Droplets

[Rina Minca]

I like to photograph droplets of water. I have a few questions for those who have done it.

1. how long before or after sunrise is a good time to photograph dew?
2. How do you get reflections in the droplets? Is it photoshop?
3. how do you figure out when to press the shutter to get a drop in the air?
4. how do you get those regular, famous pictures of the drop in the water?
5. Any other advice on times, techniches, or anything on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

I would love links to any pictures or tutorials, too!

[Rina Minca]

Could someone please leave a comment, anything. 79 people viewed, but no one commented.

Thanks!

[Rehesan]

Hi Rina,

I understand how frustrating is not getting a single reply it happened to me as well many times here, but I am getting used to it he he.

Well, l do not have many experience shoting waterdrops and I am not a proffessional photographer, but maybe I can help you:

In order to make a water drop photo like you are asking in your question 4, this link can be really helpful simple water drops.

I followed that simple guide and setup and could achieve this photos:

http://digital-photography-school.co...ter-drops.html

I did some changes to the original setup, since I do not have a speedlight flash, so taking advantage of the place of my kitchen sink which is exactly at the window, I did the shoting after mid day, just when the light was shine enough to get those krispy reflections on the waterdrop, I also use the built-in flash and my 70-300 mm lense @ 122. I set my camera in manual mode, focus manually to a tooth pick that I placed in the water, and then lock that focus point, I shot with my remote because I was holding the dropper with my other hand he he. Just to give you an idea, I did about 200 shots just to get those 3 satisfactory images.

Now, regarding the other questions you have, I have never shot the rain, what I only have done is taking pictures of some water drops in a CD or in my car while I was washing it, here are some of my photos:



exif data:

0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/9.0
Lente: 55 mm
Velocidad ISO: 100



exif data:

0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Lente: 300 mm
Velocidad ISO: 1400
Tendencia de exposición: 0 EV



exif data

0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/4.8
Lente: 195 mm
Velocidad ISO: 1600

And lastly, I did once a shot of the grass on my yard, early in the morning after the sprinklers turned off:



exif data:

0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/9.0
Lente: 300 mm
Velocidad ISO: 800
Tendencia de exposición: +1 EV

Hope this info helps you.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Rina Minca

1. How do you get reflections in the droplets? Is it photoshop?

You just have to have something positioned just right behind the droplet for the most part. I'd equate it to trying to shoot something reflected in a crystal ball. With that, I move the ball around until I get it right, but with water droplets on something you'll probably have to move the item behind it or your camera. This might be where something like live view comes in handy.

Originally Posted by Rina Minca

1. how do you figure out when to press the shutter to get a drop in the air?

I'm not entirely sure if you mean something like this:

But my answer to that is really poor timing (my method on this one) or intentional timing with a trigger like those from here: HiViz - Tools - Triggers - Make Your Own . If you're meaning something else, a link to a photo like one you're looking for would be helpful.

Originally Posted by Rina Minca

1. how do you get those regular, famous pictures of the drop in the water?

Similar to above, I'm not sure if you're meaning something like this:


But if you are, the answer is good timing or a trigger like I mentioned before.

Originally Posted by Rina Minca

1. Any other advice on times, techniches, or anything on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Have fun with it! And it doesn't just have to be water that you use. If I'm putting droplets on something I use corn syrup (or glucose syrup). If I want bright, bold colours I use milk. Otherwise, if you're trying to capture action, it will probably take a lot of shots and a lot of practice.

[Rina Minca]

Thanks for all your suggestions, it really calmed me down and I have more ideas about how to continue!

Thank you!

[rzhong]

Hey Rina,

Im still pretty new to photography, but here are a few links for the water drop shots:

- Very complete setup: Water Drops – Behind the Shot
- Very simple setup: Simple water droplet tutorial (No extra gear)
- Quick search on digital photography school forums: Digital Photography School - Photography Forums - Search Results

My shots so far:

[cheeseboy]

Hi Rina,

Here are some sites with good info on the dewdrop refraction photos (eg flower in the dewdrop) you were asking about.

Wonderful Photos: How to Photograph Refracted Water Drops

Macrophotography by LordV - Canon Digital Photography Forums

AusPhotography:: Australia's Premier Photography Forum::

I have just started getting into this aspect of macro. It needs a bit of patience and a steady hand.

Good Luck. Let us know how you go.

[ksouth]

Originally Posted by Rina Minca

how do you get those regular, famous pictures of the drop in the water?


I would love links to any pictures or tutorials, too!

These were all taken with my Kodak Z1485 IS point and shoot in my kitchen sink...Just let drops run into a pan from the faucet

Depending if you want to set up your own lighting, I'd recommend using your flash. High shutter speed (I used 1/1000) and a low aperture would help, too.

You're probably going to need a ton of patience...I took over 200 shots and only about 5 came out good...You also might want a card reader that can hold a few (over 100 should be good) images.

Oh for effect I used blue and yellow food dye to make the droplets more visible

To try and capture the drop I'd recommend slightly pressing down the shutter to focus (and prep the shutter) and when you finally do take the pic, take it a few CM's above the water depending on how much shutter lag your camera has.