How to Take Splash Photography Like a Pro
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Photographing splashes can add a great deal to your portfolio, especially if you want to enter the commercial and stock photography market. There's something very visually appealing about splashes, and mastering the way to capture them will set you aside from the rest of the pack.
The best way to freeze the liquid, be it water or anything else, is to use flash. Ideally, you want to be able to use a lower power setting on your flash because that will produce a lower flash duration. That translates into a better way to freeze the movement of the liquid. You can get the job done with something like a speedlight, but ideally you should be using a studio flash because it just puts out more power, even at lower settings. That means you can keep the exposure and ISO speed to a minimum, which ultimately leads to crisp, motion free images.
When it comes to the actual camera settings, we recommend using the manual mode, especially since you're going to work with flash. A short shutter speed like 1/200th is recommended because you want to make sure there won't be any motion blur. Aperture wise, you want a lot of depth of field. An aperture in the range of 11-16 is most likely to get the job done, so make sure you fine tune your settings to match that value.
Actually capturing the perfect moment is tough when you photograph splashes. It takes a bit of practice, so prepare to get the table or whatever surface you're using wet. The perfect time to press the shutter release is not after you drop the item into the liquid. It's precisely one moment after the item reaches the surface. You want the splash to reach the right height in the photo.
Here's a great video from Adorama on how to do it with photographer Gavin Hoey producing some really nice eye candy.