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How to photograph macro water droplets and splashes with SLR camera

Not long after purchasing my SLR digital camera, one of the first things I wanted to photograph was water droplets and spashes. Like many photographers I soon became a huge fan of flickr.com after searching with amazement through hundreds of pages of water droplets and splashes. It then took me quite a long time to work out an effecient technique for photographing droplets and spashes that were good enough to share with others.

Listed below are hints and tips for macro photography that I've learned the last couple of months through trial and error.

1. Setting your camera to 'macro' isn't the same as using a good quality macro lens. A macro lens will always result in better photographs of water. For all droplets and spashes seen on this page, I've used a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens.

2. Good lighting is also essential. I use lamps on either side of the water droplets as well as the camera's inbuilt flash. Many photographers also prefer using a Macro Ring Lite instead of the inbuilt flash. They say it gives their photos a more natural balance with less flash seen in the droplet.

3. Using extension tubes will allow you to focus in even closer as they help to increase the magnification of the water. Extension tubes arn't a necessity for macro photography, however I did use them on all the water images seen on this page so thought they were worth the mention. One word of warning, if you're intending on using an extension tube then you also need to know how to use your SLR camera in manual mode. Extension tubes sit between your camera body and the lens, making automatic settings not functionable.

4. Shown below is an image of my actual setup. You'll notice it essentially consists of a bag of water that is hung over a fish tank. The bag of water has a really tiny pin hole in it from which the droplets fall at a consistant rate.

5. Using a remote control and tripod will help prevent camera shake which usually results in blurred photographs. The remote control also allows you to concentrate on the falling water droplet from above camera level. Personally I found the best time to take the image was immediately before seeing the droplet hit the water. With practise, you get better at timing it just right.

6. Some people argue that exposure isn't as important as good lighting, however I found setting my SLR camera exposure to 1/200 of a second was effective for giving good results.

Here are a few droplets and splashes I've done using the methods explained above. The colors found in the images are created from using different cardboard backgrounds placed behind the fish tank.

If you have any photographs of macro water that you'd like to share, feel free to leave the url to the image along with your comments. I'd love to see them :)

UPDATE: Our tutorials for photographers are now being continued over at SLR Photography Guide.