Waterdrop photography is a fun and experimental type of photography, and if you’re getting into this fun genre, you’ll want to know how to make the liquid that goes into your device.
When creating waterdrop photographs, one thing you want to consider is the thickness and viscosity of the liquid that you are dropping into your container. Pure water will have a lot of splashes, whereas something that is slightly thicker will create smooth and rounded droplets.
You can use plain or colored water, but you will get more consistent and cleaner results if you include an additive to your liquid, such as Xanthan gum. I start by creating a concentrate of water + xanthan gum and then use that each time I make a colored mixture to photograph. Then, I put that in my PlutoTrigger device and drop it into a container filled with clean water. Here are some results from my waterdrop photography work:
Water used: Xanthan gum and food coloring for the drops, base was plain water.
Creating a liquid mixture for waterdrop photography
Watch this video to learn how I create liquid for my waterdrop photographs. And, if you’d like to learn more about creating high-speed waterdrop photographs, please take a look at this article over on my website: Water Drop Photography with the Pluto Trigger
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