Capturing Rain

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Hello all,

I'm afraid I'm back, and I'm afraid I'm asking more stupid questions.

Fans will know that I do quite a lot of deliberate photoshop and post-processing work to get graphic novel-like effects to my photographs, and more often than not I will chuck on some rain to add to the atmosphere.

Now I'm growing up a bit, however, I'm starting to think seriously (Srsly? Srsly.) about photographing rain, and figured that it's actually quite hard - I want the tracers you see in the graphic novels, but for real.

I live in Mordor, and am never short of moody urban scenes to shoot, but I'd like to capture actual rain falling, which is blummin hard - what with it being blumming small and fast.

For daytime shooting I figured whacking on a heavy ND filter and upping the exposure would get me the effects I want, but then realised that no two raindrops fall in the same place at the same time.

Anyone got any advice or examples of what I should do to get this effect?

Many thanks,

Myky D
 
Slow shutter speed and light the rain seperately from off-camera so that it shows as streaks...don't use flash though as that will freeze the drops rather than create the streaks you're after...
 
Slow shutter speed and light the rain seperately from off-camera so that it shows as streaks...don't use flash though as that will freeze the drops rather than create the streaks you're after...

Ah OK - that sounds like good advice. How and where would I light the rain from off-camera?

I'm thinking of shots say under bridges or in doorways/archways. Do you mean sort of ... proper ... big lamps and things, or just a big torch or something? Facing in the direction of camera (though not at, obviously), or away?
 
Ah OK - that sounds like good advice. How and where would I light the rain from off-camera?

I'm thinking of shots say under bridges or in doorways/archways. Do you mean sort of ... proper ... big lamps and things, or just a big torch or something? Facing in the direction of camera (though not at, obviously), or away?

car headlights would do it...side on...oblique in other words...
 
No chance here - blazing sunshine and unending clear blue skies...lol
 
ok I want to ask this in every urban type thread you post - is mordor a real place ??? or is it just what you call your home town/city

also thats a great shout arkady, I'v heard of it used to light the foreground in evenin lanscapes but never thought of it for rain
 
ok I want to ask this in every urban type thread you post - is mordor a real place ??? or is it just what you call your home town/city

also thats a great shout arkady, I'v heard of it used to light the foreground in evenin lanscapes but never thought of it for rain

Hahahaha bless your cottons!

Mordor is the dark city of industry and evil in J. R. R. Tolkein's trilogy Lord Of The Rings.

I live in London, UK, which is much the same, or not much different, depending on how you look at it.
 
I think I remember a tutorial some where for doing this and it sugested that a shutter speed of around 1/60 produced good results.

Give that a go...
 
Is this the kind of thing you're after?

www.pxl8.co.uk/SPP_6274.jpg (note 1920px wide 800kb)

I shot this with at 1/125s @ f.28 so and focused close to the background was blurred and the rain drops stood out against it.
 
That's the sort of thing, px18, yes - but I'm quite into my film noir style so I'd have some sort of subject. Here's a few photoshopped ones I did that I'd like to recreate for real:

2652585158_465ece8a0b.jpg


2978882643_500a575834.jpg


2974918866_38dd14250f.jpg


2504675081_0fb4984311.jpg
 
Easy then, find your location, get a big spotlight, wait for rain at night, shoot. Job done :LOL:

Seriously I think the shutter speed will be shorter than you think, the reason why I posted my example. Rain falls pretty quickly and longer exposures will tend to soften the results into more of a misty effect.
 
That's the sort of thing, px18, yes - but I'm quite into my film noir style so I'd have some sort of subject. Here's a few photoshopped ones I did that I'd like to recreate for real:

2652585158_465ece8a0b.jpg


2504675081_0fb4984311.jpg

TBH if this is what you're coming out with, I'd say stick with it - really good graphic-novel effect...
 
Hahahaha bless your cottons!

Mordor is the dark city of industry and evil in J. R. R. Tolkein's trilogy Lord Of The Rings.

I live in London, UK, which is much the same, or not much different, depending on how you look at it.

I knew that honest, it just kinda sounded like a scottish place name too :confused:

though its a pretty good description of london :D
 
If it helps, the effective shutter speed of the human eye is roughly 1/20sec, which tends to show rain as streaks rather than drops. Just like the effect you've already got as it happens :)
 
While it wouldn't give you the same effect, you could maybe try out some lighting ideas using a hosepipe with a fine spray nozzle.
 
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