Rain at Night
How to shoot rain at night. One still, one prompt, Midjourney.
The prompt
Copy it, run it, change whatever you want. No signup.
photorealistic cinematic film still, contemporary city night. A woman in a long dark raincoat holding a bright yellow umbrella crosses an empty city street at night, caught mid-stride as she steps off the curb, one foot in the air above a puddle. Heavy rain falling in sheets, standing water across the asphalt reflecting the street lights. Backlit by the headlights of a stopped taxi behind her, every streak of rain glowing white in the beams. The bright yellow umbrella is the brightest object in frame, everything else dark. Camera at eye level, shot on a long 135mm lens from across the street, rain stacked thick between the camera and her, f/2.8, cold blue-green night grade with deep blacks, Kodak Vision3 500T color, fine film grain. The image fills the entire frame edge to edge, no borders or bars. --ar 9:16 --raw --stylize 100 --v 8.2 --relax --no painting, illustration, letterbox, black bars, borders, matte, split screen, diptych, triptych, collage, grid, text
Why it works
Rain is hard to see in a still. It only shows up when the lens, the light and the grade all help it. Each line below does part of that job.
Stand back with a long lens. shot on a long 135mm lens from across the street puts a lot of rain between the camera and her. A long lens stacks that rain into a thick wall.
Catch her mid-step. caught mid-stride as she steps off the curb lifts one foot off the ground. A foot in the air shows she is moving.
Make the rain heavy. Heavy rain falling in sheets asks for more rain than you would think you need. Light rain disappears on a phone screen. Heavy rain still shows.
Light the rain from behind. Backlit by the headlights of a stopped taxi behind her puts the light on the far side of the rain. Rain only shows up when light shines through it toward the lens.
Give the eye one bright thing. The bright yellow umbrella is the brightest object in frame tells the model what to light most. You see the yellow umbrella first, so you find her at once.
Grade the night cold. cold blue-green night grade with deep blacks keeps the shadows blue-green. Cold shadows make the warm yellow stand out even more.
Before you run it
Use the same settings. This was made with --raw --stylize 100 --v 8.2.
Run it a few times and keep the one with every move. Check for the raised foot, the lit rain and the yellow umbrella. If one is missing, run it again.
To make it yours, change the person and keep the six moves. A cyclist, a kid with a backpack, a man running for a bus. The rain works the same way.