# data[].attributes.body
My project concept challenges the viewers perspective to view images using small everyday household items.
Each item will have a fast moving object or splash effect photographed upside down.
Each image will be then turned upside down for the initial object to appear the correct way yet the splash to defy gravity.

# data[].attributes.body
Nikon Camera (Nikon can sync than the native syncing than canon with the air drop remote from MRC)
Air drop remote
B-10 Lighting kit
2 x light stands
Snoot
Barn doors
Black board (foam board purchased from cheap as chips)
Black backdrop

White jug
White coffee cups with saucer
White sugar container
Syringe
Honey
Milk
Coffee
Condensed Milk
Egg
Sugar

# data[].attributes.body
Harold Edgerton - Milk Coronet (1957)
The image was shot in high speed sync with additional images up to 1/10000 and 1/100,000 p/sec.

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/49855

# data[].attributes.body
Capturing the milk splashes and milk dots.

# data[].attributes.body
My Canon EOS 5D Mark III only has a small native sync compared to the Nikon D750 which was booked through the MRC.
Needs High speed remote to sync B-10s to sync flash and shutter release together.

# data[].attributes.body
1 MRD board from Bunnings (cut in 4)

Black can of spray paint

Glue Gun

Glue sticks

Project Foam Board - Large size (from Cheap as Chips)

Clear sticky tape

Syringes x 3 in 10ml size

# data[].attributes.body
Each peice of board cut was spray painted and dried. The items were glued on with a glue gun and left to completely set overnight.
Anything that had lids were taped shut with clear sticky tape

# data[].attributes.body
The boards made up allowed to glued the egg in and have slighter more control by placing small holes in the top of the egg. My assistant managed to chip away slowly at the holes to create a larger hole until the yolk popped out.

# data[].attributes.body
2x Light stands

Nikon D750

Light Meter

High Speed Air Remote

B-10 Lights

Barn Doors

Snoot

# data[].attributes.body
The lights after proceeding with many test shots of 1 in front only worked with 1 item on each board. As I had glued two items on each board I required two lights at 1:1 ratio
Using inverse square law and almost 'family of angles' approach the the lighting direction.

# data[].attributes.body
I kept the backdrop yet used the two project foam boards as a cutting device. One on each side helped to balance the light out, yet whilst the ratio was the same, the strength of the lighting had to be adjusted.

# data[].attributes.body
Connor, a year 11 photography student was my assistant for the day. His job was to alter the light strength, take the light readings (after teaching him how to) and to squirt the different liquids with the syringe to the subjects.

# data[].attributes.body
Post Production included:

Background layer black

Layer Mask to highlight milk drops

Whitening of milk

Sharpening of milk drops

Removal of highlights and dots

# data[].attributes.body
Post production included:

Layering 2 images into one

Layer mask with curves adjustment,

Exposure adjustment layer

Gammer adjustment

Sharpening of milk dots

Layer mask to highlight milk dots

# data[].attributes.body
2 Images overlayed and blended

Layer mask to highlight droplets

Focused on the droplets to highlight droplets

Sharpening

Whiten the teapot

# data[].attributes.body
Post Production included:
Layering of two images
Layer mask to make the coffee drops pop
Exposure levels
Gammer levels adjusted

# data[].attributes.body
Eggy required several eggs.  Assistant chips away at the shell glued into the egg cup to drop.

I personally feel I could not gain the correct exposure, even in post production.

# data[].attributes.headline
Camera Settings - 'Floating Liquid Series'

# data[].attributes.subject
Camera Settings - 'Floating Liquid Series'

# data[].attributes.body
f/4 - widest aperture of the lens allowable that I had access too.
1/4000 sec - fastest shutter speed allowable for the equipment
All shots with ratio 1:1 @ 6 on both B-10s and 9 in some cases

# data[].attributes.body
The lemon was dropped into a fish tank with a black backdrop.

Post production of layer mask and adjustment to the lemon.

Sharpening the image including the water.

Black the background

# data[].attributes.body
Additional Image with 3 images layered over each other.
Use curve adjustment to brighten image.
Use layer adjustment with inverted image and paint brush to highlight colours.
Exposure levels adjusted.

