Many people like to take beautiful photos in good weather. It is much more difficult to get an impressive shot when raindrops hit the roof or the wind bends trees at a 90-degree angle. Still, bad weather is often the right time for great shots.
Bad weather can offer the most dramatic imagery that a photographer has ever seen. Also, changing the weather from bad to good will surprise you with the contrast of gloom and foreboding with something light and inspiring. How to take pictures in this weather? What exactly is worth photographing? And how to protect yourself during a disaster?
What is bad weather
The most common types of bad weather are rain, snow, wind, and fog. Each of them has its own difficulties and advantages.
Rainy days, especially dark and cool days, favor shots with color contrasts. Background lighting becomes bluish, while car headlights, offices and shops will dilute it with bright yellow and red spots. The fast shutter speed helps to capture the falling raindrops. Slow shutter speeds can create blurry photographs of rain. You don't even need to go outside. It is enough to go to the window to take a few pictures through the window flooded with water jets and get the most mysterious photos. Reflections are another "miracle" created by rain, when whole worlds can be found in puddles and soaked sparkling asphalt …
The wind makes it difficult to shoot, but ideal for long exposures. The leaves turn into a blurry memory, the water into a foamy cauldron. Waves seem majestic, crashing against the coastline or man-made embankment. A sturdy tripod and a well-hidden spot are essential in this kind of weather, especially when it comes to long exposure photography.
Fog and haze help you take great photos. The fog brings a sense of drama and intrigue to the created image, inviting the viewer to guess what is in the background. The haze adds contrasting blends of dark spots and highlights, giving the landscape an unearthly charm. In both cases, attention should be paid to focus and exposure. Autofocus can bring out interesting contrasts in fog. For best results, you can switch to manual focus. The shutter speed can bring a little, it is better to increase it, for example, by one stop.
Snow is the hardest thing to shoot. Cold degrades the performance of modern batteries. Taking off with gloves is also not very convenient. But the reward for the work spent will be pleasant. Freshly fallen snow looks magical, mesmerizing with its purity and whiteness. Snowy landscapes are not rich in contrasts and not very embossed, but any color spot seems brighter against such a background. As in the case of foggy weather, shooting snow will require attention to the shutter speed and focusing of the camera.
Bad weather is a good excuse to admire the sky. The gloomy cloudy landscape creates many dramatic and deep images. Graduated ND filters help capture clouds from the sky and preserve the beauty of the landscape on earth.
Preparing for Bad Weather Shooting
Shooting in bad weather requires special equipment. Provide shelter and waterproof clothing in advance. The equipment should be placed in a special waterproof bag. All lenses must be protected with UV filters. For cold weather, stock up on batteries. The memory card should be large enough so that you do not have to change it at an inconvenient moment.
Bad weather doesn't mean bad photos. With proper training, staff can be very attractive.
