Photographing rain

Thecageyone

Since it's raining right now, the thought came to mind: How do you capture rain? And I mean, clean, individual drops falling. Not just a blur of lines like I usually get. I take it you'd need strong flash? But how to best work around this in the rain, without damaging your gear?

Kintarō Hattori

I would imagine you'd need to put your camera under some sort of box/covering, or have plastic sheeting over it and the tripod. I would also guess that you'd need to photograph against a dark background such as trees, shrubbery and so on.

http://tinyurl.com/4ozo7le

Thecageyone

Cheers [for the initial bit]

I know how to google thanks And have done. You could post that link for almost every question asked in here and we wouldn't need the forum at all!

I want tips from people in here! Who know what they're on about, Not some random people on some US forum I might find by googling. So easy get lost in a mound of those and get 50 different answers.

Dark backing makes sense. Protecting the flash would be tough I imagine, for general on the spot shooting. Sports photographers might have some useful tips on this one?

gbee

You wouldn't necessarily need flash, but if you use it, it must be remotely triggered. A great danger is flare from the flash as one would need an acute angle towards the flash and possibly even coming from the front of the camera.

A simple plastic bag would be enough protection for the flash and slave unit from the rain, a small tripod for the flash is useful.

You can try high speed flash by setting you flash to hi-speed mode, done correctly you freeze the water to drops, your background goes black as you will need to use a low ISO.

The key element is side or back-lighting ~ however achieved. Camera on a tripod offers slow speed shooting to make a mist of the rain ~ similar to shooting a waterfall.

Thecageyone

My camera only syncs @ 1/200, don't think you can set my flash to anything but straight firing, it's very basic. Cheers for the tips though Must get some clear plastic bags.

FoxT

This photo was shot at f/1.8, 1/80sec, handheld, ISO3200. Using this as a starting point, I would suggest the following:

Shutter speed - each raindrop streak is about 10cm long. So they are travelling at about 8 metres/second. (1/80th sec exposure) A shutter speed of even 1/1000 sec won't freeze them - they will travel in 8mm at that time. In fact, if you want to freeze the raindrop you will have to use a flash, as flash duration of about 1/10,000th sec should do it.

Hi-speed sync (if you have it) will create problems of its own - because in this mode the flash fires multiple times in the course of the expsure - I don't think this is the effect you are looking for? I would start off with the flash in Manual mode on a low power setting (lower power = shorter duration flash = better action freezing)

Light direction - hard to tell from this photo but I think that the flash needs to be off camera at an oblique angle to the rain. Need a cable or remote trigger for this.


Aperture - wide open - blurs background, lets in more light (flash is at low power, remember)

focus - this will be touch & go, you wont be able to focus on an individual raindrop, I would suggest as a starting point focus on an object about 2-3 m away, set up the flash to light that area, use flash sync speed (1/250 on many cameras I think) & an ISO of 400 to 800.

protection: In light rain you would be OK with a plastic bag I'd say. For heavy rain you'd need to improvise something a bit more substantial, or buy a rainproof cover for the camera & flash.

Good luck with it - show us the results!

- FoxT

gbee

Thecageyone wrote: »

My camera only syncs @ 1/200, don't think you can set my flash to anything but straight firing, it's very basic. Cheers for the tips though Must get some clear plastic bags.

You could try your flash in manual mode at it lowest setting, this should be the shortest [fastest] speed for your unit.

You can use a watering can to try the effect. Set your camera to M and M Focus, prefocus on the spout of the can. In the dark use a long shutter speed say 1 second and manually fire the flash, pointing at the water now coming out of the can. The idea is to sync the 1-sec shutter speed [in the dark] to the short flash it should result in about 1/1000 sec equivalent exposure [or more, I'd have to look up specs for the flash unit].

Adjust the exposure level via the aperture.

Thecageyone

Good stuff, thanks. Notes jotted, I'll be ready for the next shower

eas

Thecageyone wrote: »

My camera only syncs @ 1/200, don't think you can set my flash to anything but straight firing, it's very basic. Cheers for the tips though Must get some clear plastic bags.

it's a D90 isn't it? I'm pretty sure it has commander mode?