# data[].attributes.body
Extra reading on HSS and technical components.
Main points, patience, and take several shots.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before we can talk about high-speed synchronization (sync), we need to discuss what flash sync is.

Flash sync is the computer-controlled feature in which the flash and the shutter release are synchronized such that the flash light output illuminates the subject for the specific moments that the shutter exposes the image sensor.

The flash instantaneously lights up the subject (it does travel at the speed of light), so the flash doesn't last nearly as long as the shutter remains open even though this is very fast (1/60s, 1/125s 1/250s, etc.).

There is a limit to the shutter speed, and this is the camera's native sync.

What is High Speed Sync Flash?

High-speed sync flash is your DSLR's ability to use a flash at shutter speeds faster than the camera's native sync.

Most cameras have a native sync of 1/250th of a second, and anything faster than that is beyond the camera's ability to sync the shutter with the flash. But if you happen to be in a situation that requires faster shutter speeds to effectively capture the action, or for other aesthetic reasons (like a wide aperture), then you'll over-exposure your image.

However, high-speed sync flash/camera combinations allow you to use the flash at higher shutter speeds.

How to use High Speed Sync Flash?

High-speed sync flash is used when you want to use a shutter speed that is faster than your camera's native flash sync speed, or when you want to use a wider aperture setting that requires a higher shutter speed as is often the case with outdoor daylight shooting.

For example, you may want to take an outdoor portrait, and your TTL meter tells you that the f-stop should be set at f/16 with a 1/125s shutter. Those settings will give you too much depth of field, way too much actually. Nearly everything in sight will be in focus. Instead, what you want is a sharp subject, but a soft, blurred background, which would be achieved with an aperture of about f/2. That's six stops of light difference, which means that shutter speed needs to go up to 1/5000s. This is easily achievable by setting the flash to High Sync Speed.

When you take your photo, you'll have that beautiful, soft background that the pros get when shooting outside.

You'll want to use High Shutter Sync when you're shooting with a telephoto lens, trying to capture fast action, using a high shutter speed as well as a high f-stop. So in sports photography High Shutter Sync is ideal, and in some wildlife situations as well.

How High Speed Sync Works

With a high-speed sync flash-capable camera and dedicated flash unit, all you do is set the camera to that setting.

But how does it really work?

Basically, at high shutter speeds, the rear curtain starts to close before the front curtain fully opens. This way only a sliver of exposure moves across the image sensor. It is within this moving sliver of exposure that the flash fires, and voila! A high-speed shutter speed is synchronized to the flash. The flash does fire longer than in standard flash mode.

In standard flash mode, the flash duration is much shorter than the time it takes for the shutter to move across the image sensor, and the partially opened shutter will cover part of the frame. This would leave large sections of black in your image. The underexposed black in the image is not good, to say the least.

What is Rear and Front Curtain Sync?

The shutter on your DSLR consists of two curtains; the front and rear that open and then close in the time designated by the shutter speed (i.e. at 1/500s, the front shutter opens and then the rear moves to close all within 1/500th of a second).

The default setting coupled with a flash is "front curtain sync", in that the flash fires as soon as the front curtain begins to move, thus illuminating the subject for the duration of the shutter speed.

However, many 35mm and DSLRs give you the option to have the flash fire just before the rear curtain (or second-curtain) begins to move.

You can achieve arresting, creative motion-blur and streaming light effects by deftly manipulating the front and rear curtain sync, especially with longer shutter speeds (1 second or more).

Conclusion

The high-speed sync gives you more artistic control over your photos, particularly in aperture-priority mode.

When you master this use of the flash, you'll be able to take photos that will grab people's attention and have them wondering how it was done.

High-speed sync overcomes the limitations of the camera's native flash sync. That's a boon to those photographers who always wished for just one or two more speeds on the shutter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
High Speed Sync Flash | Understanding High Speed Sync Flash and Shutter Curtains

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Before we can talk about high-speed synchronization (sync), we need to discuss what flash sync is. Flash sync is the computer-controlled feature in which the flash and the shutter release are synchronized such that the flash light output illuminates the subject for the specific moments that the shutter exposes the image sensor.

