Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
When you say 'detail of rain photographs' what exactly do you mean? Are you referring to rain falling, or when it hits the ground/subject. Do you want to freeze the movement in front of something else, or capture the splash as it hits the subject?
I suspect to capture falling rain you would almost certainly need to use flash, due to the transparent nature of the subject, and the speed it is moving at. A point and shoot will have further issues, because you can't manually focus and it will need to 'lock on' to something for focus.
If you provide more info on the type of photo you are after, I'm sure someone can provide some more advice on the bast way to achieve it.
You might find this useful:
http://www.ephotozine.com/user/dandeakin-67058/gallery/photo/run-for-cover-19143...
I would suggest
1) shooting at the telephoto end of your zoom
2) wait for some really heavy thunderstorms
3) shoot into any sunlight / bright sky so the rain drops are backlit
4) compose so you have a dark background to make the rain drops stand out (eg the side if a building in shadow)
PS you don't have to worry about focusing on a point and shoot as everything will be in focus anyway given DOF from the small sensor.
Flash would light up rain drops close to the light source but the light would fall off rapidly so I can't see flash being of much use.
Quote: PS you don't have to worry about focusing on a point and shoot as everything will be in focus anyway given DOF from the small sensor.
.
DOF is due to the short focal-length lenses used in compacts and is nothing to do with sensor size.
Technically true. But, of course, the short focal length of the lenses is a direct consequence of using a small sensor size. Or vice-versa.
Nit-picking maybe but I have seen a lot of posts over the years where people get all sorts of misconceptions about what can and can't be achieved because early in their hobby people gave unnecessarily simplistic explanations. And in this case it was just as easy to say 'the lens used' as it was to say 'the small sensor'. No offence intended.
When it comes to Aperture, go for a narrow aperture as it helps retain things in sharpness, however this will be at the cost of light - a narrower aperture means less light hitting the sensor. You have to compensate for this, and one way can be ISO. However, note that compacts are notorious when it comes to Noise from high ISOs, so raising ISO should be your last resort in my opinion.
Try to shoot when it's not completely dark, as it can help your picture in no small way. In too much darkness, your camera's limitations will hamper your artistic intent, so keep that in mind. If shooting at night, a tip I can give you is to try and include as many lamps or street lighting as possible as these will illuminate the drops in their light-path. Otherwise, shoot during the day when it's just a drizzle or light rain and the place is still lit from some sunlight.
As regards editing, the sky's the limit I guess. Whatever suits your fancy. Black & white can be nice if applied properly.
Good luck and practice, best way to learn more.
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Related Content
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
Olympus 'Portraiture' Competition - Win £1000 Worth Of Gear!
30th April 2013 - 31st May 2013
This month, to celebrate the launch of Olympus' new micro site Olympus Image Space, Olympus are giving you the chance to win £1000 worth of Olympus gear!...
Featured e2 Photo
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
