Show us your setup and the final result!

nrowensby wrote in post #12839440
Is it just me or are they all out of focus?

I couldn’t tell if the photos were OOF or the annoying watermark was positioned such that they all looked OOF.

Water drops = tripod. Smoke you can easily do hand-held but with water drops it's too hard to hit focus. It's best to throw the camera on a tripod, set manual focus with a pencil or similar and shoot like that. Then you'll know you're hitting the right spot each time.

Rocky Rhode wrote in post #12839670
I couldn’t tell if the photos were OOF or the annoying watermark was positioned such that they all looked OOF.

Yeah... very annoying that deviantArt watermark.
Any suggestions?

katodog wrote in post #12839683
Water drops = tripod. Smoke you can easily do hand-held but with water drops it's too hard to hit focus. It's best to throw the camera on a tripod, set manual focus with a pencil or similar and shoot like that. Then you'll know you're hitting the right spot each time.

Yep. Handheld, and with "macro" settings (the extension tubes), a 1mm wobble of the photographer (me) is more than enough to screw the focus. And I also used manual focus and I hit "the pencil".

Living and learning! I'll do better next time!

Crazy_Guitar wrote in post #12839878
Yeah... very annoying that deviantArt watermark.
Any suggestions?

flickr? Sorry, not a fan of DeviantArt... seems like everyone on there wants overly tone-mapped photos or crazy angles for shooting things like cars and buildings... I have seen horrible photos get rave reviews on there, thus making the photographer continue in his skewed ways.

I guess I'll try flickr then...
And what about Picasa?

But hey, guys... the "snoot" ones came out fine, haven't they?

Came out fine in what way?

In focus? No

Crazy_Guitar wrote in post #12839373
This...

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(EOS 1000D + 24-105L -not shown- + 430EXII + OC-E3 + toilet paper roll snoot + "el cheapo" tripod + Chicco baby table reversed)

...was a great way of doing this...

(Ask me for photo-related data...)

if you mean this, I think they are better than the water drops

Ok, waterdrops are being taken care of.

Crazy_Guitar wrote in post #12840121
Ok, waterdrops are being taken care of.

but I think your shutter is too slow though...even these shots are a bit fuzzy

monk3y wrote in post #12840138
but I think your shutter is too slow though...even these shots are a bit fuzzy

1/250. But the flash strobe is WAY quicker than that! (430EXII @ 1/64 power)

So to sum it all up. all i need is at least two tripods, two flash guns and away i go to take some of these awsome pics of splashes and all that?

O and a remote trigger?

Can i use more then one flash gun on my 400d?

^^ Jon, you could do it with one tripod and one flash only.

But the must-have piece of equipement is "talent". Read about flashes, their duration, the relationship with ambient light and how light work/travel/react.


Than yes, such a basic setup can give awesome results.

jonneymendoza wrote in post #12836452
really need to buy a new tripod.

any god this one?

http://www.warehouseex​press.com …-055xprob-tripod/p1019760

can it go low and all that?

Sorry for the late post on this. You saw the favorable responses about the 055xprob - I have one as well and I have no complaints - none! I did a lot of research and still look and compare features and prices. That 055 is probably one of the best values (if not THE best) you can get. I started out thinking, I don't need to spend that much for a Manfrotto - how much better can they be? Now I know and when I need a stand or other equipment like that - I always look to Manfrotto first (and hope that I can afford it).

Whats a good head for it? i might buy one today