# data[].attributes.body
Further reading on HSS, tips and tricks.
Further inspiration images.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you want to freeze a moment, you can take a photo and capture the scene for eternity. But what if you want to photograph something that happens in the blink of an eye?

High-speed photography means taking pictures of actions that happen in a fraction of a second. Activities that are so fast that you are not able to see them with your eyes alone. For instance, when a balloon bursts or an object splashes into the water. Everything happens in a second, and you cannot see the actual action. But your camera can.

You only need to learn a few techniques to be able to freeze the moment and capture the fast-moving subject.

Photographing subjects in action is one of the most challenging aspects of photography. It is also one of the most rewarding. You have little time to think and no room for error. High-speed photography involves sports photography , wildlife photography , and similar niches with high-speed subjects.

You can even get creative and capture objects splashing into water or a glass breaking. Your camera can turn these common scenarios into pieces of art. The human eye alone is not able to see the beauty of these actions when they take place.

We reveal 9 tricks to help you improve your high-speed photography skills.

9. Start Shooting at Home to Understand High-Speed Photography

Start with the basics at home before shooting fast-moving animals or motorbikes.

Start practising with splashing objects or popping balloons. These are the best ways to understand high-speed photography.

You only need a few things to get started:

A tripod (or you need two very stable hands)

A subject (this can be a glass full of water or a balloon filled with paint)

A black backdrop - this could be a black sheet made of cardboard or anything that won't reflect light.

You also need something that creates the action: a needle to pop the balloon or fruits to dive into the water. Having a helping friend can be useful for high-speed photography sessions.

The good news is that any DSLR camera is suitable for high-speed photography. You have two basic options to capture a fast-moving subject. Shorten the shutter speed or use the flash that only illuminates the subject minimally.

Keep in mind that you need to have enough light as you increase your shutter speed. Always think about the exposure triangle. If you change one of the variables, you need to balance out the other two.

This kind of high-speed photography requires an exposure time that is 1/20 000th of a second. Most of the cameras cannot fulfil this condition. The speed and the direction of your subject will also influence the settings. How should you start then?

8. Practice the Process

For these kinds of photos, you have to shoot in a dark room with a narrow aperture and in Bulb mode. You don't want any extra light influencing your photograph.

Set up your subject in front of the black backdrop and position your camera.

Set up your external flash so that it points towards the side of the subject. Keep the flash out of your viewfinder.

Put your camera in a manual mode. This way, you can control aperture, ISO and shutter speed. Use the lowest ISO possible. Start with 100 and only increase it if your flash doesn't provide enough light.

You want to use a small aperture for the largest depth of field. Set the power of your external flash to the lowest. The reason for that is simple: the less power your flash uses, the shorter the flash duration.

This is the key to high-speed photography indoors. The less power, the more you can freeze your scene. Shutter speed is not even critical here because your flash is making the exposure.

Take a shot without the flashes first. You should get a completely black image. If not, change the ISO or the aperture till you get a black photo.

Then turn on your flashes and start taking some test shots. You can still adjust the flash duration. Put your camera on Burst Mode so that you have more chances for a good photo.

Remember, you need a bit of luck for high-speed photography. It takes a while until you get your first perfect shot. Keep trying until you feel comfortable with the settings at home and take it to the next level then.

7. Choose the Right Lens

Using high-speed photography outdoors means that you need to prepare for lots of action. A sporting event is the most common example. Most of the time, you are not allowed very close to the moving subjects. This is why using the right lens is very important.

Even from the bleachers, it's possible to capture frame-filling action shots. The most helpful piece of equipment for sports photography is a longer lens. With a telephoto zoom between 70-300mm, you can cover the entire field from your seat.

This gives you the ability to photograph subjects that are further away. It also means you won't have to jockey for a place in the front row. To get a different perspective, you may even want to stand on a small stool near a fence.

You are often not allowed to use flash because it can disturb the participants' attention. Think about adjusting the exposure triangle since you are not using flash.

6. Adjust the Shutter Speed to Avoid Blur

You need to set the shutter speed very fast when photographing any high action scenario. I took many of my favourite action sports shots at 1/500. It's quick enough to freeze an athlete sprinting down a field without showing any motion blur.

