How to Photography - How to Photograph a Splash!

How-to-photography tutorials show beginners how to take stunning photographs in a few simple steps. Accompanies you along the way with step-by-step illustrations and easy to understand examples and explanations to get you started. And you don't have to be a pro to get amazing results right away.

In this tutorial I will show you how simple it is to photograph a strawberry splash in a spoon of milk with no high end set-up. And precisely because photography is fun and so easy to do, I want you to try this yourself in the comfort of your home.

For amateur or pro but geared principally for newbies, I have intentionally used simple techniques and on hand, homemade materials to get the job done. So roll up your sleeves and let's get started.

For those of you who are interested you can leave a comment at the bottom of the page and let me know the results you achieved. Hope you will have as much fun as I do with photography!

Photo Credit: "Strawberry Dive" by Arnaud

All photo images by Arnaud

Interested in High Speed Photography techniques? Want to know how the professionals do it? The beautiful illustrations alone make any of these a most welcome addition to any library.

1. A spoon
2. Strawberries
3. Milk
4. A good camera
5. A place to photograph your splash

As I mentioned before, you don't need a high-speed camera to take high-speed photos. A DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) will make it easier for you but with the technology these days you can also get by with a good point-and-shoot camera. There are a few varieties listed below.

Follow these simple steps and see what works for you. Because you want to capture the splash at high speed you will need to "freeze" the action so to speak. This is why a camera that will take good pictures in low light conditions will do well. If all you have is a point-and-shoot don't be discouraged. It can be done! I'll list some point-and-shoot camera tips for high speed photography further down.

The most difficult thing you will need to do in this tutorial is decide where you want to shoot your splash. This is because it can get a bit messy and you will need to think about the clean-up afterwards. Here are a few of my suggestions.

You can photograph your splash:

Outside - cleanup is minimal

The kitchen sink - excellent choice

The bathroom: use the tub

Tips for high speed photography for point-and-shoot cameras:

For point-and-shoot photographers choosing the location of your photo shoot is the most important thing you'll do today. You will need plenty of light. You could shoot outdoors (makes clean up that much easier too) or a well lit area. If shooting indoors, be sure to use the on-camera flash. If you have an external light source such as a lamp or spotlight it would be great. Before taking your shot, set your camera settings to sport or action photography using the camera mode dial.

With split second action photography low lighting is often a concern and a flash or remote trigger definitely comes in handy. Though not indispensable a flash trigger can help improve the quality of your high speed shots.

Here I have set up the photoshoot in the bathroom tub. You will need to attach the spoon to something solid. In this photograph the spoon is attached to a bucket with some simple scotch tape. Behind the bucket I have placed a sheet of black plastic to give a nice dark background for my splash. That will make the white milk drops stand out more.

Add enough milk to the spoon to make a nice big splash. Now you can see why the bathroom tub is a good choice. It will make cleaning up the mess a whole lot easier.

Your strawberry splash will look all the better if you use awesome looking strawberries.

Position yourself as close to the spoon as you can without going out of focus. Now position your strawberry just above the spoon. Look through the lens-finder and focus your camera exactly on the edge of the spoon.

In this simple set up I have my camera ready and focused on the spoon. When I am ready to drop the strawberry I will snap the shutter with my other hand. This is one of the simplest set ups that you can do. I've tried to make it as easy as possible for beginners. Once you've tried these splashes a few times you can devise more elaborate set ups such as using an external flash and a tripod for your camera to reduce camera shake. You can also use a remote trigger to click the shutter.

It's alright to take hundreds of shots before you get a nice one you're happy with. Once you get the timing right you will have some stunning splash photos to admire.

OK. So here's a basic splash. Snapping as many photographs of the splashes as you can is a good idea. You've come this far haven't you so why not? This way you can choose the best splash to hang on your wall and it'll be worth the clean up afterwards!

Photo Credit: "Strawberry Dive" by Arnaud S.

And here is my final image after the clean up! I hope my How-to-Photograph-a-Splash Tutorial was helpful to you. Have fun and Happy Photoshooting!

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