Water droplets
Discussion
Morning guys
I need some help regarding water droplet photos
I have no idea for settings/backdrops/colour techniques.
Can someone go through the basics with me to be able to create something like this? Was this coloured water or adjusted in P'Shop?
I have a camera - a flash and a pod so am assuming it can be done.
The how is what I don't know.
This is what I want ... (Stolen from another thread)
Help is appreciated
I need some help regarding water droplet photos
I have no idea for settings/backdrops/colour techniques.
Can someone go through the basics with me to be able to create something like this? Was this coloured water or adjusted in P'Shop?
I have a camera - a flash and a pod so am assuming it can be done.
The how is what I don't know.
This is what I want ... (Stolen from another thread)
Help is appreciated
Since it's my photograph I suppose I better explain how it's that shade etc..
No photoshoppery at all..
Camera on a tripod. Focused on where the drop's going to fall(stick something in the water which will stand proud so you can focus manually) . Flash off camera at about 45 degrees from the camera (to the right). Camera speed was about 1/60th and varying aperture.
At the rear of the dish (a casserole lid) there was a red card which takes the edge off a plain background.
In the dish was water.
In the syringe that was dropping into the water was Indian Ink hence the blackness. In some of the earlier shots you can see the ink dissapating through the water.
One of the first in the sequence where you can see the ink bleeding into the water.
.jpg)
The black bar at the bottom is due to me dicking about with shutter speeds with the flash - this was at 1/400th which is just too fast..
It doesn't take long for the ink to bleed in with the water and leaves you with a nice black sheen on the top.
.jpg)
Word of warning - don't let your other half see her casserole lid with ink in it. Mines went crazy..
Can't wait to see what she's going to do to me when I try it with some oil this weekend.
Does that explain it ?
No photoshoppery at all..
Camera on a tripod. Focused on where the drop's going to fall(stick something in the water which will stand proud so you can focus manually) . Flash off camera at about 45 degrees from the camera (to the right). Camera speed was about 1/60th and varying aperture.
At the rear of the dish (a casserole lid) there was a red card which takes the edge off a plain background.
In the dish was water.
In the syringe that was dropping into the water was Indian Ink hence the blackness. In some of the earlier shots you can see the ink dissapating through the water.
One of the first in the sequence where you can see the ink bleeding into the water.
The black bar at the bottom is due to me dicking about with shutter speeds with the flash - this was at 1/400th which is just too fast..
It doesn't take long for the ink to bleed in with the water and leaves you with a nice black sheen on the top.
Word of warning - don't let your other half see her casserole lid with ink in it. Mines went crazy..
Can't wait to see what she's going to do to me when I try it with some oil this weekend.
Does that explain it ?
Edited by crmcatee on Tuesday 22 January 13:38
Bloody PH forum playing up again...
To answer your questions...
Was the casserole lid glass? as there seems like a smooth transition between the card and that
Yes - it's glass, it was sitting in a larger glass lid and filled to the brim so the far edge helping to lose the far edge.
What was the aperture as the lowest I can go is 2.8?
I was varying the aperture between 5.6 and 8 as I wanted to help lose the transition of the edge of the dish.
Some of the shots I've seen have been in the f22 region meaning that just about everythings in focus.. I wanted to be selective..
To answer your questions...
Was the casserole lid glass? as there seems like a smooth transition between the card and that
Yes - it's glass, it was sitting in a larger glass lid and filled to the brim so the far edge helping to lose the far edge.
What was the aperture as the lowest I can go is 2.8?
I was varying the aperture between 5.6 and 8 as I wanted to help lose the transition of the edge of the dish.
Some of the shots I've seen have been in the f22 region meaning that just about everythings in focus.. I wanted to be selective..
Edited by crmcatee on Tuesday 22 January 14:25
Edited by crmcatee on Tuesday 22 January 14:29
crmcatee said:
Bloody PH forum playing up again...
To answer your questions...
Was the casserole lid glass? as there seems like a smooth transition between the card and that
Yes - it's glass, it was sitting in a larger glass lid and filled to the brim so the far edge helping to lose the far edge.
What was the aperture as the lowest I can go is 2.8?
