Not long after purchasing my DSLR Canon 400D camera, one of the first things I wanted to experiment with was water splashes. It’s been 4 years, damn! Anyways, since I don’t have access to staged studio lighting, I made use of my Canon 580EX II to provide the source of white light to satisfy my requirements. I put down few notes on my setup at the end of this post. For now, tell me what you think of the first part of my water splash photos.
This is what I used to create the shots above:
-Canon 400D DSLR
-External Speedlite 580EX II, along with an off-camera shoe cord
-Bowl (Preferably with a nice pattern or colors if possible)
-Water (Like Dah!)
-A4 white paper
-Dropper (probably a bag with a tiny hole)
-Tripod (you want maximum sharpness with minimal or no Camera shake)
-Ruler, or in my case my roommate Amir
-and LOTS of patience!
The camera/speedlite settings I chose were:
Shutter Speed: 1/200 (reasonable to capture motion)
Aperture: f/8 (to put the whole splash area is in focus)
Focal Length: 100mm
ISO: 100 (least possible to avoid any noise)
Speedlite: 1/16th, power -0.3
You obviously need a fast shutter speed to capture the water, so a lot of light is necessary. You can definitely make use of natural window light, but I preferred to use my flash gun for more control. I recommend using a colorful or patterned bowl because whatever is in or behind the bowl will be reflected within the water drops, so it’s good to make it interesting.
I set up the tripod only slightly elevated above the surface of the bowl. Filled it with water, and got the camera ready. I switched the camera to manual focus. Amir stuck the ruler in the bowl about where I’d be dropping the water drops and focused the camera on it, locking the focus in place. Now, I was ready.
I began dropping the water using a water bag with a small hole (should be small enough to allow for continuous downfall of water drops) as close to the place where Amir stuck the ruler as I could get it. I placed the A4 paper behind the bowl, and pointed my flash gun at it. This will provide me with a back-lit scene, caused from the reflection of light off the paper.
Now’s the hardest part, timing. It’s takes lots of practice and MANY trials, so don’t forget your patience for this. You will eventually get the hang of when to press the shutter in relation to dropping the water, and I’m sure you’ll come out with some great shots. I am still practicing on enhancing these shots, so stay tuned for more.
Amazing ali bjad….
ya3ni kel sura a7la men el teinye!
I simply can’t get enough of looking at your talent
hey 3loosh it is simply ART….man you’re freaking me out your becoming a Pro. am afraid we wont be able to talk to you in few months…calm down with ur talent
Brilliant. Keep it up and you will get there one day
wooooooooooooooow! two drops in one shot! that’s new
Nice….but the bowl ground ruins your shots, can’t take my sight off the patern in the bowl.The third pic is darker which helps hidinging it.
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Amazing photos, really unique.. you always manage to surprise us with your talent