It's essential to understand how the fast shutter speed affects your exposure. Since the actual shutter is only open for a brief duration, it does not allow much light to reach the sensor. The raised ISO, along with a wider aperture like /f4 will compensate as needed.

Lightning-fast shutter speed, such as 1/1000 gives us the ability to pause life. You are capturing instances that the human eye wouldn't catch. All thanks to advanced technology.

I use this specific setting for the type of heart-pounding action you find at air shows, or in extreme sports. To get a sense of how fast this is, 1/1000 will freeze the spinning blades of an industrial-strength room fan. It will also stop an F-22 jet as it zooms past at 500 miles per hour.

5. Use Shallow DOF for a Higher Shutter Speed

If you flip through the pages of any sports magazine, you'll notice that the players are sharp. But the fans are out of focus. The wide aperture not only creates that shallow depth of field. It also lets a great deal of light into the camera.

As such, it's possible to freeze the action. If you are serious about sports or high-speed photography, a lens that opens to f/2.8 is worth the investment. You may even hear people refer to them as 'fast lenses'. This describes the speed in which the wide aperture lets light into the camera.

Set your lens to the widest possible aperture. Depending on your specific gear, this will likely fall between f/2.8 and f/5.6. This works to throw the background out of focus, bringing full attention to the players.

You don't want the cars or houses in the distance to distract from the action. Besides creating a shallow depth of field, a wide aperture lets in a great deal of light. This helps to make a proper exposure even in areas with poor light.

4. Use the ISO to Your Advantage

You may be surprised to learn that a high ISO can even be helpful on a bright sunny day. If you are photographing sports, the shutter speed can be no slower than 1/500 to prevent subject motion. As noted before, you'll also be using a wide aperture around f/2.8.

With these two decisions made, you may take your photo only to find that it's too dark. This is where the ISO comes to the rescue. Double the ISO number and watch as the photo gets brighter. Still, need more light? Double the ISO again.

This way, you incorporate ISO control into your image-making process. The exposure is no longer limited only to aperture and shutter speed. Using this new technical knowledge also increases your photo opportunities.

With the ability to shoot anywhere, the possibilities are almost endless. Use the ISO to your advantage, and you'll see a definitive improvement in your craft. Problematic scenes that were once too dark are now well within your reach.

3. Do Not Lose Focus

Most DSLR cameras feature continuous focusing. Ther are also known as AI Servo or Continuous AF. These modes will allow you to track moving subjects.

Keep your centre focusing point on the subject with your shutter held halfway down. You can follow the object through your viewfinder and the camera adjusts focus automatically.

When you are ready to make an image, press the shutter all the way down. You can even change the burst mode from 'single shot' to the continuous high-speed option. This offers more frames per second to capture even the fastest of action.

Try to anticipate the action for snapping the best photo possible. Be ready to shoot one second earlier than the actual action.

2. Choose the Best Photo Format

You will need many memory cards with all this fast-paced action. I used to bring a portable hard drive with me and download the contents of the card while continuing to shoot. This is no longer necessary as large capacity cards of 64GB have now a very reasonable price.

Shoot in RAW format whenever possible for the most control and best photo quality. If you are short on memory cards, you may want to consider shooting in the Large/Fine JPEG format. This will allow you to fit more images on the card than .

There are some fast-paced situations when shooting RAW is not possible. For sports photography, I prefer the JPEG Large/Fine setting. This affords a bigger buffer size making it possible to shoot more frames before filling up.

For example, a modern DSLR can shoot 31 RAW shots consecutively, but a whopping 1090 in JPEG. This is a huge advantage for those who never want to miss a moment. By starting with a JPEG file, you also cut the extra step of RAW photo processing when you get home.

1. Try the Rule of Thirds for Better Composition

When you look through your camera's viewfinder , you'll see a faint outline showing the centre of the frame. This is how people learn to compose their pictures. They aim, centre their subject, and capture a photo.

To be honest, there are many compositions that work. Using the rule of thirds will get you artistic photo results for sure.

In the picture below, the balance is off, but it's still a striking image. The key to making this work is the direction in which the quarterback is looking. By having his head facing the open space, we are witness to the play unfolding.

The surroundings which fall outside of the frame are a mystery. This leaves us to wonder what will happen next. Had the player been centred, none of this drama would exist, and the image would be much more static.

