Instant (Overhead) Rain Action

On a recent live stream I created an overhead, rainy day scene in my small home studio. If you missed it, I’ve added the video below. During the stream I added some rain using a Photoshop action and as promised, I’m sharing it here.

The action does a few things you need to be aware of. First it makes a duplicate of your image, so the original is always untouched. The effect is random, so running a few times will give different patterns of rain. I’ve also left the rain as layers, so you can fine tune as needs be and if you need a higher resolution version, you can copy, paste and re-size the rain to your original image.

If you create a photo using my Photoshop action then let me (and everyone else) know by leaving the link in the comments below.

Usage rules
The Photoshop Action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2020. Use is strictly limited to any personal but non-commercial purposes. 
Please share the action by linking back to this page. Do not redistribute the original action without my permission.
No technical support is provided.

Download instructions
     1. Click on the correct download link below (no sign up is needed)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wB5LoehRGOSYA1k3WF7suyNi94J3ep_e

  1. Click the Download icon download_icon
  2. The download should start automatically
  3. Unzip the download and install the Photoshop Action
  4. No support is provided with the Photoshop action.
  5. If you need help Google or YouTube the question and you’ll almost certainly find the answer

7 Questions About Soft Light

softlight-portrait-2In the studio there’s two types of light that photographers use to define their subject, hard light and soft light. Both have their place but usually in the studio I use soft light when shooting portraits. Getting the light from your studio flash or speedlite can be done in several ways. You can use one light or multiple lights, a softbox or umbrella and in this video I look at them all.

In total I cover seven questions you should know about soft light and how it’s different to hard light.

The final images you see here have had a little bit of Photoshop applied. How much Photoshop? Surprisingly little and I show you exactly how it’s done towards the end of the video too.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfBmNfMb7WA&feature=c4-overview&list=UU8Pksdbj37CdE00kmE7Z1dw[/youtube]
Can’t see the video? Click here http://youtu.be/MfBmNfMb7WA

Gear used in the video (links to the Adorama store)
Canon EOS 60D Digital SLR Camera
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Lastolite Collapsible Background (Washington/Dakota) 
Lastolite Hot Shoe Ezy-box Softbox 24×24″ 
Flashpoint Triple Shoe Mount Bracket 
Adorama 33″ Translucent Umbrella

softlight-portrait-1