتان استفاده کنید.
• عکاسی با سرعت شاتر را امتحان کنید: سرعت شاتر بیشتر می‌تواند قطرات باران قابل رویت را فریز کند، در حالی که سرعت پایین‌تر باعث تاری آنها در هنگام حرکت در قاب می‌شود.
• به دنبال انعکاس باشید: اینها روشی برای بررسی اشیاء از زوایای مختلف است. به هر حال، مراقب باشید: ممکن است مواردی را انعکاس دهند که از ارزش کار شما بکاهد.

• به حال و هوا تکیه کنید: معمولا روزهای بارانی تاریک و خاکستری است، پس از آن استفاده کنید! زمان خوبی هم برای عکاسی سیاه و سفید است.

• بعد از باران منتظر بمانید: زمین خیس، بافت و رنگ بی‌نظیری برای عکاسی، و روزهای ابری بهترین نور را دارد. بنابراین، وقتی مردم و نور خورشید دوباره ظاهر می‌شوند عکسبرداری را ادامه دهید.

چیزی به نام آب و هوای بد برای عکاسی وجود ندارد، مگر برای عکاسانی که آمادگی ندارند. روز آفتابی باشد یا باران شدید، عکس‌های جالب و بکری برای گرفتن وجود دارد.

خوشبختانه، حالا متوجه شده‌اید که هرچه هوا بدتر باشد، پیدا کردن عکس‌های خلاقانه آسان‌تر است. پس، اجازه ندهید یک بارش ناچیز شما را از عکاسی منصرف کند – فقط از دوربینتان محافظت کنید و لذت ببرید.

It beats on our rooftops. It makes us turn on our windshield wipers. It creates puddles on the sidewalk and wreaks havoc with landslides. Rain can be dramatic or it can be subtle, and as a photographer, it makes for unique photographic opportunities that most people don’t think about until they see it in an image.

Often, too many people are afraid of getting their gear wet…or even themselves. But, with the right precautions and coverage, the results are worth the undertaking. Other than staying dry, there are several things to consider. let’s explore them.

Shutter speed

Obviously rain is going to be a moving subject, and with that the first thing to come to mind would be your shutter speed. In order to stop the raindrops in action, you want to use as fast of a shutter speed as possible. If you can bump your shutter speed to faster than 1/500, you’re much more likely to stop the drops! Try shooting at as many different speeds as possible until you get the image you want. Depending on the lighting, you may not be able to go too fast without bumping up your ISO. That’s okay. It’s better to have a higher ISO and risk of some grain than to miss out on a great shot.

On some cameras, you can set it t o automatically bracket your shots to adjust the f-stops along with the shutter speeds you select. This will give you even more variety. You can set bracketing with the Exposure Comp./AEB Setting. You can adjust how high and low you want the bracketing to go, be they a fraction of a stop or a full stop or more. If you’re shooting in shutter priority mode, I wouldn’t go too much more than a full stop since your camera is figuring a lot of it out for you. However, for edification purposes, it’s worth playing with the higher stops just to see the different results. Naturally, in some cases it may be needed. Often, stopping up or down is helpful with creating definition in the sky. If it’s raining, you may or may not have a dramatic sky. A passing thunderstorm could make for a compelling sky, whereas a gloomy rainy day probably wouldn’t.

Your shutter speed may also vary depending on if you’re shooting into a brighter side of the sky or not. If the storm is passing and it’s darker on one side than the other, this could be the case. The lighter side, of course, will allow you to shoot at a faster shutter speed.

Backlighting

Raindrops can be emphasized quite dramatically with different light sources that may come into play. If you’re on a tropical island with some of those passing storms, the sun breaking through the clouds can make for some great backlighting.

The image at the top of this post is a good example of dramatic lighting. The way it illuminates both the raindrops and the tree makes it a spectacular image. Another good example would be a street light. Much like the old black and white detective movies, a black and white image of rain falling in front of a street light at night is a classic shot. So, when it rains, the key is to look for the light!

