Scroll to top
Read Time: 9 min
Final product imageFinal product imageFinal product image
What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, I'll demonstrate how to add a dramatic rain effect to a photo in Photoshop. While rain effects are not new to Photoshop, I will go a step further and show you how to make the image more photo-realistic by adding reflections and small puddles. Let's get started!

Get inspired! Create realistic rain fast with Photoshop Actions from Envato Market. And try these cool photo effects to create the reflections:


Tutorial Assets

The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial. Please download them before you begin or find alternatives if they are not available.


1. How to Set Up the Base

Step 1

Open the Walk on pier image in Photoshop. Double-click the layer to unlock it and name it "Base."

The first step to add realistic rain is to have convincing clouds. Go to File > Place... and place Cloudy Scotland at the top of your canvas. You will need to stretch the image a bit so that the clouds fully cover the sky. To do so, hit Command/Control-T to enter Free Transform mode and input 120% for the height. Hit Enter to confirm, name the layer "Sky", and place it below your "Base" layer.

resize image horizontallyresize image horizontallyresize image horizontally
rearrange layersrearrange layersrearrange layers

Step 2

Using your favourite tool, create a selection of the sky (I used the Quick Selection Tool). Select your "Base" layer, hit Command/Control-G to group it, and create a mask from the selection in order to hide the sky.

select skyselect skyselect sky
add layer mask to remove skyadd layer mask to remove skyadd layer mask to remove sky

I suggest you take the time to refine your mask. This will help achieve a photo-realistic result in the end. To do so, select your group's mask and use a black or white Brush (B) to paint in and out the parts you desire.

clean selectionclean selectionclean selection

Since the sky still has a little bit of color, create a Black & White adjustment layer to make sure it fits your base layer.

convert image to black and whiteconvert image to black and whiteconvert image to black and white

Step 3

When it rains, the air gets really humid, resulting in fog that hides faraway elements. To create this effect, use a soft large Brush with a gray color (#C3C3C3 in this case) and draw a straight line on the horizon (hold Shift when painting to draw in a straight line). Set the layer Opacity to 50%. You can then duplicate the layer (Command/Control-J) and stretch it vertically to soften the fog even more. Name both layers "Fog" and place them below the group.

add fogadd fogadd fog
add softer fogadd softer fogadd softer fog
fog layersfog layersfog layers

Finally, create a Curves adjustment layer to darken the image. Place it above everything else.

add curves adjustmentadd curves adjustmentadd curves adjustment
darken the skydarken the skydarken the sky
make sky darker photoshopmake sky darker photoshopmake sky darker photoshop

2. How to Generate the Rain

Step 1

The usual method to generate rain is to combine the Add Noise and the Motion Blur filter. Start by creating a new layer (Command/Control-Shift-N) and filling it with black (D, then Alt-Backspace), and then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Scale the noise up to 400%.

add noiseadd noiseadd noise
resize noiseresize noiseresize noise

Then go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and give the noise a slanted motion blur. Hit Command/Control-M to bring up the Curves adjustment panel and add contrast to your layer. Finally, switch your layer to Screen and name it "Rain."

add motion bluradd motion bluradd motion blur
darken the blurdarken the blurdarken the blur
create rain effectcreate rain effectcreate rain effect
change blend mode to screenchange blend mode to screenchange blend mode to screen
add rain to photoadd rain to photoadd rain to photo

Now the key to get a more realistic and more interesting is randomness. You see, rain doesn't usually fall in a perfectly straight line because of the wind. To get this randomness, we will have to repeat the process a few times with a varying size of grain and angle of motion blur. In this case, I did the process with noise scaled to 250% and with a 79° blur.

add more rainadd more rainadd more rain

And once again, this time with a 600% scale and 60° blur.

change rain directionchange rain directionchange rain direction

Finally, I simply generated noise and darkened it a lot. Name this layer "Noise."

change contrastchange contrastchange contrast
add dark noiseadd dark noiseadd dark noise

Step 2

Set all your "Rain" layers to Screen, and unhide them.