Thecageyone

Yup. I'm a bit of a n00b to off-cam flash too, I've been using it in manual flash mode. Commander allows faster sync? In manual mode you can go beyond 1/200 but you get black bands across the images.

WillyWonka

Would be interested to see the results of this cagey. The good, the bad and the ugly...

eas

you'll still be stuck to the 1/200th sync, but the pop up flash will allow you to control & fire external flashes (as long as they're Nikons with remote capabilities).

Borderfox

You can go over synch just compose with the black bars top and bottom.

pete4130

If I'm right, with new PWs you can synch what you like. On a bright day with flash as fill in you might get away with 250th. I know I've shot 1/320th and 1/400th with strong ambient and it worked. Without string ambient you'll see the shutter.

pete4130

Oh yeah. Dunno why nobody else has said this...really fast shutter, pre focus between foreground and background and try panning down? Simples. Easy. It's what I'd try and work from there.

Thecageyone

Mine are cheap no-make triggers + cheap flash unit, thing won't even rapid fire on lowest setting, though it did when I got it first, at least on the hot-shoe.

I gave 1/250 a try, black line just across the bottom, indoors, bad lighting. tried 1/320 - double black line.

As mentioned earlier, the sync probably doesn't matter a whole lot? as rain drops fall so rapidly. I just want to at least catch some light in the falling drops, so they're not just lines. I'f shot in the rain before many times, just not concentrated on actually getting the rain sharp.

Taking all in, will try tomorrow if it rains like it did today [my flash was almost dead so no go]

cnocbui

Since the shutter speed is not going to be adequately fast to freeze the motion, use the flash to do that.

The duration of an electronic flash is thousands of times smaller than the sync shutter speed. A modern flash can have a duration of only 0.00003 seconds compared to say the sync speed shutter duration which is say 0.02 seconds.

I think your best bet would be to shoot in darkness using a flash. It won't matter what the sync shutter speed is - you could even use B - if the only light is from the flash.

Imagine what would happen: While the shutter is open, a droplet would be falling, but won't register an image because it isn't lit. The flash goes off recording an image of the drop. After the flash, the droplet continues to fall while the shutter is slowly closing, but again no image is recorded because there is no light.

Thecageyone

Late evening/night would be best then? Good explanation right there. I'll be out in the garden tonight if it rains, scaring the neighbours by popping flashes towards the dark rainy sky

Borderfox

Have a look at this, some good tips that echo above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Er4W-gfwU

ozymandius

Interesting link here - http://dptnt.com/2010/01/flash-duration/

Flash duration gets very short with lower power, no gradual fall-off of intensity (see discharge curves linked from para 4).

For an SB-800:

• M 1/1 output: 1/1050s
• M 1/2 output: 1/1100s
• M 1/4 output: 1/2700s
• M 1/8 output: 1/5900s
• M 1/16 output: 1/10900s
• M 1/32 output: 1/17800s
• M 1/64 output: 1/32300s
• M 1/128 output: 1/41600s

I think, because of different circuitry, studio strobes may not behave the same way, i.e. they do have a longer flash period.

The long decay can give a strange effect where rain drops appear to 'fall' upwards. See - attached crop*



*Crop was from this - best I could find with a quick google.

WillyWonka

Wow..that's a team of people right there...not easy then.

Best of luck cagey!

Thecageyone

That is some set up! I'm aiming for something just a teensy bit more simplistic But i at least get now that the shutter speed doesn't matter so much, but the strobe speed. Lower power + good timing.

Borderfox

Everything to scale

When I seen you wanting to photograph rain this is the first thing that came to mind

Thecageyone

Ah yes! Great film, and great image.

I was thinking more individual drops with sparkles of light on them mid fall, but I realise now that may be impossible. I'd be happy enough with some good vivid rain and nice splashes. need a victim to stand out in a shower for me

Borderfox

Might be something you like or an idea in here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY13MvLSw84