Bouncing

Some of the best times to capture water is when it hits the ground, puddles or other bodies of water, or an object. In the image above, some drops are still falling and some are bouncing. The light hitting the two bigger drops in the air is a nice touch as well. Consider being close to the ground for some of your shots. Pavement, puddles, rocks, and more make for great opportunities to capture water landing on them.

Water Reflection

Puddles are wonderful opportunities to catch a reflection while it’s raining. They’re often easy to find, too! Just take a walk down your street during a rainstorm.
This image of the little boy stomping in a puddle is a great childhood capture. Who doesn’t remember stomping in a puddle as a kid? The clouds in the reflection also work quite well. They’re both reminders that when you see a possible image, take note of it from different sides to see how it changes. Likely, if the shot was taken from the other side of the puddle, the reflection would be quite different.

Natural Disasters

While I wouldn’t recommend risking your life to catch an image during a hurricane, I would say that when it’s safe to venture out, there will be many photo opportunities between flooding, fallen trees, and more. If you live near a beach, the piers are always a great subject. Take care to not get in the way of emergency workers, and don’t travel to a flood affected area just to take photos. You’ll only get in the way.

Your Camera and Gear

I’ve written articles on how to protect your gear from weather elements. In a nutshell, keep a dry chemise cloth handy and don’t try to change out your lenses! Dress in layers so you can hide gear in pockets beneath a quality raincoat. But, by all means, don’t pass up an the chance to capture unique photos just because of a few raindrops.

Rainy weather tends to keep most people inside, but for dedicated photographers, it’s a great opportunity for beautiful shots. Shooting in the rain can seem unappealing when you’re warm and dry inside, but going out is worth the discomfort, especially when you nail a perfect rainy-day shot.

Before you head out, make sure your camera is water-tight. You can get a nice rain cover for your camera or cut a hole into a plastic bag for a low-budget rain cover. In any case, you’ll need to thoroughly dry off your gear after the shoot, as it’s difficult to keep your camera totally dry in the rain.

Another option is to go out after the rain stops. While you won’t get any shots of falling rain with this strategy, you’ll still be able to capture the mood of a rainy day. We’ll cover both strategies in this post, starting with shooting in the rain.

julia turnau – After the rain

Shooting in the Rain

If you’re shooting in the rain, one thing to consider is: do you want to see the individual raindrops, you do you want the rain be a blur, like a semi-opaque curtain? For both options, you’ll need fairly heavy rainfall.

Raindrops

To see the raindrops, you’ll need to have the shutter speed cranked up fairly high (at least 1/250, and that might not be enough). At this shutter speed, considering that your main light source is reduced by the cloud cover, you’ll need to set the aperture for a somewhat deep depth of field. Otherwise, only your subject will be in sharp focus, and you’ll no longer capture the surrounding rain.

Otacílio Rodrigues – Golden rain

Lucia Ramos – 22/365 Sudden downpour

Curtain of Rain

If you want to use the falling rain as a type of curtain, this is easy to achieve as well. All you need to do is drop the shutter speed to around 1/30 or 1/15. (At these lower shutter speeds, you might need a tripod, unless you can still your body enough to avoid camera shake.) Then, open up the aperture to a fairly wide f-stop, where the DOF is shallow.

Otacílio Rodrigues – Riding in the rain

James Drury – the wall

Once you’ve decided on how you want to portray the rain while it’s raining, you can fire away with reckless abandon or careful calculation. Either way, controlling the DOF is critical for creatively using the falling rain in your photos. Adjusting your shutter speed and aperture to effectively manipulate the DOF requires practice, practice, practice.

When you’re done shooting in the rain, be sure to wipe down your camera, dab the lens dry with lens cleaner cloth, and detach the lens from the camera during the drying process.

Shooting After a Rainfall

The beauty of shooting just after the rain stops is that most objects are still wet and glistening, reflecting the light. Something as simple as a wet pavement can have a glowing sheen, elevating a mundane photo into a beautiful one.

