Rainy days are a great photo opportunity for any photographer. Even though you can shoot reflections in any weather, when it rains you can capture some beautiful reflections in puddles on the street. Reflections in puddles also look great at night because light sources like streetlights or neon signs reflect off the water. While many photographers think of clear reflection images, you can get quite creative and shoot something more abstract.

1. Adjust your camera for rain shots

If you're taking pictures while it's raining, check and adjust your shutter speed and ISO settings. Dark clouds will dim the natural light, so you may need to increase the ISO. if you want to capture raindrops falling in puddles, try increasing the shutter speed to at least 1/500 sec.

When it comes to aperture, it also depends on what you're trying to achieve - stick to a larger aperture if you want some interesting bokeh in your photos.　　

2. Reflections of buildings in puddles

Photographing reflections of buildings in puddles has a surreal vibe to it, as everything is upside down. If you capture reflections of people passing by, the whole scene can look even more vivid. For some really great shots, you can experiment with different lens angles and try using a wide-angle lens to capture the gorgeous cityscape in the water. Since composition is always important, pay attention to the whole scene.　　

3. Portraits in the Rain

Portraits in the rain can be just as exciting as landscapes and cityscapes. While it's relatively easy to tilt into a puddle for a self-portrait, it's much more challenging to take interesting portraits of other people. Depending on the lighting and camera settings, these portraits can feature silhouettes or well-lit models - depending entirely on the atmosphere you want to create.　　

4. Photography at night

Nighttime photos after a rain shower look amazing when done right! If you're photographing a cityscape at night, you don't even need to look for any big puddles - light reflected by wet pavement looks beautiful. The only important thing is to find streets with lots of interesting signs and streetlights, possibly in multiple colors.

When shooting reflections at night, you can experiment with shutter speeds. If you want more abstract, blurry shots, you can try using longer exposures. You'll definitely need a tripod in this case.　　

5. Shooting with bokeh

When photographing wet surfaces and puddles at night, using a large aperture can create stunning landscapes in vibrant neon colors. Along with bokeh, glistening raindrops at night are another subject to play with. You can also combine the two and have amazing photos in a variety of shapes and colors. Although the theme is still recognizable, these photos resemble abstract images.　　

Puddles can be a great challenge for your creative skills! On top of that, they can help you tweak the common ways of taking portraits, landscapes, and abstract photos.