High-speed photography is about finding the ideal settings and capturing the right second. With the tips above, you can start practising and improve your skills fast.

Examples of High-Speed Photography

High-speed photography is one of the topics we cover in our creative photography course, Wow Factor Photography.

Below are some of the photos taken by our students. If you'd like to learn more, check out the course here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
9 Cool Tricks for Shooting High-Speed Photography

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you want to freeze a moment, you can take a photo and capture the scene for eternity. But what if you want to photograph something that happens in the blink of an eye? High-speed photography means taking pictures of actions that happen in a fraction of a second.

# data[].attributes.body
Associate Dip of Photography
Current Scholarship
Wedding and Landscapes for 15 years
Formalizing my understanding with a degree
Exhibited at the Ballarat Foto Bienalle

# data[].attributes.body
Switch Egg for Lemon Image. Stronger Image

Play around with final layout for exhibtion (example - two main and triptage)

Try B/W images to mix with colour.

Remove specular highlights on milk jug

# data[].attributes.body
Example of a workflow that I can adapt for the objects I would like to work with.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Balloons fascinate everyone, including adults. Every child loves playing with balloons, but most of the time, they get scared when the balloon bursts. But do you know that a bursting balloon looks beautiful and you can make extraordinary images of when it happens? In this tutorial, I will teach you how to do popping water balloon photography using a sound trigger with your camera.
© Ramakant Sharda - http://ClickManic.com
Balloons can be shoot in different ways: you can fill balloons with different color water, take different shots and merge the images in one and make a rainbow; you can put a hat or sunglasses on a water-filled balloon and burst it; you can add talcum powder in a balloon and burst it; you can burst an air-filled balloon with an arrow or a dart; possibilities are endless.

Making an image of a popping balloon is not easy because everything happens in a fraction of a second. You can either try your luck with the timing gods - where you try to synchronize your shutter release with the popping balloon - or use a sound trigger for high-speed photography like the MIOPS Smart +. High-speed photography, like popping balloon photography, can be straightforward using this type of trigger as it controls your camera to take a shot at the perfect moment.
© Ramakant Sharda - http://ClickManic.com
First, you'll need balloons, and you'll need a lot. Buy some packs of medium size balloons. If you want to show only the shape of water and don't want to show the balloon, use the same color balloons as your background so that pieces of balloons merge with the background, and you'll get a clean photo. I used black balloons because I had a black background. If you want to show balloons too, use a different color balloon than your background.

Next, you will need a background. If you have a paper background you can use that otherwise use a piece of cloth. You also need a stand to hang balloons. If you don't have a stand, tie a long rope from the ceiling and attach balloons to that rope.

To burst the balloons, you'll need something like a pin or a needle. Tape your pin to a long wire so you can burst from a distance and also paint it with the same color as the background so it won't show in the picture. It's better to use the same color thread as the background to hang balloons.

Next, you need a camera, lens, and a tripod; it's advisable to use a 50mm to 100mm focal length lens, so your camera is far enough from balloons and safe from splashes. You need two flashes and a sound trigger like MIPOS Smart+ to trigger the camera.

Finally, you'll need a room that is dark and where you can easily clean the mess you'll make!
© Ramakant Sharda - http://ClickManic.com
Okay, now it's time to set up everything. First, you need to fill balloons with water or air and keep them aside. Now place your background paper/cloth far enough from the balloons.

Now set your camera on a tripod with a medium lens so your camera will be far from the balloons and can be safe from water or color splashes. Place two flashes at a forty-five-degree angle on both sides of the balloons, set the flash to 1/32 or less, and make sure you cover your flashes with plastic bags.

One flash will work as the main light source, and other will act as a fill flash. The power of fill flash should be half of the main flash. So, if your main flash is at 1/32 power, the fill flash should be set to 1/64.

Aperture - f/8 - f/11 for a greater depth of field.

Shutter speed - 1/250 or whatever your camera's flash sync speed .

ISO - 100 or lowest possible according to the light.

