Water is a source of life, relaxation, fun ... It is perhaps the most precious asset we have on the face of the Earth (although not precisely the one we care for the most) and the one that inspires many artists in any type of discipline. I have no doubt that you have ever photographed the water in some way, in the sea, the rain, a river, a waterfall, a lake, a puddle, a fountain or even a drop falling into a bucket. Like sure you have made more than one portrait and two Now I ask you, have you tried to make a portrait in which the co-star is the water? We have dedicated many articles to the portrait, in fact, we have dedicated an entire e-book for you to master portrait photography. What we had not done so far is to join two elements that make us fall in love, the portrait and the water. But the day has come and today I will awaken in you enormous interest in trying it if you have not already done so. Yes, this time I am as sure as it seems . Do you dare to discover it?
PORTRAITS IN THE WATER
This is perhaps the kind of portrait with water as a co-star that you have seen or even practiced. It requires a river, a lake, a pool or a little piece of sea and someone who offers as a model. Tips for shooting in the water.
1. Be very careful with the camera. This is rule number one. Water is the biggest enemy of digital cameras. I specify digital because my old analog was razed by a wave of the Atlantic and once the only damage I found were a few colored circles in the revealed photographs, which by the way were not so bad . But I assure you that my DSLR will not be the grass of a wave. This does not mean that you leave your camera in a closet every time you approach an aquatic environment, just be careful. Use the strap to avoid falls, get away from splashing and if you are on the beach and keep it under the umbrella ... pay attention to the rise of the tides!
2. Take care of the fund. Water can be a magnificent background as long as you do not include other less desirable elements or, rather, distractors that contribute nothing to the portrait.
3. Change the perspective. Look from another point of view to the usual, perspective can be a good element of composition , if you do not believe me here you have a few examples .
Change the perspective and use the water as a background4. Natural light Unless you are in a bathtub (well, you don't, your model), you will have natural light and you can avoid using flash, so the result will be much better. If instead you are in a place with low light, use it, here you have everything you need to know about the flash for portrait photography and some tricks for better use of the flash .
Use the flash only when necessary5. Depth of field . Your portrait will be much more impressive if you reduce the depth of field , or what is the same, you work with a large aperture (f / small number).
6. Play with the reflexes. Water gives you the possibility to capture the reflections, do not miss that opportunity.
Play with the reflexes7. Do not put limits on your creativity. Creativity is the best tool you have, beyond the quality of your camera, technique, accessories, etc. With it you can overcome any obstacle, even yourself.
Let your imagination fly8. Try the black and white. There is no doubt the beauty of the color of the sea, or the attractive blue of the pools, but sometimes black and white can offer a very interesting result.
Try the black and white9. Freeze the movement. With images like this you can freeze the movement through the water, the splash, a jet, a wave that breaks ... To do this it uses a very fast shooting speed. When using a fast speed, less light will enter, so you will have to open the diaphragm more (smaller f-number). If the light is poor and the image is still dark, raise the ISO , but be careful not to go over and spoil the image with an annoying noise.
Freeze the movement
PORTRAITS UNDERWATER
Holding your breath under water and putting on "photo face" is not an easy task, you will have to look for models with aptitudes for it, or what is the same, that have good endurance under water and have a lot of patience and desire. And so you don't think that I want to take away your desire, I'm going to ask you to visit the pages of these underwater photographers. His photographs are wonderful, I think that until today I was not aware of how much I liked this kind of images. Probably now you will also fall in love and want to do something similar or at least try!
Elena Kalis
Alix Malka
Zena Holloway
It is true that of the three types that I speak to you today, it is the most difficult. It requires more work, especially if you want to get photographs as curried and professional as the links. However, the result will make the effort worthwhile. I leave you some tips so you can "jump into the pool."
1. Protect your equipment . And now that this aspect is of vital importance, since you will have to submerge your camera and it is not something to take as a joke. There are some bags for compact cameras, SLR or even mobile phones, which are waterproof. For example you are . In the following video, which deals with an underwater session, they pack the equipment under vacuum. This can be a good trick . I haven't tried it, so then don't ask me for responsibilities, huh? I would test you first if you do not have leaks in a bucket or similar .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvHd7aG7HHg
2. Prepare the session. It is very important that you plan the session. You will have to have the place, the costumes, the equipment, the model ... Everything must be well planned. Think about what you want to tell, how and what you need before getting into the water.
3. Breathing . You will have to spend time submerged, so if you work your breath, the session will be less tired. It would also be convenient for your model to also practice holding your breath while putting "photo face" or simply not putting on any weird face. Trick: if you do not get your model to relax the expression, cover part of his face with one arm, hair, cloth ...
Practice breathing4. Costumes. You may agree to do a session in a swimsuit, but if you want something more elaborate, choose costumes or stunning dresses, which can get wet (yes) or you do not mind being spoiled. The vaporous fabrics that let the light through offer an incredible appearance, in addition, the lighter the fabrics, the greater freedom of movement your model will have.
Prepare the costumes5. Lighting. The farther from the surface, the less light you will have. Keep this in mind when adjusting the parameters.
Take care of the light6. Glasses. Wear diving goggles, if they cover your nose much better.
7. Come closer. The further you move away from the model, the more blurry it will be seen by water particles.
Come closer8. Patience. This type of photography is not achieved in a day and less in an hour. It requires preparation and practice. I have commented at the beginning, it is the one that requires the most effort, but when you control it you will feel so proud of yourself that you will jump for joy and want everyone to see your photographs. And who knows ... the same thing you end up doing "selfies" underwater like this girl.
Selfie «underwater»
PORTRAITS WITH WATER
The biggest difference between these and the portraits in the water is that here you don't need your model to be submerged, nor do you need the sea, or a lake, or even a pool. You only need water, you can use a bucket, a hose or the shower head. Here what counts most is creativity. Although I will give you some basic tips:
1. Shooting speed. The way to freeze the movement of water droplets is with a very fast shutter speed.
2. Lighting. As I said before, when using fast speeds, less light enters, so you will have to open the diaphragm more, raise the ISO or most likely use an artificial light source.
3. Assistant. Find yourself a helper who throws the water or the session, it will get quite complicated!
Find someone to help you with splashes4. Black background. Black funds can help you achieve spectacular results.
Black background
Maybe this video interests you:
5. Take advantage of rainwater. Here are some tricks to capture amazing rain photographs.
Take advantage of rainy days6. Edit . If you like and control the edition, do not cut yourself. Make portraits like this:
Do not discard the edition7. Black and white. Again, try black and white to achieve more dramatic results. They will also help you arrange unattractive funds and achieve more timeless portraits. But better shoot in color and then turn to black and white. That way you won't lose information and you can always revert if it doesn't convince you.
Black and white photography
Finally ... if you don't have water ... you can always invent it;). In the end the important thing is to be creative, practice, try and above all ... put a lot of passion!
A little imagination never hurts
INSPIRATION
To get a little more inspiration you can take a look at this Pinterest board with a wonderful selection of underwater photographs. You can also "dive" through the web and discover other wonderful aquatic images that give you ideas.
I hope I have aroused your interest in "getting wet." If so, have others get wet by sharing on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.
We will thank you by writing more post for you Thank you and see you next time!
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