Rainy day idea
QI took some street photos in the rain recently, but I can’t really see the rain in the images. Is there a way to make it more obvious? Fiona McNamara
AIt’s great that you’re out shooting in the rain, Fiona: anything that adds an extra element of interest means that you can start to get creative. My guess is that you’ve used a faster shutter speed because you are hand-holding your camera – maybe 1/125 sec or 1/250 sec. When you use a faster shutter speed, the raindrops are frozen in mid-air, and aren’t that visible to the naked eye on your photo.
What you need to do is reduce the shutter speed, so the rain starts to streak – and then it becomes more obvious in your image. Rain will start to streak at about 1/60 sec, but I often like to go slower still at 1/30 sec or 1/15 sec.
Of course, going that slow means that you might get camera movement, as well as subject blur of the people walking along the street. I like to go slow with the shutter speed then add some additional intentional camera movement, with a little pan or jiggle of the camera to make the image look slightly painterly.
The other thing that’s worth noting is that the streaking rain is always going to show up better against a darker background, like the man with the umbrella in my shot. While the heavy rain can be seen elsewhere in the image, it is most clear against the darker tones and barely visible at all against the lighter buildings. Ultimately, the idea is to use the conditions to your advantage.
When it’s raining and people are rushing about with umbrellas, it’s easy to stand on a street corner almost unnoticed, grabbing shots as people mill about. As a rule, when it’s raining heavily, people tend to move quite quickly, so it’s possible to try a little panning – just move the camera with them as you take the photo.