Capturing Dancing Paint Drops: A Fun Flash Photography Experiment

One of my favorite photos captures a few drops of paint in motion. At first, a few drops of paint may not seem like an interesting subject, but add a little vibration and a camera, and things get exciting fast. I first saw this idea online and was eager to try it myself.

Setting Up the Experiment

The concept is simple: stretch a balloon tightly over a speaker, then place a few drops of colored paint onto the balloon. When you play music, the balloon vibrates, causing the paint to “dance” off the surface. The challenge is capturing this fleeting motion.

The first step is lighting. Flashes freeze the motion, so I set three flashes in manual mode: one on each side of the speaker and one above it. I zoomed each to 105mm to focus on the small subject and set the power to 1/8. With my camera at ISO 100, shutter speed 1/200, and aperture f/16, the histogram confirmed a proper exposure.

Understanding the Settings

When using flash as the main light, the exposure is controlled by aperture and ISO. The shutter speed mainly affects ambient light. At 1/200 of a second in a dark room, the background appears black, and the flash freezes the paint. The flash duration, around 1/12,000 of a second, determines the sharpness of the motion.

I chose f/16 to get a wide enough depth of field for all the paint to stay sharp. Remember, the shutter doesn’t freeze the paint—the flash does. Think of it like a strobe at a dance club: the flash captures the motion instantly, even if your shutter is open.

Adjusting the Lights

Position one flash on each side of the speaker to ensure even lighting. Take a test shot and check your histogram. If the image is too bright, lower the flash power or move it farther away. If it’s too dark, increase the power or move it closer. It’s a simple back-and-forth process.

Shooting and Timing

Once the lights are set, turn on the music and start shooting. It will take several attempts to capture the perfect moment, so patience is key. The image I love most shows yellow and blue paint mixing into a line of green. The paint almost looks like molten plastic, and the highlights make it pop.

Next, I want to experiment with a sound-triggered flash for easier timing and add more colors to create even more dramatic effects. This experiment shows how a little creativity and understanding of lighting can turn something simple into an extraordinary photograph.