Sheltering from the rain is never an option in a night shooting plan, but today we just happened to catch it. When walking to this corridor, the rain suddenly became heavier, and a lot of hair was dampened by the blown-in rain, clinging to the forehead and cheeks. Since our path was blocked, we simply let go of our rushed mood and took advantage of this environment to shoot a set of rainy night atmospheric photos.
The equipment brought today is the a7m5, with the lens being the Viltrox 50mm F1.4 Pro. The lighting of this corridor is actually a bit complex; downlights on the ceiling combined with neon lights from distant shops made the light relatively messy. The F1.4 large aperture helped a lot; opening up the large aperture not only provided sufficient light intake, but also softened the background bokeh into a very gentle look, with an extremely smooth out-of-focus transition, and the colors straight out of the camera already had great texture. Handheld shooting throughout, paired with the body's image stabilization, focusing remained fast and solid in low-light environments without any lens hunting, which is a huge plus in Night photography portraits.
In terms of outfit, I chose a white short-sleeved Sailor suit. Although the clothing is basic, the details are very sophisticated, with white lines embellishing the dark blue navy collar, a bow of the same color tied at the chest, plus a thin black belt to cinch the waist, bringing out the overall sense of layering. The lower body was matched with White stockings knee-high calf socks and brown platform loafers, and this combination looks particularly flattering on leg shapes under night lighting.
The poses during shooting were actually very daily. Because my hair was wet, I casually brushed or tucked my hair to one side, and this casual movement can instead capture a sense of nature. Sitting on the wooden bench at the edge of the corridor, you can cross your legs or curl up with your knees hugged, and with the lens slightly looking up, it can wonderfully elongate the leg lines. Interlocking hands placed on the knees, or lowering the head to tidy the edge of the socks, are both great posing choices. Rainwater made a few strands of hair clumped, and I was originally worried it would look scruffy, but looking at the photos, I found that this true damp texture combined with the cool-toned lighting of the night added an extra touch of melancholy and narrative feel.
In the middle, the photographer tried several different camera angles, including long shots showing the depth of the corridor, medium shots highlighting the interactive relationship between the person and the environment, and finally getting close for a facial close-up. The catchlights in the close-up under the large aperture were captured very clearly. Although the skirt hem of the dress had wrinkles from sitting down, and a little water stain was on the shoe surface, the overall state was very relaxed.
This set of photos didn't have too many cumbersome color gradings during retouching; it mainly adjusted the white balance to allow a natural transition between the cool tones of the night view and the warm tones of the character's skin. The corridor in the night rain, the white uniform, and the somewhat messy wet hair—these elements coming together resulted in a completion rate much higher than expected. For outdoor shooting encountering sudden weather, keeping a calm mindset to utilize the environment often brings unexpected rewards.