As the winter arrives and the outdoor temperatures start to plummet (for those in the northern hemisphere) it’s time to consider some indoor photography projects. Shooting water droplets gives both your photography skills a workout and creates unique images. Water droplets are like snowflakes – no two are the same. With changes in background and/or water color you can repeat this project again and again, with different results.
What do you need?
- A camera
- Flash unit
- Remote flash trigger
- Water (in a bottle or plastic bag)
- A tray, bowl, or basin
- Tripod
Take a look at the below video by Gavin Hoey. He gives you the ins-and-outs of the shooting water droplets.
Some more ideas not mentioned by Mr. Hoey
- Place your flash in a clear plastic kitchen bag, this will help protect it from splashes of water. You could do the same with your camera, leaving a hole in the bag for the front of the lens.
- Gavin manually focused on a pencil: You can autofocus on the pencil and then switch your lens to manual focus.
- Consider using a wired shutter release, or a wireless shutter release. You don’t want to strain your back hunched over the tripod for hours. The Phottix Cleon II is a multi-function wired/wireless remote for Digital SLRs.
- An intervalometer (a timer remote) is also a useful accessory to have on hand for this project. You can set it to take one photo every one or two seconds and then walk away. The Phottix Nikos is an excellent timer remote and compatible with many camera makes and models.
- Take a lot of photos: Fill your entire memory card. Out of 500 shots you’ll be able to count the “perfect” ones on one hand.
Changing the color of the water (or in this case, using soy sauce) can make for interesting photos.
If you get something super-cool send it Phottix. We’ll use your image and notes in the Phottix Journal.
Editor’s Note: I did this project last winter, before it was mentioned on the Strobist blog, or in the above video – that’s how far ahead ahead of the curve Team Phottix is.
Top image: 
photo credit: Snap®
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Hello
I can speak on this post because I made a detector drops of water for SLR photography.
This small electronic circuitry detects a falling drops of water with an infrared barrier. It can detect extremely small objects but also transparent objects like drops of water.
The electric installation is very easy to achieve.
All details of installation, drawing, explanations and examples of photos are available on my website:
rienquepourlesyeux.free.fr
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