Water drop shots... what I've discovered over the years:
- Timing is key.
- It usually takes a LOT of tries to get a single good image.
- Water depth makes a difference; too deep or too shallow will give bad results.
- Height makes a difference; too high and you will get a mis-shapen column like this one (because the drop is impacting the surface too violently), and too low you won't get a good column, or drop/column separation on the rebound.
- Crowns are best made on very shallow water, or no water on the surface at all.
- DoF should be the width of the drop, front to back, or slightly wider.
- Place something in the water where the drop hits (finger, spoon, stick, etc.) so you can auto-focus on that exact spot; then turn autofocus OFF.
- Your patience will be tested; I try to take a break before something gets broken... :)
-- patience and perseverance required
-- light is critical - you need to be able to freeze motion requiring a very fast shutterspeed... having a good flash can make all the difference
i'm sure other bits will come back to me... great shot Aaron... and love your choice of background!
@northy Thanks Northy! It's actually Pirate and Crossbones wrapping paper; I'll get it figured out eventually so it shows nice and clear in the drop :)
Thank you Aaron for the advice....I have been petrified to even attempt a water shot, especially since I am not known for my patience. I am going to fav this so that I will have the tips at my finger tips.
You have discovered the exact same guidelines that I have! But yours about DOF I did not know. It think it will really help me with focus, so thanks! I love this shot for the colors and the asymmetrical shape.
Nice points dude. But I do not think you stressed enough how much patients is needed. Another tip I found is if you fill a little plastic baggy and snip the end off the corner just a tiny bit you dont need to do the droplets yourself they just fall down on there own. This establishes a rhythm that is consistant and you will find your timing
The weird thing is.. once you get it perfected, you can get crown after crown after crown.. Its a weird thing.. just all the tweaks to get your settings, height, depth of water etc just perfect.. Just the odd shift ne way or another.. and once you have that and timing, you can do one after another... The first crown took me 700 shots to achieve.. Now I can get a crown in seconds.. Just one of those silly little learning curves that has not practical application in anything else in life :D Keep going.
Faved. I have seen a water column shot with a world map as a background ( sorry not finding it on a quick search to share) that makes me think that is what you are wanting to achieve as far as having the background clear in your drop. I have no doubt you will achieve this.
@sianipops that is crazy! @brav that is an awesome idea! @grizzlysghost I find it hard to believe it is a 2 second shot, I would have thought it would be a faster shutter speed. I might have to try again soon,
Neat shot, have tried this and as said you take 100s before you get one nice one ps try adding food dye one colour for the bowl and another for the drip bag, have tried it and got some cool shots.
Thank you so much for all the tips - fav in part because it's such a cool shot and in part for the tips - I don't know why anyone else wants a crown @btorrey but for me it's that I want to develop the skill (a bit of a bucket list thing) to do this - a step in learning the craft! lol
* Do NOT use food colouring for your drops if you are wearing a good white shirt :)
* Just do not use food colouring at all because the walls get messy too. It might make the drops pretty colours but it really is messy :)
I really must try the water...or milk crowns again some day. Perhaps when it's cold and raining outside :)
You are inspiring me to try this! Your result was beautiful! I've never tried because I'm not the patient type. But I'm inching closer. . . thanks for sharing all of your great information!
-- light is critical - you need to be able to freeze motion requiring a very fast shutterspeed... having a good flash can make all the difference
i'm sure other bits will come back to me... great shot Aaron... and love your choice of background!
@grizzlysghost I find it hard to believe it is a 2 second shot, I would have thought it would be a faster shutter speed. I might have to try again soon,
* Just do not use food colouring at all because the walls get messy too. It might make the drops pretty colours but it really is messy :)
I really must try the water...or milk crowns again some day. Perhaps when it's cold and raining outside :)