By : Nikon School Blog | 18 Jul, 2017 |
Who wouldn't like to see lightning fast events being recorded in their cameras? We would all love to capture that perfect slice of time which our eyes cannot normally perceive. To fulfill this desire, some head to the forests to capture wild animals in action, some try to capture sports or human movements, and some try to capture everyday action with fast shutters.
While all the above can surely get you impressive results, you can shoot high speed action right inside your home. Yes, without heading anywhere, and within the comforts of your home, you can make impressive images showing very fast action. Here are a few tricks and tips.
Shooting Water splash
Probably the most common example of a high speed action that can be captured inside your home is an object splashing into water or any other liquid. All you need is a container full of water or milk or any other liquid, something attractive to drop into it like a cherry, tomato, lemon etc., an external flash, and a camera on a tripod, and of course loads of patience.
The steps.
1. Set up the shot by placing the camera on a tripod. Prepare the background, and place the container as per the framing.
2. Ensure the surroundings are completely dark. Focus on the area where you will be dropping the object by placing a high contrast object and then focus manually.
3. Select a slow shutter speed of around 1 second. You can select a longer exposure time if you will be dropping the object and firing the flash yourself.
4. Select manual output for the external flash. Select a small output (e.g. 1/32) that would ensure a shorter exposure time.
5. Start the exposure. Use self-timer to avoid camera shake. It may take several shots before you can sync the drop and flash perfectly. Keep trying.
Shooting liquid drops
The technique is pretty similar but instead of a solid object, you need to drop a liquid drop into the bowl or jar creating tiny splashes and ripples. The set up will be similar to that in case of splashes, but you need to focus much closer to capture the droplets and splash.
Shooting crazy liquids
A syringe can be used to splash liquids and the flash fired simultaneously to capture crazy looking patterns. Use your imagination and editing software to create interesting images.
Shooting bursting balloons
Ask someone to hold a water-filled balloon. Frame properly leaving the person out, or you can include him or her too. Choose a very fast shutter speed like 1/2000 or 1/4000. You can use a wide open aperture like f/1.8 or f/1.4 if your lens supports (a 50mm or 35mm prime lens will have such apertures). Or you may have to increase ISO to compensate for the reduced exposure time. Alternately, you can use an external flash with a high speed sync if your camera supports this feature (available in D7000 series and above).
Ask someone to prick the balloon quickly. Choose continuous burst mode and select the highest speed available (CH). Start shooting before the pricking and continue for a few seconds. If everything is timed well, you will end up with a fantastic balloon burst image.
Wet tennis ball
Use the same settings as with the balloon burst. Ask someone to spin a wet tennis ball. Again, an external flash with a high speed sync will help. Use a dark background to make the water sprouts prominent.