set layers to screen modeset layers to screen modeset layers to screen mode

Now this is a bit too much. To fix this, give each of the rain layers a mask, select it, and go to Filter > Render > Clouds. This will reduce the effect and give the rain a bit more randomness. Also, set the "Noise" layer to 20% Opacity.

lower opacitylower opacitylower opacity
add grainadd grainadd grain

3. How to Create Water Puddles and Reflections

Step 1

We managed to create the falling rain. However, our image doesn't look realistic yet. Why is that? Well, when you look at rain photos, you realise that the raindrops are usually barely visible. What is visible, however, is the darker, soaked and reflective ground, which is the most important and the hardest part of the process.

The first step is to isolate our image's floor. Using your favorite tool, create and fill the floor with a thick color on a new layer.

select floorselect floorselect floor

Once you are satisfied with your work, Command/Control-Click on the layer thumbnail to retrieve its selection, create a new empty group, and create a mask out of the selection. Name the group "Floor Mask."

add layer mask to flooradd layer mask to flooradd layer mask to floor

Step 2

Duplicate your "Base" layer and place it in your "Floor Mask" folder. Go to Filter > Filter Gallery and select Bas Relief. Give it the values indicated in the example below and press Enter. Give it a Curves adjustment to darken it a little bit (you can clip it by holding Alt and clicking between the two layers). Set the layer to Color Dodge.

add bass relief effectadd bass relief effectadd bass relief effect
change contrastchange contrastchange contrast
add water to flooradd water to flooradd water to floor

Once again, we'll give the layer a cloudy mask in order to add randomness. Let's start by creating a new layer filled with clouds. Hit Command/Control-T and scale it down below the horizon.

Still in Free Transform mode, right-click and select Perspective. Move the bottom corner handles to roughly match the perspective of the planks. Hit Command/Control-A to select everything, and Command/Control-X to cut it. Give the layer you created in the last step a mask, select the mask in the Channels panel, and paste the clouds in.

change perspective of texturechange perspective of texturechange perspective of texture
add texture in perspectiveadd texture in perspectiveadd texture in perspective
add texture to maskadd texture to maskadd texture to mask
add mask to layeradd mask to layeradd mask to layer
add puddles of wateradd puddles of wateradd puddles of water

Step 3

Since our floor is soaked, it should reflect the things above it, including the sky. To achieve this, duplicate your "Sky" layer and place it inside the "Floor Mask" folder. Flip it vertically (Command/Control-T, right-click, and select Flip-Vertical) and set it to 15% Opacity. Notice that in this step I brought back the previous Black & White filter above the "Pier" group.

add reflection of skyadd reflection of skyadd reflection of sky
copy sky layercopy sky layercopy sky layer

Step 4

Now we'll need to retrieve the selection from the area between the sky and the floor. To do so, retrieve the selection from the "Floor Mask" group's mask (Command/Control-Click). Then, invert the mask (Select > Inverse), and Command/Control-Alt-Click on the "Pier" group's mask. With the selection active, duplicate (Command/Control-J) your base layer in order to get a copy of this particular area. Name the new layer "Reflection."

select skyselect skyselect sky
select peopleselect peopleselect people
copy peoplecopy peoplecopy people

Now the next step is a little bit tricky. In order to help yourself, you should hide all effects. You can also create a new layer below "Reflection", fill it with red (Edit > Fill), and set it to 50% Opacity.

add red maskadd red maskadd red mask

Flip your layer vertically and place it so the feet of the couple on the left match. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M), create a selection of the wall to the left and bring it up. With the selection still active, use the Skew transformation mode (Command/Control-T, right-click > Skew) to make the reflection mirror the wall's perspective.

reflect people verticallyreflect people verticallyreflect people vertically
skew reflectionskew reflectionskew reflection
change perspective of reflectionchange perspective of reflectionchange perspective of reflection

Repeat the process for the following wall.

create realistoc reflectioncreate realistoc reflectioncreate realistoc reflection

Using the Lasso Tool (L), create a selection of the man and the child. Move them down so the feet match.

add reflection in wateradd reflection in wateradd reflection in water

Keep going until you get the following result.

make floor reflectivemake floor reflectivemake floor reflective

Step 5

You can now delete the red layer and place the "Reflection" layer inside "Floor Mask", above the "Sky" layer, and set it to Multiply.

