Monsoon is here and so our creative minds are active again. In reality monsoon holds a different meaning to each one of us. Now it’s time to give those meanings a little shape and capture them in your lens. What comes to your mind when we talk about monsoons?
Umbrella, water droplets, wet leaves and so many other stuffs. Let us know what are the possible techniques in which monsoon can be captured by us in the most beautiful way possible. But before that we need to keep in mind how to safeguard our cameras from the rain. There are few ways in which it is possible so let us take a quick glance through the do’s and don’ts.
Firstly use a protective covering whenever you are going to use a camera during the monsoon because we all are more concerned about our favourite possessions right? These coverings are available at a very cheap price for example there are some products from Adorama that may meet your needs and budget like the Op/Tech 18″ SLR Rainsleeve. If you’re looking to step up from a simple plastic bag draped over your camera gear, you can’t go wrong with the Op/Tech SLR Rainsleeve. It is big enough to accommodate a fairly long lens, and the eyepiece is adaptable to most viewfinders.
Secondly if you are unable to purchase a cover then avoid outside locations during the monsoon as capturing under a shed can create magic too.
Thirdly get the right kind of setting for your camera during the monsoon. During monsoons the pictures are generally not colourful specially when shot from indoor locations so what you can do is try the Vivid Picture Control setting (found in the Shooting Menu options on your Nikon digital camera). That will add some contrast and saturation to the photograph.
Now comes the most interesting part that is what can be clicked to capture the essence of monsoon. It all depends upon what you want to capture be if a wet leaf or the raindrops or the colourful umbrella. What is suggested is zooming in works best during monsoon photography be it using your phone or your camera. Try staying indoor and focus on certain objects like a drenched bird or a water droplet on the leaf. Those tiny details add to the essence of monsoon. It is not necessary to capture something extraordinary but it’s how you focus on objects that is fascinating to you. The next best thing that you can capture is people with umbrellas or the happiness in their smile when they enjoy monsoon. People in your photograph makes it more interesting and creates a whole new story.
The monsoon season provides an excellent opportunity for creating a variety of beautiful blurs. So those who use a camera can constrict the depth-of-field by using wide open apertures for moody portraits or micro landscapes. On the other hand, you can use a narrow aperture to create environmental portraits or dynamic street photographs.
A lot of people don’t realise that their camera flash is capable of much more than just shedding light on the subject. It can freeze motion, like that of the falling raindrops. On the other hand, you can also explore the slow-sync flash mode of your camera for background motion blurs, along with a frozen subject.There are other off-camera flash techniques that you can try out as well, for brilliant backlighting and sidelighting effects in portraiture. However, when you’re at it, ensure that your flashgun is protected from the rain.
Hope this little guide will be helpful this monsoon whether you go out to capture the sky and its beauty or stay back at home to capture the minute details that makes monsoon meaningful.
Happy clicking .
agnes22 