When it’s pouring rain, taking outdoor portraits is not the first thing most of us would do. But Japan-based photographer Ilko Alexandroff uses the rain to his advantage. He takes amazing backlit portraits in the rain, and they make it worth getting wet. In his latest video, he shares plenty of his gorgeous backlit rainy portraits. He will give you a tutorial on how to take them, from light position to camera settings. And of course, he’ll give you some advice how to protect your camera and strobes so the rain doesn’t ruin them.
This portable tent looks funny, but keeps you and your gear safe from rain
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After the article about the hands-free umbrella, plenty of people said that, in some cases, it simply wouldn’t be enough. Indeed, sometimes the rain is too strong. And when it’s paired with the wind, an umbrella alone doesn’t protect you and your gear well enough from the rain. But this is where Under the Weather portable pods can come to the scene. These wearable and portable tents serve to protect you and all your precious gear from rain and wind, and they can even keep you warm. It looks hilarious, but it seems that it works.
This “hands free umbrella” is either most genius idea ever for shooting in the rain or the dumbest
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Shooting in the rain is a big concern for many photographers. Especially if you live in a country with somewhat unpredictable weather. I’ve shot in the rain plenty of times over the years, but I’m usually using weather sealed equipment that can handle it. In more extreme weather, I’ve even tried some of the DSLR raincoats. Sometimes, though, the raincoat isn’t practical, and I don’t really want to push the limits of that weather sealing.
Now, though, we have another option. The “Nubrella”, a hands-free… well, it says it’s an umbrella, but it’s more a backpack style mobile canopy. It’s a very unusual design, and it likely holds up well to the rigours of rain. But at what cost? How much is your dignity worth to you? Here, let Nubrella founder & CEO, Alan Kaufman, show you how it works.
This amazing storm timelapse makes rainclouds look like floating waterfalls
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When I’m heading out location scouting or to do a shoot, we often drive through rain 3 or 4 times before we get there. The weather around here is full of all sorts of different microclimates, some small, some large. So it’s not uncommon to see columns of rain coming down in the distance.
Rarely, though, are they as dramatically beautiful as they are in this video from photographer and filmmaker Mike Olbinski. This timelapse film took over 85,000 frames and 36 days of shooting to complete. It’s stunning work, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Pouring rain is your shot at spectacular portraits
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Pouring rain can be an excuse to stay home and do nothing. It can also be a great opportunity to go outside and use the elements at your advantage. Japan based photographer Ilko Allexandroff (interview) is maybe the master of shooting stunning portraits in the rain. You know what, it only takes perseverance and some knowledge to turn a rainy night into your playground.
Ilko uses a very consistent 2 lights setup, a soft(ish) front light and a hard backlight. The front light – a Nissin MG8000 with a 60×60 foldable softbox – lights the model, while the backlight – another Nissin – does a double duty. It freezes the rain drops and provides a kicker light. Both lights are triggered using a Cactus V6 trigger.
Protect your gear from rain and snow for less than $1
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These days, most cameras and lens build quality is pretty high. Even if not completely weather sealed they can still take quite a lot of abuse from nature. Sometimes, though, you do want to take the extra step to protect your kit.
Landscape Photographer Benjamin Jaworskyj has a great tip to help cover your gear at virtually no cost. I used to use one of the more expensive solutions. It worked rather well, but it always did feel like overkill. This solution is much easier, and uses less room in your camera bag.
Tips To Protect Your Gear From Killer Storms And Striking Hail
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It rarely rains where I live, sadly (or happily) this is not the case for many. And if you are shooting outdoors in extreme weather there are quite a few things that you can do to help your gear survive.
And it is not just uber extreme conditions that would freeze your camera, even lesser elements can cause your batteries to stop functioning or the LCD significantly drop its refresh rate.
B&H shares quite a useful video on how to improve your chances of getting a good shot. Of course there is a vast array of rain covers, tip-les gloves and silica gels, but there are some more clever tips on that video. Those three tips from the video are priceless:
