Tutorial : Falling Waterdrops

Time for another Tutorial

Sorry for uploading it as a journal and not as a deviation, but it is easier and faster for me

The tutorial is about this kind of photos :
( it's actually quite easy )

   

1. What you need :

a DSLR camera
( maybe Bridge cameras will work too )
your normal 18-55mm lens or something similar
a paper with the subject you want to reflect
a faucet


2. The Setup
I know that it is totally unprofessional, but who cares? It works



  



just use your bathroom or your kitchen
turn the faucet on a little bit, so that there are single drops and no "water column"
place the paper in the background of the faucet, either right behinde it or laterally, that depends on your preferences and how your faucet is build
you can either stand, sit or kneel right in front of the sink
now get as close to the drops as you can ( your camera still has to be able to focus ! )
focus manually
if you take photos now it should look similar to the last photo above
( of course you have to get the right timing, but you will get a feeling for that after taking a few photos )


3. The camera settings

Flash : on
Flash Power : - 2/3
Shutter Speed: 1/200 seconds
Aperature : 14-18
Focal Length : 55 mm
ISO : 100

use a high shutter speed to "freeze" the drops
the flash has to be on !
i lower the flash power a little bit, but that's my own preverence and it isn't important
don't use a too high aperature or the drop with his reflection won't be in focus completely

   
Aperature : 5,0                                  Aperature : 14,0                                      Aperature : 26

Just look at the sharpness of these 3 photos ( ignore the highered contrast in the middle )
Aperature 5,0 : a lot too blurry
Aperature 14,0 : the whole drop is in focus and sharp, the reflection could be a bit sharper but that's okay
Aperature 26,0 : the drop may be sharp and easy to focus, but the background won't be blurry anymore


4. Some important things

watch out for your camera, some little splashes on the lens won't hurt it, but of course a lot of water is bad
take a lot of photo ! there will be some good ones
as a tip, hold your camera vertically, that might sound stupid but if you use your inbuild flash
taking photos horizontally will creat ugly shadows if your faucet is built like mine ( picture 1. )
subjects where the direction matters have to be upside down
don't put the paper to far away or the drop will have white areas ( picture 2. )
don't hold it too close to the faucet either, or shadows will be visible ( picture 3. )
of course you can use a tripod
Any questions? Just ask !