How to Photograph Water Droplets

Even if you are a seasoned photographer, catching the beautiful simplicity of falling water droplets can be difficult. If you set up your own station at home in good lighting, combined with the ideal camera settings, you will eventually capture the perfect water-droplet-in-motion picture. It just takes lots of time and patience.

Things You'll Need

• Professional camera
• Bowl of water
• Desired backdrop
• Tripod
• Eyedropper
• External Speedlight flash, if necessary

Instructions

1. Set your camera to the proper settings. Ideal settings are a shutter speed at 1/320, aperture of f-4, a focal length of 22 to 24 mm and an ISO of 200. Make sure it is on manual focus.

2. Try to get your shot in the morning when there is a lot of natural light. You need lots of light to get this shot. Fill the bowl with water. Try using a bowl with a pattern or bright color to see under the water. Position the bowl so there is no light reflection on the water's surface.

3. Set up the tripod so it is slightly elevated over the water bowl. Look through the camera and focus it on the exact place where you want to drop water into the bowl using the eyedropper.

4. Position the eyedropper above this point, and slowly drop in water droplets. Try to time the camera right at the time when the first drop hits the water. This will most likely take a lot of time and patience, so be willing to spend time on it and experiment!

References

• Photograph water droplets