Stopping motion can be a tricky, but interesting, photography project. Dropping objects into water can add some dramatic effect as it adds a trail to the object as well as a cool splash. For this project, I chose a nice ripe strawberry. Read on to see the set-up for this shoot.
1. First thing I did was to lay a plastic trash bag over the table. As you might imagine, this project can get a little messy!
2. To hold the water, I picked up a betta fish tank for about $5 at Walmart. I wanted it to be as clear as possible, so I used filtered water and filled it up as close to the top as I could without it spilling over. You might have noticed the tonic water in the background. I used that later, but we'll get to that.
3. For the background, I used a piece of white foam board. This gave me a nice, clean background and also had the added benefit of another white surface for the lights to bounce off of.
4. I used two overhead lights. I pointed them right where I knew I would be dropping my strawberry.
5. Because a high shutter speed is required, I also placed two studio lights on either side. Now, this is quite a bit of electricity in close proximity to water that is going to be splashing around. Please be sure to not place the lights too close to the tank and that any extension cords or plug-ins aren't exposed.
6. Finally, the camera set up. First was the focus. I placed my strawberry in the water about where I would drop it and focused. Then I switched to manual focus to lock it in. Next, I needed as wide an aperture as possible. With this lens, that was f/5. I bumped the ISO up to 1000, which allowed me to set the shutter speed to 1/6400 sec. Click the next button to see the final images.
I mentioned early about using tonic water. This was kind of an after-thought. But, I figured as long as I had the lights set up and the water tank, I might as well make a few more fun images!
I mentioned early about using tonic water. This was kind of an after-thought. But, I figured as long as I had the lights set up and the water tank, I might as well make a few more fun images!
I mentioned early about using tonic water. This was kind of an after-thought. But, I figured as long as I had the lights set up and the water tank, I might as well make a few more fun images!
