Rainbow Photography Advice

Rainbows are shy subjects. They don't appear very often and when they do they can go from bright to faint and then vanish again in a matter of minutes. Most of the time you have to be in the right place at the right time but there are a few things you can do to maximise your chances of snapping a rainbow.

Gear Suggestions:

As rainbows often appear in dark conditions you need a tripod to photograph them. Even more so if you're using a polariser on your camera to enhance the vibrancy of the rainbow. If you want a sweeping landscape with the full arc of the rainbow going from one side of the frame to the other you need a wide lens. Telephotos are good when you have a distant object you want to frame with the rainbow and a standard lens will capture foreground, background and the rainbow with not too much of a problem.

Technique:

Unless you have a rainbow that looks like it's been plucked right out of a children's story book the chances are it will look boring on its own. To take a successful rainbow shot, have it frame another dominant object. Rainbows are faint things too so look for dark backgrounds that can enhance the colours. Storm clouds are perfect and as rainbows need falling water/mist and sunlight most of the time you have a good background served to you on a plate. Be careful not to meter off the dark sky though as this will cause your rainbow to lose its vibrancy.
If you're after the sweeping landscape shot your best chances are at sunset or sunrise but you don't always need the full rainbow for a great shot. At the end of the rainbow you won't find any gold (sorry!) but you will find the makings of a great picture. Where the rainbow intersects the earth is where the eye's drawn to so zoom in on it or if you want a wider shot, have it intersecting an interesting object. If you can't get the rainbow to intersect or frame your subject you need to move your feet. By doing so you may find the rainbow is more vibrant too. Leading lines such as deep shadows and long roads will draw the eye into the picture as well as add interest to the shot. If you do this use a small aperture so the foreground and rainbow are both in focus.

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