I was varying the aperture between 5.6 and 8 as I wanted to help lose the transition of the edge of the dish.
Some of the shots I've seen have been in the f22 region meaning that just about everythings in focus.. I wanted to be selective..
Thanks for your quick response!!To answer your questions...
Was the casserole lid glass? as there seems like a smooth transition between the card and that
Yes - it's glass, it was sitting in a larger glass lid and filled to the brim so the far edge helping to lose the far edge.
What was the aperture as the lowest I can go is 2.8?
I was varying the aperture between 5.6 and 8 as I wanted to help lose the transition of the edge of the dish.
Some of the shots I've seen have been in the f22 region meaning that just about everythings in focus.. I wanted to be selective..
Edited by crmcatee on Tuesday 22 January 14:25
Edited by crmcatee on Tuesday 22 January 14:29
I am a novice at photography to say the least but just wanted to double check the lower the number i.e 2.8 more at the front will be in focus and the back will be in blur?
Will be testing tonight! Thanks mate!
No no no...
If you have a focus point - for example in the middle of the dish. A low aperture number will only allow a small distance either side of that point to be actually in focus. A larger aperture number (e.g. f22 which equates to a smaller hole in the lens) will result in a greater distance from that single focus point being in focus.
The smaller the number - the less that's in focus.
Remember your focus plane is a line drawn on the dish where you've focussed on and runs vertically up from that point perpindicular to your camera.
Remember to put your lens on manual focus.
In days gone past there used to be lines on lenses that showed roughly what would be in and out of focus but they seem to have been lost over time.
If you have a focus point - for example in the middle of the dish. A low aperture number will only allow a small distance either side of that point to be actually in focus. A larger aperture number (e.g. f22 which equates to a smaller hole in the lens) will result in a greater distance from that single focus point being in focus.
The smaller the number - the less that's in focus.
Remember your focus plane is a line drawn on the dish where you've focussed on and runs vertically up from that point perpindicular to your camera.
Remember to put your lens on manual focus.
In days gone past there used to be lines on lenses that showed roughly what would be in and out of focus but they seem to have been lost over time.
If you're struggling with on camera flash, I looked into this a while ago and discovered that the Vivitar 283 flashgun is the weapon of choice for people that do a lot of this. They're available fairly cheaply on eBay, and you can fool the sensor into giving very short exposures, or have a slightly longer flash duration and better output.
One thing to remember: due to the rather old-skool technology, the flashgun trigger voltage is very high and may damage some modern cameras. For the following pics I set the shutter on B and fired the flash manually to get round this.
Wierd shapes:
One thing to remember: due to the rather old-skool technology, the flashgun trigger voltage is very high and may damage some modern cameras. For the following pics I set the shutter on B and fired the flash manually to get round this.
Wierd shapes:
TonyHetherington said:
f2.8 is an aperture value, not 2.9, but yes; if you focus on the water droplet with a low aperture then only the droplet and very little in front and behind it will be in focus. With f22, you'll get the whole kitchen in focus, including the water droplet 
Cool I think thats was I meant in the first place!!!All set to go now!
Ta
yes - but with a larger aperture number (smaller aperture) you've got more chance of your drop being in focus unless you can guarantee that the drop will hit exactly the same place each time (within a 1cm).
It's always nice to get some of the ripples in focus as well rather that being out of focus as they head away from where the drop has landed.
It's always nice to get some of the ripples in focus as well rather that being out of focus as they head away from where the drop has landed.
I've had a go at this tonight...got some cool results....but they all seem to be darker than i want....does the lighting have to be bright around the scene? I used my flash with a diffuser on and also tried with a home made ring-flash....would some spotlight be a good idea?
ETA picture:
ETA picture:
Edited by Knick Pee on Wednesday 23 January 07:42
Knick Pee said:
I've had a go at this tonight...got some cool results....but they all seem to be darker than i want....does the lighting have to be bright around the scene? I used my flash with a diffuser on and also tried with a home made ring-flash....would some spotlight be a good idea?
ETA picture:
I don't Know what flash your using and how, but in the pic you posted, the Exposure balance is set to -1.67Ev ETA picture:
Edited by Knick Pee on Wednesday 23 January 07:42
That would explain the dark image
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