Now you will notice there are a few places we need to work on a bit more.

create photoshop reflectioncreate photoshop reflectioncreate photoshop reflection

Using the Smudge Tool (located under the Blur Tool), you can smudge back the parts of the reflections that are missing. For the area between the legs of the couple on the left, you can simply paint with a gray brush.

fix the mistakesfix the mistakesfix the mistakes

In this case, I also gave the layer a mask and softly painted out parts of the reflection. When you are done, you can bring back the effects and lower the layer Opacity to 35%.

add layer mask to reflectionadd layer mask to reflectionadd layer mask to reflection
final reflectionfinal reflectionfinal reflection

Step 6

We can enhance the floor a bit more. Select every layer below the "Black & White" layer, duplicate, and merge them. Apply the Reticulation Filter (from the Filter Gallery) and give it the values as shown in the example. Hit Command/Control-M to bring up the Curves panel and increase the layer's contrast a bit. Finally, place the layer inside the "Floor Mask" group and name it "Reticulation."

copy mergedcopy mergedcopy merged
add reticulation filteradd reticulation filteradd reticulation filter
darken the ffectdarken the ffectdarken the ffect
add dark grainadd dark grainadd dark grain
change blend modechange blend modechange blend mode

Voilà! We're done! In case you missed anything, here is what your final layer setup should look like.

layers listlayers listlayers list

You can also compare the final image with the base template and appreciate the formidable work you've done!

rain effect comparisonrain effect comparisonrain effect comparison

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we showed you how to quickly add a dramatic rain effect to your photos. In addition, we also showed you how to add reflections and puddles to make the effect more realistic.

how to add rain to photo photoshophow to add rain to photo photoshophow to add rain to photo photoshop

Premium Actions From Envato Market

Love photo effects? Explore our massive collection of premium Photoshop Actions on Envato Market and Envato Elements to create rain, light flares, and so much more! Check out some of our favorites below!

Gif Animated Rain Photoshop Action

Create a cinematic experience with this wicked animated rain Photoshop action. This action not only generates realistic rain, but applies a free flowing animation to your photos. Use it to create trendy cinemagraphs in only a fraction of the time!

Gif Animated Rain Photoshop ActionGif Animated Rain Photoshop ActionGif Animated Rain Photoshop Action

Rain Photoshop Action

Make a realistic rain effect in just a few minutes! Great time-saver when you need to get a client's work done or make a gift for a friend—or just for personal use and fun!

Rain Photoshop ActionRain Photoshop ActionRain Photoshop Action

Realistic Rain Photoshop Action

This is an effect that creates realistic rain on your photos. The action includes drops of rain, splashing and dripping on your object. The composition is complemented by the background, with beautiful clouds that are generated randomly, so each time you will have a unique background. This effect includes three directions of rain.

Realistic Rain Photoshop ActionRealistic Rain Photoshop ActionRealistic Rain Photoshop Action

Rain Effect Photoshop Action

Create rain effects in just a few seconds! Every time you run this action, you will get a different result.

Rain Effect Photoshop ActionRain Effect Photoshop ActionRain Effect Photoshop Action

Rainstorm Photoshop Action CS3+

Just brush the area over your object and play the action! You will get a rainy effect in a few minutes and clicks.

Rainstorm Photoshop Action CS3Rainstorm Photoshop Action CS3Rainstorm Photoshop Action CS3

Advertisement
Did you find this post useful?
Want a weekly email summary?
Subscribe below and we’ll send you a weekly email summary of all new Design & Illustration tutorials. Never miss out on learning about the next big thing.
One subscription. Unlimited Downloads.
Get unlimited downloads