Digital Camera World - UK (2021-03)

76 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

of flashguns, positioned either side of your

set-up, gives you more control – but you

can certainly work with a single flashgun

and use white or silver reflectors to fill

in the shadows on the opposite side.

Aiming the blast of flash at a piece of

white card in the background will both

soften the light and provide the rear

illumination needed to make the water drop

visible. You can use coloured card to add

interest, although the coloured light that’s

reflected back will create a colour wash

across the entire image. You can also cover

your flashgun with a coloured gel or a piece

of plastic to create coloured splashes. If

you’re shooting an opaque liquid such as

milk, this usually looks best when it’s lit

from above, the side or the front, rather

than from behind.

As well as setting the flashgun to Manual,

you’ll need to manually set the exposure on

the camera, too. Choose the M setting on

the mode dial and you’ll be able to set the

ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Select

an aperture that’s going to give you a

reasonable depth of field at such a close

distance, such as f/16, and start off

with an ISO of 200 or 400.

For the shutter speed, simply set your

camera’s flash sync speed – the fastest

shutter speed at which the camera sensor

will be exposed evenly by the flash. This

figure varies between cameras, but it’s

typically around 1/200 sec. If you shoot

in a darkened room, the shutter speed has

no effect on the exposure: it’s the brief

pulse of flash that exposes and freezes

the shapes formed by the splash.

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Fruit splash photography

Create mouth-watering images with the aid of fresh fruit and a fish tank...

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While you’ve got your water

studio set up and ready to

go, why not try your hand at the

classic ‘fruit splash’ shot?

Although you can use a glass

for this style of image, a small

fishtank or a glass container with

flat sides will ensure there are no

distortions. It will also lead to less

mess and allow you to capture a

cleaner splash without the edges

of the container in the frame. I’d

recommend using a piece of black

velvet or card for the background

when you’re starting out, as it’s

much easier to remove any

unwanted air bubbles, drips and

debris when you process the

image. (See the opposite page.)

Fill the tank to half or three-

quarters level. Change it regularly

during the photo session,

particularly if you’re using ‘fuzzy’

items such as kiwi fruit, which

can soon dirty the water.

Get prepared Line your camera up so that it’s level with

the water line. Hold the fruit in the area where you’ll drop it,

so you can pre-set the focus before you start taking shots.

It’s much easier to time fruit-splash

shots compared with water-drop

photography, as everything happens

on a bigger scale. That said, it still

takes time to get the ‘perfect’ splash

composition. You’ll often end up with

the fruit falling out of the bottom of

shot or the splash appearing chaotic.

Vary the height at which you drop

the fruit, as this will affect the depth

of the sinking fruit and height

of the splash ‘crown’.

Drop it like it’s hot

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