Pick up these Macro Extenstion Tubes and get started now!
Click Here for My Top Recommendation for Nikon Macro Extension Tubes for $60:
Click Here for My Top Recommendation for Canon Macro Extension Tubes for $70:
The next time you are feeling creative and have a whole day to kill, try some macro photos of splashing water drops. It can be exhilarating! Follow these 12 tips to create stunning works of art. First you will need a DSLR camera with flash. For recommendations, see my post:
DLSR Gear Recommendations and Portable Lighting Kit.
1. Assemble Photo Gear
2. Assemble Photo Drip Kit
3. Setup Camera: f/14; shutter: 1/250; ISO: 200
4. Setup Off-Camera Flash: 1/16 power to freeze water drop
5. Start Dripping Water
6. Fine-tune the Focus
7. Turn Lights Off & Shoot Away!
Hovering Sphere - Macro Water Splash - Caryn Esplin
The Blue Bowl Crown - Water Drop Photography - Caryn Esplin
Floating Water Drop - Macro Water Splash - Caryn Esplin
1. Assemble Photo Gear:
You will need a DLSR, Tripod, Flash, Radio Trigger/Receiver, Macro Extension Tubes (see links below) or a Macro lens. See my recommendations for DSLR Camera Gear here.
For $55 – $60 you can purchase Macro Extension Tubes to convert your lens to Macro. I have tried the cheap ones for $12 and you cannot change the f/stop (aperture) so they are a waste of money. The $60 version works great and they seem to be just as good as the $160 version. The key is to buy the least expensive set that gives you “auto-focus.” This means you will get the metal pins to connect with your camera, so you can change the aperture. You will want to use manual focus, but if you don’t buy the auto focus model, you won’t be able to change the aperture. You can play with different combinations of the three different rings to get as close as you need.
I recommend using these tubes with a prime lens. The inexpensive Canon and Nikon 50mm 1.8 lenses work great. (I used my Nikon 85mm 1.4 lens, but you don’t need to spend $2000 on a lens to get these results.) After trying several different tube sets, here are my top recommendations for macro extension tubes:
Click Here for My Top Recommendation for Nikon Macro Extension Tubes for $60:Â
Click Here for My Top Recommendation for Canon Macro Extension Tubes for $53:
I know this looks a little ghetto, but it works! Note the off-camera flash - Colored paper taped on cereal box - Water dripping from bag clamped on lamp - Camera with Macro Extension Tubes, Prime lens and Flash Trigger. Oh, and don't forget the Pen to focus on... and a Remote is handy too.
2. Assemble Water Drop Kit:
A. Glass Rectangular Baking Dish half-filled with water
B. Something black to place under the glass dish
C. Ziploc Bag (sandwich size) half-filled with water
D. Lamp or Stand to attach Ziploc Bag to
E. Colorful paper on wall or box behind the dish of water (I just paint colors on a blank page in Photoshop, then print it out)
3. Setup Camera
You can experience with camera settings, but I found the following to work well: f/14; shutter: 1/250; ISO: 200. Add two or perhaps all three of the extension tubes to your camera, then place your prime lens on the end. A 50mm 1.8 lens works great and it very affordable. (Check my DSLR Camera Kit for links to buy one for $110.) Also, be sure to setup your camera on a tripod and turn off your lens VR or IS. The Vibration Reduction (or Image Stabilization) only helps when you are hand-holding your camera. On a tripod, you will actually get more camera shake VR or IS. You can google this and find all kinds of documentation on the topic. I definitely get sharper images when it is turned off, but only when on a tripod.
4. Flash Setup
Even though I have remote flash trigger in my Nikon D7000, I prefer to use my inexpensive $25 Cowboy Studio Trigger (Buy the Trigger here) because it allows me to fire the flash continuously. Set your flash on Manual at 1/16 power. By the way, the YN-560 Flash works great for this and all speedlighting needs. It is 90% as powerful as the Canon/Nikon $500 flashes, has all the features you need and costs under $80. (Buy the Flash here). At this low power, you can shoot a long time with one set of fresh batteries. The key point to remember is that you need a quick burst of flash to freeze the water drop. It is important to shoot in the dark, so ambient light won’t blur the motion or add ghosting.
5. Start Dripping Water
Use the very tip of a sharp toothpick to make a tiny hole in the corner of a Ziploc Bag. Add water and clamp, tie, or tape the bag to a lamp or something that can be moved to place the drops into the focus plane.
6. Fine-tune the Focus
This is a critical step, because you must have tack-sharp focus on the main drop and splash action! You will need to use a pen or similar object to focus on. Just hold the pen so it is in sharp focus. Then move the dripping water into the same place.
7. Turn off Lights & Shoot Away!
Once you have a sharp focus, turn off the lights and start pressing the shutter, being careful not to move the camera at all. It would be even better to use a remote to avoid camera shake.
Have fun with this and let me know what you think. Also, stay tuned for the next few blog posts… I will be posting more of my Macro Water Drop images.
I love that you called your set up “ghetto”! I think that it’s creative and a good use of typical items. 🙂 Can’t wait to try this – now I just need a macro lens.
Thanks for the comment and I hope you can try this out soon! You can borrow my Canon extension tubes in a few weeks when Dustin, Kris, and Jason are done with them. I will put you on the waiting list, if you would like.
Sister Esplin-
Wonderful work! I saw these photos posted on your Facebook page and was inspired to try it out on my own. I don’t have the extension tubes yet – because I wanted to see which ones you would suggest before I bought any (I see now the value of the auto focus ability). I was pleased with my own results – but they aren’t as close up as I would like, of course. I had the most fun playing with the light reflection/colors. I’m so glad you posted your process. My favorite part was how clumsy the setup looks (mine was really “ghetto”) but how fantastic the photos turn out. I love the direction you are taking with your website!
Best,
Blake J.
Blake, it is great to hear from you, and it is a compliment to a teacher when she can inspire you to try something new. So I am happy to hear you tried this out. I can’t wait to see the results. Please send me a link when you get some images posted. This is a fun new passion and I hope it does not turn into an addiction. I hope all is going well for you in Florida. I got a call from someone about a job referral and I told them you were the best! What are you doing in Florida? Take care!
I appreciate your kind words with the referral! I actually ended up in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m working for BBDO, a global advertising agency. I help produce and mange advertising for one of their clients: AT&T. It is a great learning opportunity and huge for my resume, so I’m very grateful.
Thanks for sharing! Here’s what I got when I tried: https://plus.google.com/photos/111269238038766216243/albums/5719184122697369505?authkey=CIHT5aSrlpCfqAE
Alaina, I love your green water drop images! This is perfect for the upcoming St. Patrick’s holiday. 🙂 I have not tried using colored water, but seemed to work well for you. Thanks for sharing the images and your setup photo too. Keep in touch! Did you use a macro lens, or did you buy the extension tubes?
Thanks for having this tutorial on water droplets. It is covered everything anyone should know how to get started. I have to get the macro extension tubes now. Then i will soon have gig’s of water droplets images to add to my photography archives. Thanks again.
cheers
Anselm
Since you are so good about recommending inexpensive gear that works just as well…I was wondering what your recommendations are as far as tripods go? Will definitely be trying the water drop pictures as soon as I get the items you mentioned. Thanks for this tutorial. The pictures are beautiful!
Thanks for the question about tripods. Just by coincidence, I am preparing a blog post about tripods this week, so you will have some links to my top recommendations for various DSLRs and purposes. I will have affordable options because I am all about getting good deals on quality photo gear. Stay tuned and I will get to it ASAP…
Wow Caryn these look awesome! I remember when I was back in Comm 130, I was trying to do this just for fun. That’s when I had my Canon S5 IS, and it didn’t work at all! Since then I’ve really wanted to try this out but didn’t want to buy a macro lens. I didn’t even know you could get these extension tubes. I would love to try this out sometime. These shots turned out awesome! I can’t wait to see more!
Thanks for the comment, Jace! I hope you get a chance to play with this. It can be addicting, as you can see. Let me know if you get some good ones. I would love to see them.
Started working on this project and found myself with a digital camera working in a darkroom…hmmmm, I like the thought. Thanks for the tutorial.
Caryn, you never seize to amaze me. Thanks for showing your set-up too on your counter. Amazing. You are still a teacher and role model to me. Much Love!
Thanks for this post. Your very simple setup is impressing me. I will try shooting drops next weekend 😉
Good luck with shooting water drops this weekend, Sebastian. Please come back and leave me a link so I can see how they turned out! Thanks for stopping by.
I am about to try this. I’m not BRAND new to photography, but I am new to using extension tubes, and an off-camera flash. Should be interesting! These photos are spectacular though so I’m willing to work to figure it out. I LOVE up close photo!
Be sure and try varying distances when you drip the water. The higher up you go, the bigger splash you will get. Also cold water helps, no try different depths produces different types of splashing in the dish. I also tried milk, orange juice and a but of dishsoap to mix it up a bit. But my favorite was plain old water! Have fun and please let me know how it went and what you learned. Thanks or the comment!
