How To Take Photos of Water Splashes

Water splashes captured well are incredibly beautiful and can even be breathtaking.  You may think that it’s impossible for you to capture these types of photos, but you most certainly can, even if you are using a Point and Shoot camera.  This article will give you some pointers that will teach you how to take great photos of water splashes.

We’ve talked about capturing falling water droplets and improving your photos of water droplets with photo editing software, like Photoshop Elements (and others).

Tips For Water Photography:

• use your macro setting
• turn on your flash
• use a tripod to avoid blur from camera shake (or set camera on something stable)
• good lighting is essential – both from flash and other sources
• be patient
• shoot a lot

Then try some different setups.

Capture The Splash When a Water Drop Hits a Watery Surface

Any watery surface will do – a very easy one is a bowl of water under a dripping faucet.

Let Water Drops Fall Into Your Hand

For the following photo, my steps:

1. start a drip in the sink
2. let it hit cupped palm
3. focus on the water in palm
4. shoot again and again and again until happy

Captured with Kodak EasyShare DX7630
(6MP Point & Shoot, no longer available for sale)

Vary Your Setup For Fun

• striking surface (shape, color)
• distance from tap (further = larger splash)
• speed of drip
• backgrounds

Captured with Canon Powershot G9

Adjust Focus to Anticipate Splash Height

When your splash is higher, if you want to maintain focus on the height of the splash, remember to adjust your focus to anticipate it ahead of time.

Captured with Canon Powershot G9

Repeat As Necessary

Practice and take as many photos as you have to in order to get the shot you’re seeing in your head.  As long as you have a camera, light, and some water, the only limit is your endurance and creativity!

So try some different setups and these pointers, and get fantastic water splash photos, even with a Point and Shoot.  All the photos included in this article were taking with a Point and Shoot camera.  You can take photos like these, or better with practice.

© Lotus Carroll: All photos in this article are copyrighted; all rights reserved. Unauthorized use is prohibited.