Aug 18 2010

Water Splash Photography

Setting up

Water splash photography is quite an easy technique to try. All you need is a camera, a tripod, a flash or two, and a way to make water drops. To create the water drops I use a freezer bag full of water above a baking tray, also containing water. I then set up the camera on my tripod, a remote release does come in handy to avoid camera shake. To attain focus where I want to I use a pen dipped into the water in the baking tray directly underneath the freezer bag. I use autofocus at first, but once attained it is recommended to switch the lens to manual and not touch the focus ring after.

I always use my flash in manual, usually at quite a low power. Place your win flash, the one that will light the splashes, to one side of the baking tray. If your are using two flashes I find it better to position the second flash behind the baking tray, from the camera point of view. A cheap way of diffusing this light source is to place some grease proof peer between the flash and the tray. I do use radio triggers for convenience and the ability to use the flashes in manual, although I have seen this accomplished with a single flash and an off camera cord.

Sorry I am terrible for not taking behind the scenes images, so unfortunately I have no images of my water splay photography set up to post.

Ready to shoot

Now we are ready to shoot, but where are the drops? This is the fiddly bit, piercing a hole in the freezer bag, maybe I should have done it before putting the water in and taped the hoe up until I was ready. You only need a tiny hole, if the hole is too big the water will just flow out at speed and create a stream rather than drops.

I usually spend approximately fifteen to twenty minutes randomly pressing the shutter button on the cable release. This can be a bit hit or miss but you can purchase various specialist bits of kit which will allow you vary the drop size and flash lag. I would only get something like this if you are really serious about water splash photography. The next step up from a freezer bag would be a pipet, and you would need to use two hands at least or ideally have an assistant squeeze the pipet.

Adding Colour

There are different ways you can add colour to your water splash photography in camera. Food colouring in the water that makes the drops, or by using gels and coloured card to add a tint to the water.

Post Processing

If you have set everything up correctly, when you import the images to your computer you will have sharp, coloured shots straight out of the box. Ok maybe a few out of focus ones from when the water drops went astray. The thing is most of these shots will not need much processing, maybe a bit of a curves or levels adjustment, a crop and a little sharpening depending on final use.

The results

Below are just a few shots from my water splash photography session from earlier in the day, I hope you have enjoyed this post and as always feel free to comment below. Now get out there and find time to have your own water splash photography session, no studio required.

*update – The first shot in this series has won the SWPP forum weekly competition – General Photography Week 34 – 2010 – Ripples *