How to photograph flying soda bottle and grapefruits!
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In my Advanced Photography Class, my students asked me for a challenging activity that would develop their lighting skills. I promised they would know how to photograph soda and fruits that appeared to be flying through the air! We used small portable strobe units with wireless triggering and set the units on very low power to reduce the flash duration to the absolute minimum. We rigged up a Ting soda bottle on a pole and poured water over it while taking photos. Subsequently we suspended pieces of grapefruit and poured water on them while taking photos. We used highly diffused light for the bottle and grapefruit and one direct light on the splashes to make them sparkle. We used two lights on the background paper for an even light to shine through the water splashes. We were careful to protect the flash units with plastic to prevent them from getting wet. Afterwards the students practiced the editing skills needed to carefully select and assemble the collage of the various parts of the image. If you want to try this yourself and have questions be sure to comment on the post!
