How to Photograph in the Rain

Tip 1: Protect your gear

Before we share inspiring tips for beautiful rainy-day photos, we think it’s important that your gear is well protected. After all, you don’t want your equipment to get damaged by the rain. You can protect your gear with a handy rain cover or, for example, a lens hood.

For more tips on protecting your camera from the rain, you can read this blog.

Tip 2: Prepare well

When you want to photograph in the rain, you obviously don’t want to still be figuring out what to shoot once you’re outside. That’s why it’s smart to think in advance about what you want to capture and at which location. For example, will you go into nature to capture a wet forest, or choose architectural photos in the rain? Prepare well so that when you actually start shooting, you don’t get any wetter than necessary.

Tip 3: Photograph reflections

During a rain shower, puddles often appear everywhere. That’s actually a big advantage, because you can use those puddles to photograph reflections! Maybe you’re in the forest and a reflection makes it look even larger, or you go into the city to look for puddles and capture tall buildings in them. You can really experiment with this! Try photographing children jumping in puddles, for example. Thanks to the reflection, there’s twice as much fun visible in the photo!

Be sure to also read our blog about photographing reflections.

Tip 4: Experiment with your shutter speed

If you want to capture rain, you have the perfect opportunity to play with your shutter speed. When you choose the fastest possible shutter speed, you freeze the raindrops in your photo. But if you choose a slower shutter speed, it looks as if the rain is still falling. This can give your image a more dramatic effect.

Tip 5: Capture people

Although not many people enjoy going outside in the rain, it’s definitely recommended to do a portrait shoot in the rain! It can add a dramatic and romantic effect to your images. The rain creates a completely different atmosphere in your photos.

Tip 6: Use backlighting

It can sometimes be quite difficult to capture raindrops themselves in photos. But did you know you can use backlighting for this? By shooting with backlight, you literally light up the raindrops in your photos. Maybe light is coming through a window or from a streetlamp, or you can set up a (waterproof) continuous light. Bet the raindrops will pop off your image!

Tip 7: Bring an umbrella

This tip may seem obvious, because why would you go into the rain without an umbrella? But an umbrella does more than just keep you and your gear dry. A light-coloured umbrella can help distribute light evenly, while a dark umbrella can block harsh light. An umbrella can also be a fun accessory in a rainy portrait shoot. Ideal!

Tip 8: Wait until the rain has passed

We understand if you don’t feel like heading out in the rain. Luckily, you can also take beautiful photos after the shower. For example, you can photograph raindrops on flowers or blades of grass. And of course, after rain comes sunshine! You might even spot a rainbow to capture.