Rainy Day Portraits

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DaydreamJay

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Jason
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I'm going out with a friend this afternoon to take some pics of her. She doesn't know it yet but they are for a photobook that her boyfriend is going to get done for her birthday. I've already got around 15 reasonable shots of her from previous meetings but we decided to get a few more to top it up. Trouble is it was short notice so couldn't get the studio that I use booked so outside it is! I have got some good ones of her before outside but today it's raining/changable.

So anyway, we're not deterred by the conditions but lacking inspiration of what shots to take, I'm only a beginner anyway so I've not taken any shots at all in the rain. Can anyone post some examples for me to give us some ideas please? I'm going out shortly but we'll check back on here periodically from my phone to see if anyone has replied, thanks. Jay

Oh - a picture of the girl in question, just in case you're curious, this was just taken in the pub next to a window, so we may end up doing that!

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Good light there, a little bit soft, but there's nothing wrong with that that a little more care won't fix...
Watch the point of focus if you're shooting on a wide aperture - make sure it's on the eye nearest the camera.
If you decide to shoot outdoors and it is raining, shield yourself with an umbrella and don't use flash - it'll highlight the raindrops as little white blurs...

The pub-window is a good idea BTW...
 
Thanks for the comments. The picture below was taken at the same time/location and I did manage to get the focus on her near eye that time. Steep learning curve this is, but there's worse things that I could be doing on a miserable afternoon than learning how to take portraits with a lovely girl :-)

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I quite like this one I found on Flickr, I might have a bash at getting one like this today if I can find a suitable location:

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Just a word of caution - if you post other people's images, please do it as a link to their website so we can see the author's details...
 
Well anyway it went relatively ok for a rubbish weather day. Here are a sample of the ones I got, they are both taken using natural light as flash photography baffles me, we just sat in the pub all day... apart from when I had to go out in the rain to get the window one. Not sure on the correct crop for the window one.

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I like the second one, but just one little niggle.
I find the streak of rainwater running straight down the bridge of her nose rather distracting.
 
i like the second one alot
might even give that a go, i never thought of taking a pic through wet glass as i thought it would distort the face
 
Hi jason, not sure where you live but for locations on a rainy day look out for places like town halls and libraries with nice pillars, you can usually shoot under cover and get some good light coming through the pillars. Also hotels are a great place to play. If you just explain to the receptionist that you are taking a few headshots in the public areas and will take care not to disturb guests most I have found to be quite accommodating. That way you can look for things like reflections in bars, marble walls,glass....all sorts of stuff. :)

Good inspiration on using the conditions to your advantage with the window :)
 
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Thanks for the tips Alison, I might try the local town hall, it's got big pillars that are in shelter and plenty of scope for reflections on the wet flat stones around the perimeter.

Here's another bog-standard portrait that I took yesterday while it was raining, again just sat in the pub with a window for light. On the original you can see a field, row of trees and the sky in the reflections in her eyes, I was very happy with this as it's the sharpest I've got one so far. I've only been doing it two minutes though (relatively speaking) lol.

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You've got a very nice set of pictures of her here, I think. I really like the second pic of her in the thread.

Got any three-quarter or full length yet (you've posted mostly close-ups)? Or maybe some environmental portraits?
 
ianmarsh said:
You've got a very nice set of pictures of her here, I think. I really like the second pic of her in the thread.

Got any three-quarter or full length yet (you've posted mostly close-ups)? Or maybe some environmental portraits?
Click to expand...

Hi Ian, thanks for the kind comments, I hope I'm progressing in the right direction but everything seems so complex at the moment! I don't have any 3/4 or full length pics of her from yesterday apart from this brolly one that I've just fished back out of the recycle bin as the lighting was bad and a car drove past as I took the shot. The only other one is this one of her on the pool table (in the pub again,) that I wasn't happy with either as her right eye is distorted with being pressed on her arm.

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