I am very interested in trying to photograph paint and/or food dyes in clear water. I have done this producing a bright clear background but have seen example of this done with a totally black background - only the coloured dye illuminated. has anyone any suggestions as to how to set up lighting for this. I have heard that dark ground lighting may be the answer. Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully done this.
Paint Dye in water
- Thread starter glayva
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Like this??
Tweaked:
Original:
I simply inverted the image in PS and adjusted the curves to totally darken the background.
Carl
Carl
Thanks for the post. I do like your shot but, no, it is not what I am looking to do. I want to keep the original dye colour in the water but against a black background. It is all about lighting- whether from the side, top or from behind a black card as in dark ground lighting set up.
Regards
Tony
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You can simply mix the colour channels in PS, I could make that "orange" any colour I wanted...
Your only other option would be a tight, VERY bright beam shining from above but I'm not sure that will provide enough light as the dye is VERY hard to see against a black background. To illuminate the shot with the white background I had to use a 350w lamp, but TBH I've never successfully lit a shot with a black background....Why?? The dye is effectively transparent - the particles are so small they do not reflect light, they only refract in their relevant colours. Try with a black BG and flash and you'll see what I mean, the dye literally disappears as it does not reflect light back!
Are you thinking of the smoke shots?? These can be shot against a black backdrop as smoke particles can be easily illuminated with a strong(ish) light source.
Carl
Thanks to everyone who have tried to help. The style of photograph I want to achieve is as done by Mark Mawson -www.markmawson.com and then his section "series". More can be seen at aqueous paint drops in water. I have tried to contact Mark direct but, to date, I have had no reply. Perhaps he wants to keep his technique secret??
D
del69
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Just use milk or food dye and drip into water or use a medicine syringe....and experiment with different back grounds and lights.
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Yup, looks like paint to me (poster / acrylic paints). The lighting looks pretty straight forwards to me, it's the choice of materials that is key to these shots.
Carl