Water Photography: What To Know & How To Nail It

Splashy water photography

One of the most exciting branches of photography is splash photography. We see this frequently in backlit wine glasses, or pools of water in striking colors, with a sudden splash sending the water into dramatic upwards motion, which we freeze into a single frame.

One of the easiest ways to achieve this is finding a reflective surface — such as a glass or other glossy table. Set a glass on top of it, with a light source illuminating the background, and the glass in the foreground. You’ll want to have a LOT of light here, which allows you to use a breakneck shutter speed. You can also use a flash on the front of your camera here to achieve the effect. 

Experiment with different color dyes, maybe even dropping one color into another and snapping the exact moment when they interact. Drop a marble into liquid, and observe the patterns you get as the liquid springs out of the glass. Use different color lights to achieve all sorts of exciting and ephemeral effects. 

Oil and water

We all know that oil and water don’t mix, which can work to the photographer’s advantage. For some really unique, trippy photographs, consider setting up an oil-and-water experiment in your workspace. First, find a backdrop, which can be anything from a printed-out image to the LCD screen of an iPad. Next, you’ll want some sort of glass container to put water, and ultimately oil. This can be anything from a glass measuring instrument to a waterproof picture frame—if you can get liquid in it, then you’re good to go and experiment. 

Using whatever you have at hand, elevate the water source from the background. Think of something as simple as cereal boxes or books. You want to have at least six inches from the base of your glass object to the subject behind. If you aren’t using something naturally luminescent, like a device screen, then consider adding some lighting, so your image has vibrancy. 

Set up your camera on a tripod, so it shoots straight down into the glass basin. Carefully add the oil—this can be done through an eyedropper or even by dipping a fork into oil and then into the water if you’re really in a pinch. Immediately, you’ll see that distinctive oil bubble look. To make the image even more distinctive, add some dishwashing soap to the mixture, which really defines the outer edges of the oil bubbles, and lets you add some more texture. 

Using a macro lens will really let you punch in on those shapes, rendering some truly spectacular images. 

Shooting reflections

There is a lot to be said for looking down sometimes, and you as the photographer are rewarded for this curiosity by discovering the world of reflections. Especially during times of rainfall, you can capture the most extraordinary images just at the level of your feet. Cities are a great place to capture reflections when the overarching buildings above us create a parallel world in the puddles. You are similarly rewarded at the lake or river by capturing both the foreground and the background in one beautiful shot. 

For reflection shots, it is good to shoot at a higher aperture to keep everything in focus. It keeps the objects floating in the water (say leaves or other items) to the reflections beyond in sharp focus. Alternatively, a shallow depth of field (or lower aperture) can create abstract images with unclear focus. Try flipping the image so that the “reflections” are standing upright and experiment with how this changes the narrative for the image. 

If you’re shooting a wide landscape—think of a bridge with the reflections underneath—then it’s good to affix the camera to a tripod. Set a shutter speed long enough so that the water can reflect the bridge above, yet quick enough that the reflection is not too blurry. Sometimes the blurriness of a reflection can be equally intriguing, like on a windy day when the bay is lapping with little waves. Set a long shutter speed, and the choppy water becomes smooth, with the landscape beyond emerging in the reflections below. 

Shooting at odd hours and in various weather conditions

Some of the best hours for water photography come in the early morning hours and the late daylight hours just before sunset. At these times, the rays from the sun come in at an angle, allowing the water to be more harmoniously lit. You will be gifted beautiful colors, especially for reflections.

As you venture away from blues skies and sunny weather, you start to see the haunting beauty of nature in its most wild moments: the dramatic flashes of extreme weather reflected in our watery subjects or the undulating clouds and snappy waves of a forthcoming storm.

Of course, no shot is ever worth your safety. If your surroundings start to feel unsafe, then you should always head for shelter.