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IntroductionPhotographing drops of water and water splashes is a lot of fun but it introduces number of technical difficulties. In this article I will try to cover most of them. In fact some amazing shots may be done using quite simple equipment and techniques. All one need to start the fun is a camera (with manual focus option), a macro lens (the longer focal length the better), off camera flash, a tripod, tap (or shower), some colorfull surfaces (semitransparent foil is the best) and a lot of patiance. |
How to start
First take a bowl (transparent one if possible) and place it below tap or shower. Fill it up with water and try to make the water to drop at a constant rate (one per second is a good start). If the water drops irregularly it is very hard to find the right moment to take a shot.Place your camera on a tripd, as close as possible to the bowl and frame the scene. Remember that depth of field will be wafer thin therefore try to take the shot placing the lens perfectly horizontally - this will help you getting sharp drops and water splash. Be prepared not to change the framing during photo session - it is very hard to set everything after reframing.
Set the desired aperture and take care of the background. Colorfull foil is a good choice. Now place your flash near the falling water droplets - the closer the better - and take test shots to set the exposure.
Now is the tricky part - you need to set the focus. Forget about autofocus, measuring the distance or other usuall methods. The only solution is to manually set the focus taking LARGE number of test shots. Trial and error is the only option I found to be effective.
When the focus is set don't dare to reframe or change the light because if you do that the reflections on water drops will change (read: you will have to set the focus once again). That's why it is so important to set the framing, exposure and flash before setting the focus.
Now it is time to take the shots! If the water is still droping at the constant rate it is quite simple to find the right moment. Take a lot of shots, change the settings, reset the focus and start shooting again - good luck.
Ideas, tips and tricksThe best idea to freeze water drops is to take a shot using flash - other light sources will not help you so try to photograph during night or in a dark room. Don't use daylight.Shutter shorter than 1/100th of a second is enough to freeze a falling drop (when it fall from a tap that is about 10 cm above the camera). I was shooting using 1/160th of a second and the results were pleasing. The secret is your flash duration - usually below 1/500th of a second. Don't use HSS (high speed synchronization - a technology that allows to take a shot with a flash using shutter times shorter than synchronization time). This technology is useless in fast moving objects photography and results in blurred drops. That's because in HSS mode there is a series of weak flashes instead of strong one. Every such a flash catches the drop at different place. If you have problem with "catching" the moment - why don't you use shower and get lots of water drops at the same photo? If you lit the water from different sides with a light of a different color - the image will look more 3D. |
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If you can not get a splash that is big enough on your photo and you can not get closer - try dropping the water from higher point (shower instead of tap). The speed of a drop will increase therefore the splash will be bigger. Oh - one more thing! The splash happens ONLY when the water is deep enough (few centimeters).
Who said that you need to photograph only water? How about bubbles, oil or mix of a water and oil? How about adding object the water can splash on? How about using the water droplets as lenses?