Hello Caryn, thank you very much for the fun idea, I tried, and got a few shots, I think I need an extension tube, I used a 17-50 with stabilization off, and i tried a 35mm, 50mm and a 70-300 on a d90,the 17- 50 worked best for me without a tube, fun little project, i will leave a link for you to take a peek. http://i42.tinypic.com/2ij4sbt.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/35335ac.jpg
Very nice water drop photos! It takes some practice, and I need to try it again and again. I had good luck with my 85mm lens, but when my TA tried it he liked shooting at 135mm. He said it was easier to get things in focus.
What have you thought of those extension tubes? How does it effect the functionality of the lens? Were you still using your D7000 for this or have you started selling plasma to buy a D800 yet?
Hey Ben,
I LOVE these particular extension tubes. I have tried several and these are the best! The cheap ones do not let you change the aperture. I use them with my Nikon D7000 and they work well with any lens… Even a zoom lens. I want the D800 for sure, but I will wait a year, so I won’t have to sell my plasma along with the students. That is one reason I opted tomget these macro tubes instead of a macro lens. So good for such a bargain! If you shop on Amazon from one of my links then it will help me get a little extra to be able to buy more prizes to giv away to students for photo contests etc. thanks, and let me know if you try the tubes. Have you been shooting lately?
That’s good to hear. I’ve been curious about these for a while. By the way, as far as gear have you tried any rental services yet? My wife won a free lens rental from borrowlenses.com at Photoshop World so we got to try the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 for 10 days. Their prices are surprisingly good. If you’re wanting to test something before buying it, or even just have some crazy high end equipment for an event, it’s a great way to go. We loved their customer service, and had a great time with the lens. The downside is now she’s making me buy it. As for me shooting, not so much. For the most part I handle lighting/reflectors and wrangle kids while my wife shoots. We’re planning on getting a D7000 for my wife soon, then we’ll both a camera. I’m hoping between that and being done with school I can shoot more. If not, at least we’ll have a D7000. You know how I am about shiny expensive electronic things.
need to give this a try!
Hey Sis Esplin! I just bought a set of those extension tubes and I am having a small problem. When I attach them I only get a blurry image. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Thank you so much for the help!
If you use all three focus rings, you will need to get very close! So just use one or two of them for starters. You need to switch your lens to manual focus, then move your camera closer to the subject until you start to see it getting clear, then turn your manual focus ring to get it nice and sharp. Keep changing your distance until you get it tack sharp. I hope this works? If not, come by and see me Monday 1-4 during my office hours.. if you are in the burg!
Caryn,
I have always been interested in doing water drop photography. I googled that, and your step-by-step instructions was one of the first hits. I followed them, and tweaked the steps based on stuff I had. I got VERY LUCKY on the first few shots. I am eager to spend more time to perfect your excellent instructions. Check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks! You’re awesome! http://www.rvlphotographs.com/galleries/still-life/
Congratulations on your first water drop success! It is exhilarating for sure. I am so happy you were able to benefit from the tutorial and thanks for sharing. Keep me posted!
Now trying to improve my focus with the use of a “hands-free” aid. I also want to stop down 1.3 stops to f/22 to get more depth of field. To compensate, I increased the flash power 1 stop and bumped up the iso 1/3 of a stop to 250. First run, it was a bit too bright…and I could see the flash head in the drop reflection. I’ll back it off to balance the exposure…
I randomly hand some chemistry equipment to use for the drop system. Instead of a pierced bag, I had a plastic disposable baby bottle (my 10 week old has since increased formula volume!). I found out quickly that vacuum wouldn’t allow a steady, sustained series of drops. So I drilled a hole to allow air in as water leaves.
For the last two months i have been saving money for 105 mm macro lens just to have water drop photography, and then I read this article and knew about extension tubes. U saved my money and i am very thankful for that. cheers 🙂
I am glad it helped! Remember that macro tubes work best with a zoom lens. So the tubes do not work well with a 18-55mm or 50mm prime (fixed) lens. But they work well with a 18-105, or 18-135 lens. You need to be able to zoom in and then you can adjust your position to get things to come into focus. Also turn your focus to Manual (not auto) and turn the focusing ring manually. When you purchase the tubes, don’t get the cheapest $10 ones, or the expensive $150 ones. The mid-priced macro tubes for about $55 are the ticket. The cheap ones will not let you set you f stop (aperture) and you have no control over the depth of field. The expensive ones are not any better than the mid-range tubes. The tubes are mainly spacers to move your lens away from your camera and it allows you to get a closer focal range. It also cuts way down on your light, so you will need to be in bright light and/or use one or two speedlights. Good luck!