Making a Splash With Strobes

I’ve been enjoying practicing more with my strobes lately, and recently decided to challenge myself.

One type of photo that I’ve always admired is a well-captured water shot. Water droplet photos or pictures of water in motion somehow always catch my attention. Strobes make water photos especially striking, as the lights cause every drop to sparkle.

So, I decided to take some “splashing” photos of my own.

First, I tried using a battery in a glass of water. I thought that the long shape of the battery would make a really interesting shape when it splashed. However, I was not very happy with my results. The battery itself was not well-lit enough. So, I tried again a few days later with strawberries:

The last one was my favorite photo from the session, although I took tons. I found that the best way to light this was to have one flash pointed at a reflector board behind the glass, and another pointed at the front. This way, the light hits the water from every side, illuminating every drop. Also, putting Ziploc bags over the flashes is a good idea.

Want to start taking splash photos too? Here’s a good place to start learning.

Also, this video is a fantastic step-by-step guide for waterdrop photos.