Create Amazing Photos Using Milk | Aqueous Photography Tutorial

Рет қаралды 45,348

Күн бұрын

Being creative is what still life photography is all about. The world of special effects photography, paint, powder, liquids, and so on, can be a difficult thing to enter. Not many of us have a room in which we can freely throw paint around. That’s why aqueous photography, or Cloud Tank as I call it in the video, is so great. All you need is a fish tank and a few other bits, and you’re able to produce unique imagery without too much disruption.
Here’s a list of all you need, I’ve linked to what I can:
Fish tank - see video for size guidance
Syringe - geni.us/4GVd
Evaporated milk - geni.us/sp7mAJ
Food colouring - geni.us/rIKU
Hot glue gun - geni.us/k8mtjU
Isopropanol - geni.us/xkxMV
Have fun!
VISIT SQUAREMOUNTAIN.CO.UK TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT US
squaremountain.co.uk/
CHECK OUT THE BLOG FOR EVEN MORE PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
squaremountain.co.uk/product-...
FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: / square_mountain
Facebook: / sqmountain
Pinterest: / squaremountain
Square Mountain: squaremountain.co.uk/
LINKS TO MOST OF THE STUFF I USE…THERE’S A LOT!
CAMERAS AND LENSES
Nikon D810 - geni.us/cwHFb
Nikon D750 - geni.us/yya8gC
Sigma 150mm Macro - geni.us/B56E
Nikon 50mm - geni.us/F8mw9
Nikon 85mm - geni.us/oye1
Tamron 15-30mm Macro - geni.us/fzAJn
TRIPOD AND HEAD
Manfrotto 410 Junior - geni.us/9FB5b7
Tripod - Need a better one for the home studio
LIGHTING
Profoto D2 - geni.us/8uMYmJ
Profoto Air Remote - geni.us/ssbMlqc
Godox Speedlight - geni.us/HUKtxA
Shutter Release Trigger - geni.us/kxzt8I
MODIFIERS
Profoto 3x3 - fave.co/2q4RKTk
Profoto 1x1.3 - geni.us/dbBF4
Profoto Reflector - geni.us/mqwrzOr
Impact strip small 9 x 36 - fave.co/2q4Q3W0
Profoto Gird kit - fave.co/2q6E61S
Acrylic Mirror - geni.us/tHHV6X
Opal Acrylic - bit.ly/2EfVV2V
Lee 129 - fave.co/2q4BaTE
Savage Translum - fave.co/2IsZpS3
Cinefoil - geni.us/uz7rAbd
Polarizing Gel - fave.co/2q4IjTJ
GRIP
20-inch C-stand - fave.co/2It9q1M
40-inch C-stand - fave.co/2uOdQhG
Matthews Knuckle - fave.co/2uKFWu5
Matthews 48x48 Trace Frame - fave.co/2q71RXy
Baby Wall Plate - fave.co/2uIlqdH
Overhead Boom - fave.co/2q54M3j
Extension Arm - fave.co/2q4WBny
Manfrotto Super Clamp - geni.us/DmQmnKf
Manfrotto Magic Arm - geni.us/rAyO84
MISC
Acrylic surface - bit.ly/2Emr7xC
Acrylic blocks - bit.ly/2Emr7xC
Acrylic Ice Cubes - setshop.com/special-effects/ic...
Matt Paint Primer - bit.ly/2GuhHFY
Vegetable Glycerin - geni.us/oEGj
Label remover - geni.us/xjYcFyB
X-rite Colour Checker - geni.us/iDhK1
Wacom Tablet - geni.us/wJ5z
SOFTWARE
Adobe Creative Cloud - fave.co/2qe3JxV
Capture One - captureone.sjv.io/c/1331257/5...
Helicon Focus - store.payproglobal.com/r?u=ht...
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
RGG EDU - rggedu.com/collections/availa...
SLR Lounge - www.slrlounge.com/store/?refc...
Fstoppers - fstoppers.com/store
Phlearn - phlearn.com/affiliate/199/

Пікірлер: 76

@grahamwalker3819 3 жыл бұрын

That is brilliant. Even more brilliant is that I have everything I need apart from the tank.

@Davidkiania 6 жыл бұрын

Love this tutorial and thanks for the tips esp condensed milk & food color genius. I am quaffing your content.

@waltersty1 6 жыл бұрын

Great work. keep the videos coming!

