You are most likely to have come across a water splash photo or photo of a water droplet. The mesmerizing and intricate patterns of water droplets in flight make for fine abstract art.
But what is the secret in taking a picture fast enough? How do you freeze each individual droplet in midair?
How it works
Cameras are recorders what they see only. This implies that a photo shoot in a dark room will create a pitch-black image.
Your subject will be brightened for the duration of the flash of light you use in a dark room. Which implies that your shutter speed will be the speed at which your flash fires that is the flash duration.
As with the power and model of your camera, flashes can go as fast as 1/10,000th of a second. A 1/10,000th of a second shutter speed is quick enough to capture a water splash in midair.
Your camera’s shutter speed does not even matter in a dark room. With the proper setting, your camera can take an image that lasts for a second long, but the final shot will only be recorded in the blazing-fast burst of light from the flash.
Setting up your shot
To experiment this yourself, you’ll need to set up in a reasonably dark room, and it has to be dark enough for you to use your in-camera settings to shoot a completely black picture. To achieve this, get off auto mode.
Remember that the ISO and the aperture that you choose will affect your flash power. Selecting either a higher ISO or a wider aperture will make your camera more sensitive to light, as well as the light from your flash. This has a way of making your flash more powerful.
For further tips on water splash photography, you can click here.
