Raining Weather Pics

[Deandra Uleman]

Rainon your wedding day can be quite a downer for most brides even though many cultures see rain as good fortune, cleansing and fertility. Often brides wonder how they are going to still get good photos if it's raining. Here are some tips for photographers that I've picked up over the years having shot numerous weddings in the rain.

The best way to get rain drops to show up in a picture is to backlight them. I like to do this with flashes, but this could also be done with a porch light or even the sun. By backlighting the rain drops they will stand out more in the photo as little bright areas on your photographs as the light passes through the water.

While most professional camera bodies, lenses and flashes are weather-sealed that does not mean you shouldn't provide a little extra protection for them. After all I would rather use a $0.25 bag to protect my gear than have to send it in for repairs. I like to keep zip lock bags in my bag that I can toss over my flashes when needed outdoors (the gallon size bag is perfect for your camera and lens) and a poncho. If you're afraid of how you look with plastic bags keeping your gear dry you can purchase fitted plastic covers for your camera and lenses.

Use those puddles to your advantage by finding interesting reflections that you can use to include in your photos. In this shot I ended up just turning it upside down in Photoshop to create a unique looking shot.

Rain typically means dark clouds. Offset those clouds by boosting your ISO. You might be use to shooting photos outside at ISO 200. Don't hesitate to now raise your ISO up to 800, 1600 or if shooting with a professional body such as the Canon 5D Mark III or Nikon D4 all the way to 3200.

One of my favorite things about shooting in the rain is how the photos all come out with beautiful saturated colors. The greens are greener, blues bluer and even the wet driveway at the venue looks amazing.

It is popular these days that photographers shoot most of the wedding photos with wide open apertures. Remember though if you are shooting in the rain in order to capture the most amount of drops possible you'll need more depth of field than just a few inches. So don't be afraid to shoot at f5.6 for example to open up your depth of field a bit more.

The bride and groom are going to be looking at you for reassurance that everything will be ok. They will be listening to what you say and more importantly your body language. Keep it positive and make sure they understand you are down to handle whatever Mother Nature throws at you and will still get beautiful images.

Umbrellas not only make for a great addition to the photographs as a prop but they are wonderful at kicking light back down on our couples. Keep an umbrella stored under the seat of your car that works well for photos. Here's one on Amazon for $9. Don't wait till one is needed and then have to settle for using one with ugly colors, strange patterns or large advertising plastered across it.

Don't try to tell a different story of the wedding day by not including photos of the rain. Embrace the weather and enjoy it. Also remember that it is not very often that it will rain non-stop for hours. You'll typically find a break in the weather, even if just for a few minutes. Let the couple know that during those small breaks you would like to take advantage of the time and grab some photos.

Often the bride and groom and their family will be looking to you for advice on the wedding day. Unless you say something they'll plan on canceling certain activities that they might have otherwise planned thinking it's no longer possible. On March 1, 2014 I shot a wedding in which we experienced a torrential down pour of rain. At the end of reception the rain was still pouring and the couple suggested just not doing the sparkler exit. I encouraged them to go forward with it and that I would love to capture the event for them even though that meant I would be getting wet. So we gathered up their close friends and family, lit the sparklers under the porch awning and rain out in the rain forming a tunnel. The couple walked through it and we got this beautiful image.

Hopefully these tips have been helpful and will give you that extra boost of confidence you need the next time you see rain forecasted on the day of your shoot. Relax, grab your rain coat, put your smile back on and enjoy the experience while creating unique photos for your clients.

Trevor Dayley (www.trevordayley.com) was named as one of the Top 100 Wedding Photographers in the US in 2014 by Brandsmash. His award-winning wedding photos have been published in numerous places including Grace Ormonde. He and his wife have been married for 15 years and together they have six kids.

It's amazing how much impact one person with a good attitude can have on others. Your approach is full of great tips, and helps the photographer have a cool-head in a potentially tough situation. Great tips and stellar photos.

