Shoot on Rainy Days

Its interesting how often photographers I know will avoid going out to shoot in the rain, preferring to wait for nicer weather…

There are 3 interesting things that can happen with rainy weather:

1) Natural Diffusion

With rain comes clouds. Clouds block the sun adding a nice, natural diffusion to outdoor sunlight. This means less shadows and “high contrast” lighting. Honestly, shooting outdoors in the middle of the day in the sun is very difficult, though it certainly is more comfortable than shooting in the rain.

The one problem however, is the contrast between the sky and other objects in your image. Grey skies, although diffused, tend to blow out to white on digital cameras. All that beautiful, natural diffusion comes with this as a side effect. Just be conscious and compose accordingly.

2) Surfaces become reflective

One of my favorite aspects of rainy weather. The water on streets and other surfaces becomes reflective. This can add a great deal of interest to your image. You can even use this as a compositional tool – experiment and try different things.

3) Rain changes how people behave outdoors

Maybe the most obvious, but can work well in composition. People tend to move quickly to get out of the rain, duck under umbrellas and hang out under covered structures to wait for the rain to clear. Use these scenarios in your compositions.