Now attach the MIOPS Smart trigger to your camera and use it in sound mode. Set Sensitivity to 40-50 percent and delay to 10-15 milliseconds. You may need to adjust these settings to your requirements. Like, for example, the delay; if you want to capture the action as soon as the balloon bursts, you need to set less time for delay, but if you want to capture only the water shape, you need to set the delay slightly longer.

You have two options when using the sound trigger mode. The first option is to control your camera using the trigger, and you'll be free to burst the balloons. In this case, your camera's lag time will be important as it will cause latency to catch the moment.

Another option is to set your camera on bulb mode and use the trigger to fire the flashes. In this case, you need first to open the shutter, and then burst the balloon. An assistant could be really helpful in this case.

You can use both methods for high-speed balloon photography, however, the second option is recommended to eliminate the latency caused by your camera's lag time.
© Ramakant Sharda - http://ClickManic.com
When everything is setup, all you need to do is tie the balloon on your stand or rope, set your focus manually, and burst the balloon using a pin. MIPOS Smart+ will trigger the camera or fire the flashes when the balloon bursts. You may miss a few shots when you start but after tweaking the settings of the trigger, you'll start getting results.

Let's start popping balloons and share your pictures with us. We are going to share more high-speed photography tutorials like high-speed ballistics photography and high-speed water photography soon.

In order to learn more useful information, feel free to visit the following link: Best Photography Classes
© Ramakant Sharda - http://ClickManic.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Balloons fascinate everyone, including adults. Every child loves playing with balloons, but most of the time, they get scared when the balloon bursts. But do you know that a bursting balloon looks beautiful and you can make extraordinary images of when it happens?

# data[].attributes.headline
Examples of HSS and further water freezing workflow process

# data[].attributes.subject
Examples of HSS and further water freezing workflow process

# data[].attributes.body
Main Points:

Recommended for 1/4000 p/sec for water droplets.

Gluing the composition in place.

Turning upside down with instructions on workflow from beginning to the final results.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Subscribe Below to Download the Article Immediately

You can also select your interests for free access to our premium training:

Ever tried to freeze motion in your photography? Or tried water splash photography? If not, this is the article for you.

If you have, this is still the article for you as we'll show you how to have fun photographing water splashes.

We are going to create a shot with chill drinks, dynamic splashes, and a fun atmosphere for creative food photography!

My favourite thing about photo equipment is that the best camera is the one you have with you. The same is true about lighting and any other gear.

I'm not going to tell you that you need an arsenal of fancy equipment or expensive camera lenses for water drop photography. Sure, it's always better to have cutting edge strobes. Or special machinery that gives you control over each detail in your scene.

Or even robots that can provide control over the flow of the splash, its speed, the shape it takes, the amount of poured liquid and other parameters.

All these things make life easier, but that doesn't mean you can't create beautiful water splash photography without them.

So, we're going to shoot water splashes using a camera, two speedlights and a glue gun. That's all you need.

1. How to Freeze Motion

First of all, we need a light source. That's the most important thing. It must be suitable for shooting high-speed scenes such as photographing water drops. You can use strobes or hot shoe flashes (speedlights).

In my case, the scene is lit with two SB-910 speedlights. These are affordable and easy to use solutions for frozen motion problems.

You can use anything that has a short enough flash duration though. This is a characteristic of any flash or strobe. It refers to the length of time that a flash emits light for a single burst.

Since you are shooting in a dark setting (and you should!), the flash duration will become your shutter speed.

The light will be hitting the sensor of your camera for only the amount of time the flash is working, lighting the scene.

It won't matter if your shutter speed is set for 1/250 of a second or for a half a minute.

If there's no ambient light available, the flash is the only visible light source. This way, the camera sensor is only exposed to the light for the duration of the flash.

To avoid blurred drops, take one shot with the speedlights turned off. This shot should look like a black rectangular. That means there's no excess light.

In my experience, short enough flash duration for water splashes is about 1/4000th of a second. But obviously, the faster, the better.

This is the speed that helps freeze liquid in motion and keeps all the drops sharp and clear. Pick a Speedlight flash or a fast enough strobe.

Also, check your manual and find if the impulse speed of your light source is at least over 1/4000s.

You may need to lower the power of your flash a bit to reach a required impulse speed.

I have to set the power of my speedlights at about 1/8 or even 1/128.

