Water drops

[l0ser]

Was just wondering if anyone had a solution to my current problem!

I've been reading that you need a flash gun for waterdrop pictures that bounces off paper
but
the problem being i dont have a flashgun, i dont have a problem with capturing the drops but you just cant see it because A) my sink is white (I dont know whether to make the setup with a tray and a constant flow of drops until I know that i can do it without a flashgun
B) thers no flash illuminating the drops and with flash on its pointing directly at the drops


what im basically trying to say is
is there a way to get water drop photos without a flash gun?

would an LED torch/flashlight work?
thanks let me know!

 

[Stradawhovious]

First ones I did were with my popup flash.

Worked pretty well.
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...to-gallery/225396-my-attempt-water-drops.html

YMMV.

Also, don't be afraid to experiment with what you have. a little creativity with some tape and construction paper will build you all sorts of neat refloctors, deflectors, snoots and whatsuch for your popup to use until you can get a speedlight. They may not look pretty, but for tabletop projects they will be fine.

After all, it's not about what you have, it's about what you do with it.

 

[l0ser]

Right, that's basically the confirmation i was after!
Im gonna try and set up the tray etc now, ive only tried it with flash on a white sink so maybe thats why it was unnoticeable (and the fact it was from above) and also those shots are great! :3

 

[JoshC.]

To answer your question, you don't need a flashgun for water droplet pictures. Here is my attempt at it. I put a piece of white paper behind the glass of water. I had an adjustable lamp shinning on the glass and a tripod. And then a turkey baster full of water to drop into the glass while holding the shutter release button. I'd manual focus before taking the shots on a pen tip that i'd hold over the glass. Pretty simple setup with nothing but my camera.

I know its definitely not awesome, and I've seen way better, but I was pretty satisfied.

Good luck!

 

[Olympus E300]

Getting around the white sink issue should be pretty easy. I used a glass pyrex baking pan when I did this. The particular pyrex pan that I used was a nice translucent blue but I've used clear ones before and just put colored paper (such as christmas wrap) under them. The color should show through the clear pan and water quite well.

For lighting I just used some continous light softboxes (2). I set them up really close to the baking pan. This may or may not be the best way to do this but it worked out ok for my first attempt.

As for the water flow...I hung a Zip-Loc baggie filled with water from about 24" of straightened out coat hanger. I then punctured a very small hole in the baggie with a pin (very small pin). The 24" of coat hanger allowed me some room to raise or lower the baggie and this in turn allowed me to "create" the impact or size of water drop that I was looking for.

It's been viewed here before but here was my 1st attempt at this :



Date: September 19th 2010
Time: 6:39PM

Camera: Olympus E-3
Lens: Zuiko 35mm Macro

Focal Length: 35mm
F/Stop: 6.3
ISO: 100
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec.

Inspiration: Rain drops

Post Production:
- Cropped
- Added some vignetting.
- Added border & watermark.

 

[l0ser]

What about light? Should i keep my light on or off (room light, lamp bulb thing :3)

 

[Stradawhovious]

What about light? Should i keep my light on or off (room light, lamp bulb thing :3)

If you're using your flash, it shouldn't matter.

 

[l0ser]

Ive already got a few good ones, just deleting some pictures and going to take some more, it seems to be working well!
got a dish tray (black) an ion board with some wire hanging a bag of water and i decided to put some black ink in the tray and it gives it an even darker effect and im using my fridge instead of paper as the paper kept falling :3
thanks for this guys! <3

 

[lyonsroar]

Levitation by Lyonsroar91, on Flickr

Pop up flash here too...

I used a floor lamp and a cake pan. Filled the cake pan to the top with H20, put it on a stool under the lamp, taped a big piece of white paper to the lamp pole, duct taped a ziplock bag full of water to the lamp shade up above, poked a hole in the ziplock with a pin, lined everything up and shot away! Took a lot of experimentation...

Good LUCK!

 

[l0ser]

Okay, well I had about half an hours experiment and I got these pictures.

I think I'm going to spend a bit on saturday getting some nicer ones
Put an orange carrier bag on my fridge aswell and got a nice orange ripple effect so i think ill experiment with that and differant colours too!
Thanks for this guys!

 

[Olympus E300]

Looking good!

 

[l0ser]

Thanks!

 

[kundalini]

I use flash for my water drop shots, so it's pointless to post those. However, what I can add is suggestions on the setup.

First off, you DO need illumination. The light source can be whatever you have available, but without light, you have a dull image.

Separate your background from the subject. I have a friend that does outstanding shots using only wrapping paper. I tend to use my old tie-dyed tee-shirts or rich colored scraves that I bought from a big box storre for a few bucks. Place your background 2-3 feet from where you'll be making the drops.

Drop your PoV (point of view) and level off your camera angle. Without trying to sound insulting, the photos you posted in #10 are typical and quite boring.

The advantage of flash is that you can freeze the action much easier and properly exposed than you can with a fast shutter speed. I am an advocate of flash for all around photography anyway. So instead of getting a new lens, my suggestion is to put that money towards a hotshoe flash. Your keeper rate will soon improve dramatically.

Okay, can't stand the pressure. Here are two to give you an idea of wait I'm talking about.

All it takes is patience, timing and loads of images to your recycle bin. Seriously, if it ain't spot on..... ditch it.​

 

[mishele]

I learned everything I know from that guy^^^^^^^^^

 

[Tired but willin]

Great shots...crystal clear! I've been reading about dropping oil in a glass bowl with colored paper underneath and a lamp shining on the paper...zoom in and it makes for an interesting picture!