The sheen of rain water also increases the apparent depth of any image. That’s because the water reflects the light in multiple directions and intensities. This optical phenomenon gives shape to whatever happens to be wet within your line of sight. With this in mind, when angling yourself for a photo, see if you can have the light reflecting off the wet surface(s), going directly into your lens.

Bryon Lippincott – She Wore Red

Ilovetodig0044 – Pavement Rain with Feet 3 (Salisbury 2013)

Rain Photography Inspiration

If you dread going out in the rain, one way to find motivation is to be inspired by other photographers who braved the rainstorm and came out with gorgeous images. Here are some sources of inspiration for your rainy day shoot.

25 Wonderful Photographs of Rain
With this post, you can compare shots of individual raindrops versus a curtain of rain, and see what’s possible after the rain stops.

42 Awe-Inspiring Photos of Extreme Weather
Want to take your rainy shoot to the next level? Check out these incredible photos of extreme weather, including tips on surviving a stormy photo shoot.

35 Rainy Day Window Pictures
Still can’t bring yourself to go outside? No worries – you can photograph your rain-covered windows instead!

Rainy days are the perfect occasion for any photographer to capture some great reflections. Even though you can photograph reflections during any weather (especially if you have some rivers or lakes nearby) when it rains you can capture some beautiful reflections in puddles on the streets. The options for doing so are countless since there are absolutely no limitations.

Reflections in puddles look great at night as well because light sources such as street lamps or neon signs are reflecting off the water. While many photographers think of crystal-clear images when it comes to reflections, you can get pretty creative and photograph something more abstract as well.

Here are a couple of tips and ideas to get you started:

1. Adjust Your Camera For Rain Photography

In case you’re taking photos while it’s raining, you need to check and adjust your shutter speed and ISO settings. Dark clouds can dim the natural light, so you might need to raise the ISO. In case you want to catch the raindrops hitting the puddle, try to increase your shutter speed to at least 1/500th of a second.

When it comes to aperture, it also depends on what you want to achieve – if you want some interesting bokeh in your photographs, stick to wider apertures.

Photo by Alex Brisbey on Unsplash

2. Reflections Of Buildings In Puddles

Photographing the reflections of buildings in puddles has a surreal vibe since everything is upside-down. If you catch the reflections of people passing by, the entire scene can look even more lively. In order to get some really great shots, you can experiment with different camera angles and try a wide-angle lens for capturing gorgeous cityscapes in the water. Be mindful of the entire scene since composition always matters.

Photo by Tama 66 on Pixabay

3. Portraits In The Rain

Taking portraits in the rain can be as exciting as shooting landscapes and cityscapes. While it’s relatively easy to take self-portraits while leaning over puddles, it’s more challenging to take interesting portraits of other people. Depending on the lighting and camera settings, these portraits can feature silhouettes or well-lit models – this is completely up to the vibe you want to create.

Using reflections is popular in wedding photography as well – many couples are thrilled to get unusual shots that feature their reflections in puddles and cloudy skies.

Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash

4. Reflections at Night

Photos of nighttime after rain look magical if done properly! You don’t even have to look for any big puddles if you’re shooting cityscapes at night – light reflecting off of wet pavement looks beautiful. The only thing that matters is finding streets with lots of interesting signs and streetlamps, possibly in multiple colors.

You can experiment with shutter speed when shooting reflections at night. If you want more abstract, blurry shots you can try using longer exposures. You certainly need a tripod in this case.

Photo by Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash

5. Playing with Bokeh and Reflections

Rainy nights are also ideal for experimenting with bokeh. Shooting wet surfaces and puddles at night while using wide aperture can create some stunning bokeh in vibrant neon colors. Besides bokeh, rain droplets glistening in the night are another great subject to play with.

You can also combine these two and have a stunning photograph of various shapes and colors. Such photographs resemble abstract images even though the subject is still recognizable.

Photo by Jesus in Taiwan on Unsplash

6. Light Painting and Reflections

If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can try to do some light painting on a rainy night. There are many options when it comes to light painting – you can use LED lights, sparklers, fire, lasers or even something more elaborate and more dangerous, such as steel wool.