2. Pick Your Splash Photography Props

Besides the flash suitable for shooting at high speed we will need:

Camera and a tripod;

A lens with a long focal length;

A transmitter or sync cable for your flashlight (optional);

Still life items (lime slices, mint leaves, a couple of acrylic ice cubes, and maybe a martini or other cocktail glass);

Horizontal backdrop (something narrow and lightweight);

A vibrant background (preferably a washable and waterproof one);

A note about backdrops - we need two. One to place the limes on and another to create a brightly coloured background.

For the first one, it's better to choose something narrow that you can easily take down. I used two narrow wooden boards for interconnecting flooring.

They work great as general food photography backdrops too. Worth keeping even if you're not shooting something unusual and dynamic.

Pick a surface you can turn upside down without much effort. So don't choose granite or marble backdrops.

And it must be made from a material that can survive a glue gun: acrylic and plastic backdrops are definitely out of the discussion.

Wooden boards of any kind and narrow sheets of plywood will be your best friends here.

For a vertical backdrop, you can use anything with vibrant colour. It's good if this material is waterproof.

However, I wanted it to be a bright blue colour, and the only blue thing I had was a big sheet of coloured paper.

So I set it as far from the action as I could and tried to keep the splashing water away from it.

3. Keep Your Gear Safe

Remember to take care of the safety of your camera, lighting and other gear. Keep all electric equipment out of the possible way of water droplets. Pick a long focal lens to set your camera as far from the action as you can.

Prepare a couple of towels and a stack of paper napkins. Be cautious about the direction and speed of the water drops.

Look out for the water on the camera lens too. Keep a UV filter on to protect it or have a microfiber cloth handy to clean the lens. The water drops in the middle of your camera lens can create unwanted marks in your photograph.

I found out that there are only two things I can do about the mess. First one is to take measures to avoid the mess. Cover the floor with a plastic film. Set a container directly beneath the scene to collect most of the water.

The second is to accept the fact that it's going to get out of control. Your workplace is going to get messy. The floor is going to get wet.

Keep anything that can be damaged by water (not only gear but any papers and books, for example) away from the setup. You'll clean everything up later so just enjoy the process!

4. Create the Composition

Arrange your limes and acrylic ice cubes in a nice composition. Keep it simple and remember to leave some space for falling drops.

I like pictures that have a place to breathe, so I left a lot of empty space for splashes.

You can add other fruits with smooth surfaces. Apples and oranges are good, but peaches and kiwis may be tricky. Or add a cocktail glass with a straw to create the perfect mixture!

Make sure that it's a composition you like because later you won't have a chance to change it.

5. Glue Your Composition in Place

Do you like your composition? Yes? Now it's time to fix it in place.

Glue every item of your still life to a background. The glue gun works great for smooth surfaces like glass but check everything twice. Better be safe than sorry.

And yes, glue the mint leaves too. Be careful to put glue on the stems, not the leaves.

The hot glue gun is a very accurate name and may leave dark spots on tender leaves.

The glue gun can be a rather capricious tool, so be careful with it. Try not to leave too many visible glue spots.

They not only can expose your photography trick but also look rather messy.

It's okay to leave some of the glue visible on, say, acrylic ice cubes. After you make a splash, transparent glue will look almost like water.

6. Turn It Upside Down

Now pick the entire background with glued still life and turn it upside down. When post-processing the image, you will flip it 180 degrees again.

When you set your camera on a tripod, take into account this future rotation.

It's very important to make sure that your construction is steady and still. Be especially careful with glass items, don't spare any glue on them and check twice if they hold firm.

Put the backdrop with your composition on any improvised supports that you can find. I used two wooden frames. They're lightweight but pretty steady.

Choose anything that is waterproof and can stand motionless under the weight of your backdrop with the glued items.

7. Light It Up

Time to set up the lights. One of my speedlights is inside a strip box on the right side of the scene. It is lighting the bright blue background, which reflects some of that light back to the limes and the water. This is the key light.

Another flash is behind a large diffuser on the left side. This is the fill light. It lifts the shadows and adds some volume.

You can use practically any lighting scheme you like, but I strongly recommend to have at least some light coming from the back.

