Shooting it: Photoshoot in the Rain

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Background

Since typhoon is happening again in Japan now, time to write this article that I’ve been canceling for long time already, it is a photoshoot in the hard rain and wind form last year, a really extreme one, but that feeling is what makes us pleased after it is finished! We were I guess too crazy to shoot in the seaside, while the typhoon was actually happening!

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今回のライティング記事は普通の天気のいい日の撮影じゃなくて、台風での撮影だった！その日の朝からひどくなる予報だったので、撮影決定！私の撮影のキーワードのひとつは「ドラマ」だから得に何か「非常」があるときに一番ドラマのある写真が撮れる！また次「雨の撮影」だけの記事を作ろうと思ってるけど、ここはちょっとだけ説明を入れます。ちゃんと記事ができたらほかの例も使って作成します！

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Lighting

Using flashes in the rain is something really tricky, actually the whole shooting in the rain with all that expensive equipment is a big risk, because one mistake might take out of order your toys! I will talk a bit more how I’m protecting them after this section! But actually one of the best ways to protect my expensive flashes is to actually not use them lol, yeah, for this type of shoots I’d rather use some of the cheap flashes like the more than 20 years old Nikons, and not risk the 10 times more expensive Canon 580EXII, which it would really hurt me if something happens! Actually in Japan I can usually fine a flash from that series (SB-24, SB-25, SB-26) for less than 5000 yen (about 50$) so they are easier to sacrifice (I have about 15 of them right now, you can call me maniac)

Flash is behind her, it’s a cool thing to do when shooting in the rain, because it’s gonna freeze all the waterdrops in the air, which looks different and interesting! I’m hiding the flash with her body, while I’m shooting. Actually one interesting thing is that even the position of her hands and the type of her cloth also play as some kind of reflector, returning some light to her face!

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照明は1ライトで、ニコンの20年前にSB26使用！こんなリスクが高い状況ではキャノンの580EXIIよりも、10倍安いフラッシュ使うのが多い！たぶんキャノンのフラッシュが倒れたり水に沈没したりしたらショック受けるからだね～ ストロボをモデルの後ろに設定することで雨の水滴を綺麗に撮ることができるので、雨で撮ると面白い！来月の雨撮影記事をお楽しみに～

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Strobist Info:

Nude Nikon SB-26 – behind the model (Flash is at about 1/4th power, as far as I remember)

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ライティング解説

ニコンSB-26使用 (モデルにに向けて発光)

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Gear

Camera and lens choice: I’m shooting with Canon 5DMII, and my lens is Canon EF 135mm f/2.0 L USM, you can see a gallery with other photos from it if you click on the name! Usually when I’m shooting in the rain I prefer to use some prime lens, as it’s easier to get the waterdrops quite visible lit by the flash, that’s how I like it, guess it’s personal taste! I already said in the lighting section, I’m using a cheap 20 years old Nikon flash, and I’m triggering with Pocket Wizard II Plus! No any modifiers used for this shoot, because of the severe conditions! この撮影で使ってるカメラはキャノンの5D M2と、レンズは135mmのF2、大好きなポートレートレンズ！

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Shooting in the rain

Just a few words in the end for shooting in the rain, well the main thing is that digital gadgets don’t get along with water, so it’s risky to lose some of them if you are not careful! So, for the camera in the very big rain I was using a plastic bag just for the body, with a hole for the lens, but when it stopped a little I was just shooting with the camera out! I don’t have any protection on the flash on this photo, things were happening too fast, and I just decided to risk the cheap flash! Actually some time ago I had dropped one of my Nikon SB-26 flashes in the river, after I got it out, I took the battery out, and never touched it for about a week until it completely dried away – as a result it’s still working! So here is the advice, after you are using your flashes in the rain, give them some “dry rest” after you are finished!

Another thing to mention is that in the rain it might be hard to focus, since water in the air is everywhere on the way of the lens, and in many cases auto focus just goes where you don’t want it! I had a few shots from this session that this happened to them. It’s the same when shooting in snow, but I hardly get any chance to shoot in snow where I live in Japan! On the right are two more examples from previous shoots in the rain!

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In the end

Next article I will be writing is about a location I have been shooting pretty often recently, and how you can get different images at the same place! The place is the abandoned Maya hotel, which I guess many people who are following my work are aware of!

And now, I am preparing a series of new articles on some general topics, let me know which one of them you want to see first, so I get it ready earlier! Also other ideas are welcome too! Here are some of them:

Portraits at night / Lens article (I guess 135/2) / Portraits in the rain / Use of gels / Using backlight / One light setups / Shoots with just one umbrella / General shooting portraits / Can cheap lenses make good photos / Swing the camera shots / Using snoots / Shaped bokeh / … or any other idea welcome, post it in the comments, and I will see if I am able to write about it!

Of course I have lots of other shots, I will be writing, so I hope I can do it at least 2 times per week, so when you have time check it out again!

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