Water drop + Lightroom

[MO Photos]

This is my first try at photographing water droplets, as well as the first time posting a before and after.

Its the photo I submitted for the weekly assignment.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


I rotated, flipped, and cropped. Went grayscale and then adjusted the color tone until I had a desired effect. Upped the exposure, blacks, contrast, and clarity. Sharpened a little on the front of the splash, dropped the brightness down a bit, then played with the curves until I was satisfied then added a black post crop vignette.

There were some other things I'm sure but I go back and forth a lot while I play. But that was the main gist of what I did. Hope you like it and if you're a newbie like me, maybe it shed a little light on something for you. This is addicting!

[MarkyLandon]

looks great. Lightroom is great for doing this sort of thing without resorting to Photoshop. I love it, especially the use of presets to see what effect suits a photo really quickkly before fine tuning it with the sliders. You've done a really good job on this.

[MO Photos]

Thank you Marky. I appreciate the feedback, and I too am really enjoying Lightroom for photo editing. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the clone and heal tools because I can't change the shape of it, only the size.

[izadro]

It looks great, i too use Lightroom over Photoshop for most of my post processing (very minimal). It turned out great.

Can you tell me your setup for capturing water drop? I like the flat surface and crown, it's different that what you usual see (pyrex dish filled with water).

Thanks!

[sedetweiler]

excellent choices on the post processing! turned out to be a stellar image I am sure you are proud of.

[MO Photos]

Originally Posted by izadro

It looks great, i too use Lightroom over Photoshop for most of my post processing (very minimal). It turned out great.

Can you tell me your setup for capturing water drop? I like the flat surface and crown, it's different that what you usual see (pyrex dish filled with water).

Thanks!

Next time I attempt it I'll grab my other camera to take a picture of the setup I used. But I'll try to explain it.

I have a presentation board like this - Amazon.com: Project Board Display, Tri-Fold Board, 36"x48", White (EPI730205) Category: Presentation Boards: Office Products

I filled a baggie with some water, poked a hole in it with a pin till it dripped. Tied the baggie to a small rod and balanced it on the top sides of the presentation board.

You can sort of see my tin lid (which I stole from a Glade candle Amazon.com: The Fragrance Collection by Glade Holiday Multiwick Candle, Pomegranate & Cranberries 10 oz (283 g): Health & Personal Care)... I pounded on it in the center a little bit so the water would pool slightly.

I set it straight on my counter top figuring it wouldn't end up in the final product anyways.

I used my flash, off camera slightly to the side and bounced it, but I tried a variety of bounce directions and I can't remember where it was pointed for this particular shot.

Oh and used a tripod and manual focus. You know those air soft guns? I used a little pellet from one of those to figure out where to focus (wherever the water was going to be dropping) and then removed before I started shooting.

It definitely wasn't a perfect set up, but I was making due with what I had and for a first attempt, I was satisfied with the outcome. Although I did soak a kitchen towel and make quite a mess with the splashes, small though they might've been. LOL

[izadro]

Thank you for the replay, this is exactly what i was looking for.

I understand the setup, and i know i need to use off camera flash (which i just bought) and manual focus. What i didn't know was the what you used to drop the water on, a glade candle tin top - very creative

I will try this soon, maybe this weekend if i find time.

I have a similar backdrop, except it's black foam and use it to capture photos of smoke.

thanks again!

[hifigraz]

Yes it looks very well. You did a great work!

TFS

[Iba Oshun]

This is WONDERFUL
im actually kind of jealous lol, i don't think i could ever accomplish this
Thanks for sharing

[YoMoe]

This looks really cool. I've tried some water drops using this tutorial on the how it took it section. I had been dropping the drops into water but this looks really cool also. I'm going to try it. Thanks! Your PP look fantastic.