Splish Splash – How to Capture Dynamic Water Spray Images This Summer

If it’s summer where you are, then chances are there will also be some water splashing around somewhere for you to photograph. Keep reading for some tips to capture those water splashes with your camera.

It’s all about the shutter speed

When photographing moving water of any kind, the shutter speed you choose will control the look of the water in your image. If you choose a fast shutter speed, you can literally freeze water droplets in the air. A longer or slower shutter speed will produce a blur and smooth streams of water.

Here are a couple of examples.

Kermit was a patient model for the next example.

Use a tripod for slow shutter speeds

When you start dialing in a shutter speed that is slower than the focal length of your lens, you will need to use a tripod to keep things steady. Even though you will be blurring the water, the camera needs to be solid to keep other elements in the scene sharp.

When you use a slow shutter speed or long exposure, it will cause the camera to render moving objects with a blur. That includes water splashing or flowing, so use that to your advantage.

Finding water splash subjects

To find some good water splashes you don’t need to look any farther than the closest puddle after a good rain. Kids and pets love to jump and losh around in puddles. Use your camera to capture it.

For subjects like the one below, use the following camera settings to start (then adjust as needed):

• ISO Auto
• Shutter Priority
• Set it to a fast shutter speed, in this case 1/250th (it actually should have been faster but I was working with dim lighting so this was the best I could do). So 1/500th or faster depending on how fast the subject is moving, 1/1000th or 1/2000th might be needed.
• Set the drive mode to Continuous (high-speed)
• Set the Focus mode to Continuous (tracking)
• Set the focus points to zone so you can more easily follow the subject (single point is much harder for moving subjects)

If you decide you want to capture more motion and let even the subject blur a bit, use a slower shutter speed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different speeds until you get the desired result. Change it up just to see what happens if you speed it up and slow it down.

Get creative with your framing. Try some closer-up shots like the ones below too.

Remember to also get some wider images too. Taken in the whole scene, then focus on one subject.

NOTE: Always get verbal permission or a head nod using eye contact before photographing children in public places. If a parent does not want their child photographed, please respect that and do not do so.

Perhaps you can even use the water spray in the background like the image below of the flip-flops on the pavement. The boy in the water provides context and background and the image has a lot of depth and storytelling as well.

Other moving water subjects

Besides splashing in mud puddles look for park fountains, monuments with flowing water, actual waterfalls, water running over the edge of your house in a rainstorm, etc.

The following images were taken from the back side of a small waterfall. Notice how the chosen shutter speeds blur the water drops into streaks (as you saw earlier) but you can also see the water splashing and bouncing off the rocks.

I experimented with different shutter speeds and found that in the case of this subject (where there was very little water trickling) if the speed was too slow the water actually disappeared.

So for images of rain falling try many different options for shutter speed. Go from 1/2000th all the way to one full second and compare the resulting images later. See which one works better, or perhaps if there are even a few different options with completely different looks.

When it rains – get out and do some photography!

If you are lucky enough to live near the ocean, try to capture some splashes as the tide hits the shore. Usually, that means being there at high tide. So plan accordingly.

Do some Photoshop magic

I’ll leave you with another little trick you can do if you have Photoshop or any program that has layers and layer blend modes.

When you’re photographing, use a tripod to ensure perfect image registration later. Then take several images with the exact same exposure and composition. The more images you take the more water will be added to the blended version.

Here are four images I took below.

Notice that the shutter speed varies a little bit but the overall exposure and processing is similar from one image to the next. The camera also hasn’t moved, they are all identical in terms of framing and cropping.

Now look at the final blended image below. Notice how the thin streams of water from each of the four images have been combined or added to make it appear like there is a stronger flow of water. This is the power of image blending! It’s the same principle and technique for capturing light trails in the city at night.

NOTE: Yes you can do this with Luminar Neo, you just need to process all of the images first and export them as JPGs. Then choose one as the base and add the others as layers on top of it, setting each of them to the Lighten blend mode.

Splash Challenge

So your mission should you choose to accept it (if you get this reference, kudos!) is to get out there and find some water, ideally splashing, to photograph.

Try different settings and see what you can come up with and share your images in the comment area below.

Cheers