Water Drop Photography is a great home project. We show you exactly how to set it up and photograph water drops. Our motto at Understand Photography is “We Simplify the Technical!”.

Supplies:
white background
Easel or something to hold the drip cup
Oil drip pan from auto supplier
Small paper cups 4-5 oz
Cotton balls
Tweezers
gaffers tape
Two speedlights with triggers (I used Cactus 4 transmitter and receivers)
camera with a hotshoe to fit the trigger
SET UP
I used an easel since I had one the right size.
Punch a small hole in the bottom of the 5 oz cup.
Pull cotton through the hole using tweezers, the tighter the cotton, the slower the drip.
Tape the cup to the easel.
Place pan underneath.
Use a white or colored background.
Put the receivers on the flashes and point them at the background so that they will reflect light back on the
entire pan of water.
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Camera settings start here:
Dial M for Manual
ISO 400-800
F8
SS whatever is your fastest sync speed for your camera and flash
Usually 1/200 or 1/250
Lens - change to manual focus
The transmitter goes on top of the camera. The receiver goes on the
bottom of each flash.
Make sure the transmitter and receiver are on the same channel and
turned on.
Sit down so you are in the same position each time.
Manually focus on the water drop (Have someone hold a pen where
it drips).
Time the drops and try to shoot just as the drop hits the water.
It could take ten or more shots before you get one.
Variations:
Put colored gels on the flashes to reflect colors into the water.
Put something colorful on the background to reflect color into the water.
Drop colored water into clear
Use milk – drop colored milk into white milk

If you need help shooting in the manual mode or with flash photography, watch our free video; “What You Need to Learn to Become a Proficient Photographer”. You’ll find it here: https://www.understandphotography.com/freewebinar/