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10 Gorgeous Water Play Photos
A Weekly Highlights Reel of Inspiration & Tips from our Grads!
Draw your kids into your photos without the need for bribes by making it fun! Not many kids don’t enjoy water play, and even those children who are a little hesitant or reserved still tend to be curious about water. So all you need to do is focus and shoot the natural smiles and laughter.
This week’s highlights reel is a fun (and wet!) collection taken by our Grads! Read on, let yourself to be inspired, and grab the tips to take your own gorgeous water play photos!!
1. Reflections
Think outside the box for your portraits and look for reflections in any body of water, even puddles.
Use an aperture of at least f/3.2 for a nice sharp reflection.
As you read on, consider this – even when your subject is not the reflection, always look for them and include them if it works, because it will add extra interest and layers to your water play photos.
2. Golden Hour Beach Photos
The beach is one of the harshest places to take photos, as the sun bounces off the sand and water causing colour casts and unflattering shadows, and there’s no open shade to escape it!
So head there during the golden hour, which is the hour or on the horizon and beautifully diffused. It’s softer, warm, golden and flattering, making it easy to take stunning water play photos you’d be proud to print extra large and hang on the wall!
Related: Take Your Own Golden Hour Beach Photos
3. Make a Splash!
Put some gumboots on your little person and head for the puddles! No need to encourage them… most kids will naturally head to the water to jump and splash!
Use a fast shutter speed to freeze motion and prevent unwanted blur!
Related: Get Sharp Photos of Kids in Motion
4. Beach Sihouette
Expose for the colour by metering off the sky to nail this kind of shot.
So what does that mean? Metering is nowhere near as complicated as people think! It’s simply the process of telling your camera where to read the light to give you some settings to start with. To do this, simply choose an appropriate metering mode, aim at the object you want to meter for, half depress the shutter button and check that your EV meter is sitting in the centre. If it’s not, adjust your settings until it is.
However in a light situation like the one in the photo below, your camera will probably try to overexpose the shot, so the settings you need to expose for the colour might show the needle sitting to the left of centre, indicating an underexposed shot. But your camera doesn’t understand your creative vision, so as with all metering, bear in mind it’s always just a guide.
This article explains it in more detail…
Related: What is Metering?
…or grab our metering guide!
CLICK HERE to download our guide to metering modes to help you know which mode will help achieve the best exposure for your shot
5. Milk Bath
Ok, technically not water… but it’s liquid, it’s fun, and it makes for gorgeous photos!
Use a tub that photographs well. ie. vibrantly coloured plastic tubs don’t photograph well! This neutral, cream coloured tub doesn’t overwhelm the images, and that’s key in these shots working. The little rust adds some interest and a vintage feel.
Add some warm to the tub, along with around one litre (1/4 gallon) of milk for a tub of this size.
Safety Note
It’s easy to get distracted taking photos, and it only takes a second for bub to slip, so make sure you have a second pair of hands close by, in charge of baby safety.
6. Bath Time!
The bathroom can be a fantastic natural light studio. Especially if your bathroom is mostly white, this acts as a whole room reflector, bouncing around any natural light you have coming in. As a result you get beautifully light, bright and flattering portraits!
Add bubbles for extra water play photo fun!
Related: The Bathroom Studio
7. Sprinkler Fun!
Running under the sprinkler in summer is universally fun and one of those classic summer past times that never gets old!!
And as a bonus… it makes for really dynamic photos when the light bounces off the droplets! Here’s a few tips!
- Use a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. If you were trying to freeze a speed of motion similar to the shot below, you’d need a shutter speed of at least 1/500.
- Position yourself so the light bounces off the water, making it sparkle.
- Make micro adjustments of your own position or the lens angle until you see an effect you love.
- Late in the day when the sun is low, position yourself with the light behind the water, as in the shot below, for a beautiful golden halo effect!
Backlight the water and create something really special… I could describe it, but the image says it all!
Related: Using Backlight for Creative Photos
Becca Lord-Lyon, Advanced Graduate
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