Finding a large enough puddle to make your idea come true can be a bit tricky in case you’re working with fire or steel wool, but it’s certainly worth efforts. Light painting in the rain can be done either in nature or in the city provided you’re taking safety measures.

Photo by Sebastian Pociecha on Unsplash

Capture Great Photographs Even During Bad Weather

No matter what is your shooting routine and what is your favorite genre of photography, you should definitely try taking creative photos in the rain.

Rain puddles can be a great challenge for your creative skills! Besides that, they can also help you spice up your usual way of shooting portraits, landscapes and abstract photographs.

Jasenka is a photographer with a background in web design. You can find out more about her on her website, see some of her newest images at 500px or get to know her better here.

A rainy day may ruin your motivation to go out and shoot, but it shouldn’t necessarily ruin your camera and picture taking abilities. Even if your camera isn’t waterproof, weatherproof or weather-sealed there are still ways that you can go out into the rain and shoot to your heart’s desire. In truth, you can capture some gorgeous scenes while you’re out in the rain.

Keep the Camera Under Your Coat/Hoodie

If you’re going out in the rain, chances are that you’re going to wear a hoodie or coat of some sort in order to keep your clothes from getting wet. In that case, you can surely keep your point-and-shoot, micro four-thirds or DSLR under your hoodie. Whenever you’re ready to shoot, just take the camera out and quickly take the shot in order to prevent excessive amounts of rain/snow from getting into the camera. For fastest results, shoot in program or aperture modes. For the results you want, it should go without say to shoot in manual.

This works great if you’ve got a DSLR and you’re wearing a hoodie. Just place your hood over your head and bring the camera in as close to your face as possible when shooting. The hood will act as a cover for your camera while you shoot. Your lens will protrude but your lens will be able to withstand the rain to a certain point.

That’s exactly how the above photo was taken using my Olympus E-510 on a rainy night out with friends around the Times Square area.

I always try to pack as light as I can when shooting, so as an alternative what you can do is take your hoodie off and wrap it around the camera. This obviously means that you will get wet, but if you’d rather you being soaked over having to replace your camera then this is a good option.

The first photo in this article was captured that way while out in NYC one night with friends and I saw the above scene. It was cloudy, raining and the Empire State Building looked like it was being swallowed by the clouds. This photo was taken while standing in the middle of Park Ave. South. (Be careful while doing something like that.)

Make a DIY Rain Cover With a Plastic Bag

Of course, there is always the old school method of doing this too. This involves using a plastic shopping bag or freezer bag, cutting a hole through it for your lens and placing it over your camera. It provides plenty of protection for your camera but can be tedious to use. If you’ve got a point-and-shoot, it may be hard to see the LCD as well. As for DSLR users, let’s just say that you’ll have a much easier time changing your settings without the bag.

Additionally, if your camera bag doesn’t have a rain cover, consider keeping a plastic garbage bag in a pouch or pocket. If you get caught out in a down pour, you can drop the entire camera bag into your “DIY rain cover” while you make your way to a dry area.

Shoot From Cover

If the subject you need to capture is out in bad weather, you need to learn how to go out and shoot in rain or shine. One method you can use while keeping your discreteness is shooting from cover. I was a few feet away from actor Justin Long when I shot this photo using my Canon 5D Mk II with 24-105mm F4L IS.

Cover can be the awning of a local deli, a nice bushy tree, scaffolding, from under a sea of umbrellas, your car, etc. It will greatly aid you because you can concentrate more on getting the shot.

Don’t Be Too Timid, Your Camera May Be Tougher Than You Think

Your camera won’t melt at the first sign of moisture or inclement weather. While you should not go asking for trouble by taking your non-weatherproof camera out for a couple of hours in a monsoon or under a waterfall like Massimo did ;-), it’s unlikely that a few rain drops or snow flakes will kill it.

Don’t panic at the first sign of bad weather. Just use some common sense and minimize your camera’s exposure to the elements.