Is it wrong that I'm kinda hoping I get a rainy wedding this year now? :)

It's so key. When you show a client that you're actually excited about something that they would think is a day-killer, you really make the event a success in unexpected ways for them, and they come to appreciate you almost more than they would have otherwise.

My take! It dint rain , but a broken/ weak water pump and a couple of shots later heres the image.We dint even have a real umbrella, but the shoot through will do thank you! :-) But i have to admit the real bokeh magic was the 85 1.4!

wow i know this is a little late but in case you never found out... if you set for camera to say 2500-3000k and gel your main light with an orange filter regular lights (5000k) appear blue. this way by simply geling your main you can effect all other light sources, instead of leaving your main and then gelling every other light

Be prepared

That means, do not believe 100 percent in the weather forecast. If you see that the rain is in the forecast, even for a day before or a day after, you have to be prepared and do an investigation. Find places where you can take the boyfriend and girlfriend, abroad. Think of opportunities like doors, under

bridges, under big trees. These places will offer a beautiful backdrop and keep your couple dry.

These are hourly rainfall rates only and are not the actual amounts of rain a location receives. The total amount of rain received varies with intensity changes in a storm as well as the storm's motion over the ground.

Reflectivity is one of the three base products that are produced by pulsed Doppler radars and is likely the product most familiar to the general public. As the name implies, reflectivity is the amount of energy that is returned (reflected) back to the receiver after hitting a target. Reflectivity products are generally shown on television and are available on numerous websites. Reflectivity is the most frequently used product by forecasters to indicate where precipitation and severe weather is occurring.

The reflectivity product will show where precipitation is occurring. Forecasters can see different storm attributes, such as hook echoes, bow echoes, and training echoes. All of these can be precursors to significant weather events. For example, a hook echo is a good indication that a storm has obtained rotation and is a common feature in severe supercell thunderstorms. Oftentimes, tornadoes that occur within supercells are located at the tip of the hook. Bow echoes are indicated by a bowing segment within the reflectivity pattern and can be an indication of damaging winds. Training echoes are when an area of precipitation develops and moves over the same areas with new thunderstorms tracking over areas that have already seen rainfall (training) and can be an indication of flash flooding potential.

Reflectivity is a measurement of returned power back to the radar, however this power return can vary significantly depending on the target that is hit. The WSR-88D transmits a pulse with 750,000 watts of power, but only receives a fraction of that power back to the receiver. In fact, the power return is so weak that it must be passed through amplifiers before the signal can be processed.

The units of reflectivity (denoted by the letter z), as derived from the radar equation, are in mm6 / m3. These units are difficult to work with, and the raw values of reflectivity vary greatly depending on the target. For example, tiny water droplets may have a raw reflectivity value of 0.001 mm6 / m3 while hail within a severe thunderstorm may have a raw reflectivity value of 36,000,000 mm6 / m3. This would be rather difficult for anyone to work with. So, the radar applies a logarithmic scale to significantly compress these values. Instead of working with difficult units, after the logarithmic scale is applied, we have units of decibels (dB) of reflectivity (Z) or dBZ. The scale runs from around -35 dBZ to +85 dBZ.

Generally speaking, the higher the reflectivity, the heavier the precipitation. However, this is not always the case, and care must be taken not to discount lower reflectivity values in certain circumstances. As a general guideline, the following can be assumed:

While the general reflectivity guidelines can be followed most of the time, there are some exceptions, especially when it comes to heavy rainfall. Remember that the radar does not directly measure rainfall intensity. It only measures the amount of power returned to the radar. Consider the example below:

(Right) Hurricane Ida after making landfall in southeast Louisiana on August 29, 2021. Notice that reflectivity values are generally between 35-45 dBZ despite torrential rainfall and strong winds. This is because the raindrops associated with warm tropical systems are generally smaller than those in thunderstorms and contain little to no hail; therefore they return less power to the radar. Rainfall amounts between 10 and 15 inches fell across much of southeast Louisiana with this hurricane.

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