Shooting in the Rain
Rain evokes a number of emotions and feelings from human beings. May it be sadness, rebirth or elation for children whose thoughts of another day at school changes from routine to gladness when the weatherman declares a typhoon resulting in the cancellation of classes for the day, the sense of what rain brings to us varies from individual to individual, a menagerie of thoughts and ideas come in to play in our minds when the first droplets hit the lush leaves of the tree outside of our window. As with our feelings and emotions, rain also brings unique opportunities for photography.
Most photographers absolutely love dramatic weather. Rain, fog or stormy skies, using weather can enhance your photograph and help you draw out moods or feelings from your viewer. After all, a rain soaked street providing a dazzling array of reflections from neon lights brightly ablaze in the city skyline looks very different from one that is basking in the darkness of night, and an abandoned house is given a spookier element when photographed on a foggy late afternoon that on a clear day.
Shooting in the rain can be fun and exciting, filling one with an array of scenes all around that can be looked upon in the creative. However, one does not want an expensive piece of equipment all soaked up while shooting. So, when shooting in the rain, it is best to look for a sheltered spot, may it be under a porch of a nice old lady sipping afternoon tea, or under a bright umbrella. Wind sprays can give our equipment a jolly good wetting. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would loosely wrap the camera in a clear plastic bag that has an ample opening for the lens. Depending on the low atmospheric conditions, you might find droplets of water on your camera even if you try keep dry. So, wiping your lens and camera body as frequently as possible is a must.
Rain can affect the scene you want to shoot, so look for unique opportunities that a light downpour can satisfy your hunger for the creative. For example, a farmer tiling his field may stand in the middle of a downpour laughing at the much needed rain or there’s that businessman on the commute looking all so glum because the downpour has suddenly ruined his new suit.
Depending on what type of equipment you bring along, create two different kinds of shots using lenses: you can either streak it or freeze. Freezing raindrops is not all that difficult. All you need is a fast lens and a shutter speed of around 1/125. The faster the shutter, the niftier the freeze effect would be. Streaking is not going around naked in the at the Rizal Memorial Stadium grounds in the middle of a ballgame. Streaking is the effect of capturing the rain droplets in mid-trajectory i.e. capturing the droplets and their short tales (similar to a comet) on their way down. To streak, you need to set your shutter speed to around 1/60.
Shooting raindrops work much better if you have a dark background. However, if shooting with dark background is not possible, you might want to try including elements that would make clear its raining, like raindrops hitting a puddle of water for example, or a nice young couple taking a leisurely stroll while in a snug embrace under an umbrella.
So, my friends, rain should not stop you from doing what love to do: click away with your camera. Go out, enjoy rain, take creative shots and don’t be afraid to wet yourselves.
Hmmm…somehow, I don’t like the delivery of that last statement. Anyways, ‘til next time! Happy clicking!
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