It will make the ice cubes transparent and add some sparkle to the water droplets!

Lower the power of your flash to 1/16 or even 1/128. This provides a very short pulse that will freeze the motion of the liquid and get you a stunning splash photo.

8. Choose Your Camera Settings

Set your camera in burst mode (continuous high) to take a few shots in a row and use manual focus.

Sometimes the camera's autofocus doesn't work well, especially in continuous mode. It slows things down and tends to make mistakes.

Switch your focus to manual mode and put the camera on a steady tripod to get a nice and sharp image.

Finally, set your camera's shutter speed to the flash sync speed - usually between 1/160 sec and 1/250 sec.

From there, take a test shot to establish what maximum aperture you can get without underexposing an image. This way, you can get the ideal depth of field that works for your shot.

That's all about the camera settings, you're ready to shoot!

9. Let It Pour

Make sure you like your composition and lighting. Take a clean shot. You'll need it later in case something goes wrong.

Take a breath. Get ready. Pour some water onto limes and mint leaves, create a splash! Take a sequence of shots. One more splash!

Rinse and repeat.

Since your tripod allows you to keep your camera steady, you can make as many tries as you like.

Experiment with the bowls you use to pour water. Oblong cylindrical glasses provide elongated splashes with drops on the edges. Vials make smooth splashes.

Also, try pouring water from behind the limes. This way, it will arch behind them and won't fall to the foreground, making it difficult to see the fruits.

Most importantly, have fun! Don't be afraid to make a mess, just keep liquid away from any electronic equipment and especially from your camera.

10. Post-Processing Tips

Now it's time to choose the best splash and tweak it a bit. Get your clean shot, place the shots with splashes you like best as separate layers above it and use Layer Mask to conceal parts that should be hidden.

This should be pretty simple: put layers one above another like a sandwich. Then create Layer Mask on the first one, use a soft brush to paint in the areas that should be hidden.

I took one shot with the splash forming a beautiful arc above limes. I combined it with another splash, which was flying above them not touching anything.

Also, I added a couple of flying drops to make the dynamic more prominent.

Finally, adjust colours and contrast.

Now you have it, a chill drink for a hot summer day in a piece of most refreshing splash photography!

Here are a few other shots made with the same trick.

Let your imagination run wild and try this antigravity trick with a set of different objects.

Do not limit yourself to mojito or lemonade. This trick works great with coffee, milk and practically any other liquid you can think of.

It doesn't have to be food photography either. Try laboratory flasks with zero gravity potions. Try flowers with dew rising back to the skies.

Think of anything that goes well with liquid and try it out.
Water splash photography is one of the topics we cover in our creative photography course, Wow Factor Photography. If you'd like to learn more, check out the course! Below are some of the photos taken by our students. If you'd like to learn more, check out the course here.
Now it's your turn. Best of luck!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Shoot Cool Water Splash Photography | Creative Food Photos

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Subscribe Below to Download the Article Immediately You can also select your interests for free access to our premium training: Ever tried to freeze motion in your photography? Or tried water splash photography? If not, this is the article for you.

# data[].attributes.headline
Further Post Production of Images after critique from presentation in class

# data[].attributes.subject
Further Post Production of Images after critique from presentation in class

# data[].attributes.body
Remove specular highlights

Alter Images to Black and White - alter RGB channels by adding B/W layer

Remove small dust specs

Removal of reflection within the droplets

# data[].attributes.body
As someone suggested in class that artsteps provided a free virtual gallery, and even though I presented with power point,  I tempted Artsteps to create my final exhibition works.

# data[].attributes.body
Step by step and watched video tutorial to create my final exhibition.
This platform will be useful for future projects to manage images on a gallery wall prior to printing or for further use
Consideration for BW triptage as the images 'pop'
Further consideration to larger size images rather than the original smaller intimate style. I feel this would help with the challenged perspectives I am trying to achieve.

# data[].attributes.body
Example of LIghting plan I plan to use in conjuction with research

# data[].attributes.body
Upside down Squirt coffee from underneath up into cup Let drip

Black background

# data[].attributes.body
Upside down
Glue egg in
Use long metal skewer to chip away
Black background

# data[].attributes.body
Glue milk jug upside down