Rainy day photo ideas

Rain gives you reflections, drops, umbrellas and soft, even light you don’t get on a dry day. Here are rainy day photo ideas for outside and inside, from puddle reflections to raindrops on a window, plus how to keep yourself and your iPhone safe while you shoot.

Outside in the rain

Wet pavement, painted lines and metal covers get slippery, so look up from the screen before you step. Stay on the sidewalk for puddle shots near traffic, since passing cars splash, and head inside if you hear thunder.

1. The clear umbrella portrait A clear umbrella shows the face and the drops on the canopy at once. Shoot from slightly below so the gray sky shows through.
2. One bright umbrella from above A red or yellow umbrella in a street of gray, shot from a window or a flight of stairs. It’s the classic rainy-day frame.
3. The puddle reflection Hold the iPhone a few inches above a still puddle and tilt until a building, a tree or a friend appears upside down in it.
4. The puddle jump Rain boots mid-jump, shot low with a burst. The splash is the whole point.
5. Drops on a leaf Get close to a leaf or petal right after a shower. Portrait mode lets the background fall away.
6. Two under one umbrella Two people sharing one umbrella, shot from behind as they walk down a shiny sidewalk.
7. Through the windshield From the passenger seat, or parked, shoot the blurry city through the drops on the glass.
8. Waiting at the bus stop Someone in a bus shelter, rain streaking past the glass. Shoot from the sidewalk side, not the curb.
9. The hood-up portrait Raincoat hood up, drops on the shoulders, eyes to the camera. A bright coat pops against a gray day.
10. The wet-dog shake Your dog shaking off at the back door. Shoot a burst and stand back.

Inside, looking out

1. Raindrops on the window Tap a drop on the glass to focus on it and let the street blur behind.
2. A face behind wet glass Someone inside looking out, shot from outside under an overhang, through the drops.
3. Steam from a mug A hot drink by the rain-streaked window, lamp on, steam curling up. Shoot from the side so the steam shows against the dark.
4. Boots and umbrella by the door Wet boots, a dripping umbrella, a puddle on the mat. The story of coming in from the rain.
5. A board game on the floor A rainy-afternoon game spread across the rug, shot straight down with hands reaching in.
6. A drawing in the fog Draw a heart or a face in the fog on a window with your finger, then shoot through it.
7. Towel on the head Just in from the downpour, towel over wet hair, laughing about it.

Make it move

Rain is motion, so a rainy still begs to move. In Tada:

• Natural fits most rainy photos. With no people in the frame, what is already there moves, like water ripples in a puddle or steam off a mug; with people, they blink, breathe and shift slightly. It takes 20–40 seconds.
• Draw for the window shot: draw raindrops, a cloud or a little umbrella over the photo with your finger, then choose My lines to make them wiggle (free), or Make it cute to have AI turn them into a cute doodle that moves. More in how to draw on photos.
• Bunny Buddy for the cozy indoor portrait: a big soft sleepy bunny peeking from behind your shoulder, with flowers, painted in picture-book gouache, ready in about a minute.

Natural and Bunny Buddy send the photo to Tada’s servers, where OpenAI and xAI make the tada; Make it cute redraws only your lines, never the photo. Tada asks before the first one. Privacy.

iPhone tips for rainy day photos

• Keep the iPhone dry between shots, under the umbrella or in a pocket, and wipe the lens with a soft cloth. A drop on the lens blurs everything.
• Tap a raindrop on the window to focus on it instead of the street.
• Overcast light is soft and even, so faces need no flash. As it gets darker, Night mode turns on by itself; hold still until it finishes.
• Use Portrait mode for drops on leaves and the clear-umbrella portrait to soften a busy background.
• For puddle jumps, swipe the Shutter button to the left to take a burst.

Questions

Sources: iPhone User Guide: Take portraits with your iPhone camera · iPhone User Guide: Take Night mode photos · iPhone User Guide: Capture action shots with Burst mode · iPhone User Guide: Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot

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