If you shoot nature shots frequently enough, it’s a very safe bet that you will encounter something that many photographers and videographers fear; rain. Rain can be challenging to work around, but if you learn how to incorporate it into your shots and make them look better, I’ll give you some tips to work around the rain and to help you deal with the darkness that comes with the rain, along with making the moodiness of the weather compliment your shot even further.
An obvious problem you will run into when shooting in the rain is the rain. The rain can get you and your equipment wet, which can ruin your shoot. Make sure to check the forecast before going shooting always so that you are not caught off guard by the weather. When you know it’s going to rain, bring rain gear for yourself and always bring rain gear for your camera, to prevent water damage.
One of the main challenges people face when shooting in the rain in the lack of light. Usually, when it’s raining, there is not a ton of natural light since it’s likely cloudy. The low light from the clouds leads to your pictures being more even and soft. The light that comes from rain leads to your shots being moodier, and incorporating that into your shots is imperative when shooting in the rain.
When managing the low amounts of light in rain shots, having a source of light is important in your shots. For example, if you’re shooting the scene of the street, having the street lights on and central in the shot is a good idea. This allows for the contrast between the darkness of the rain, and the brightness of the light. Having light in a rain shot is important so that the shot isn’t too dark, and having a light in the shot can help you avoid facing the problem of not having enough light.
Rain can sometimes drown out vibrant color, whether it’s through the actual water or the lack of lighting. In order to combat this issue, you can bring artificial lighting with you to shooting, and something as simple as an umbrella to limit the amount of rain in the shot. Even bringing these two simple things to a shoot can really help manage the amount of darkness and rain in the shot, and help your shot not get entirely washed out by darkness.
What is your favorite aspect of rain shots?