@Muscari 6 жыл бұрын

I've wanted to know how to do this ever since I saw your shot at fstoppers. Great work man!

@ahmadfailkawy6108 3 жыл бұрын

@ 8:25 when you said it is not your favorite shot, I think it's awesome man, wonderful job there, one day I will give a try :)

@rawstudiosphotography 6 жыл бұрын

love this, great channel

@Hongs.average 6 жыл бұрын

Great! Thanks for sharing this technique. Vapo milk is easy to buy and at cheaper cost to achieve such effect. Gonna try it!🙌🙆😃

@georgbodenstein 6 жыл бұрын

Great work, thanks for sharing

@thenerdherdforum 5 жыл бұрын

Terrific tutorial, thanks!

@easyfoodphotography3089 6 жыл бұрын

nice technique. thanks for sharing.

@peterivarsson9267 4 жыл бұрын

So cool and inspiring🙏👌

@SanketPatil001 3 жыл бұрын

wow..thanks for making this video

@Allthingsbeer 9 ай бұрын

This was really great. Would love to see your editing process for some of those photos at the end and how you shaped them, etc.

@mindyourbusiness3587 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing!

@ok2x 3 жыл бұрын

Nice video love it !

@EpicUnbox 4 жыл бұрын

Your Channel is so underrated! Great job man and Thank you.

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks. My fault really, too busy to make more videos!

@FM-gi6tk 2 жыл бұрын

Love your work! Can you do a tutorial on how you get rid of all the little air bubbles in post?

@Duphe 3 жыл бұрын

insta subbed. thank you for your time and effort!

@hedbonker5604 6 жыл бұрын

Great video. The cloud technique was developed in the 30s. Lots of 50s sci-fi used it.

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike. I didn't realise the technique went back that far!

@lizvillegas6603 5 жыл бұрын

This is so cool. Been binge-watching your tutorials and learning a ton, thank you for sharing all this knowledge!

@maxbridge8921 5 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@dylanotis6307 2 жыл бұрын

you prolly dont care at all but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I stupidly lost my password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me!

@allenfrancis3582 2 жыл бұрын

@Dylan Otis Instablaster ;)

@dylanotis6307 2 жыл бұрын

@Allen Francis I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later with my results.

@dylanotis6307 2 жыл бұрын

@Allen Francis it worked and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass!

@automaticchic 5 жыл бұрын

Wow!!your works are amazing!i would definitely love to try this out!was hoping ud show the editing part though...putting the clouds together

@maxbridge8921 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'll be releasing a quick editing breakdown in the coming weeks. I had always intended to but got very busy and then went on holiday!

@justinzaff 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing great video keep up the good work

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Justin

@daleelliott7390 Жыл бұрын

Your work is some of the best in the field. As someone who's recently started in product photography I've learnt so much from your videos and I'm keen to try aqueous shots to take my portfolio to the next level. If you don't mind me asking, that Bombay Sapphire shot on your website would that be achieved with the fish tank by dropping something with a bit of weight to the bottom to create that water stash then comping it with the bottle in photoshop?

@pablorodriguez428 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent tutorial, thank you very much for sharing it! I'd love to give this a try so, when it comes to emptying and filling up the tank, how do you do it? Do you use a pump? If so which one please?

@maxbridge8921 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I use a cheap pump on amazing which you can use with a drill. It's not great but it does the job www.amazon.co.uk/Wolfcraft-2202000-Water-Pump-1-300/dp/B0001P1972/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=water+pump&qid=1553947662&s=gateway&sr=8-5

@julianray 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Max for sharing a glimpse into your amazing work. I've seen your Baileys image in various publications and love the execution. One question, have you experimented with temperature? Both of the water and of the milk? Thanks and keep up the great work!

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Hi Julian. I have experimented a little with both. On one occasion, for some strange reason, I decided to heat the milk a little in the microwave. I did notice a slight difference, it seemed a little more smooth, but it wasn't significant enough for me to keep doing it. I've experimented with water temperature more by accident than anything else. I have done shots in very cold, up to luke warm water. Again, I didn't notice a huge difference but my tests weren't extensive.

@julianray 6 жыл бұрын

Good to know. Thank you Max for the info. Keep up the FAB work.

@rohailjaved6201 5 жыл бұрын

Please tell your lighting setup

@grahamwalker3819 3 жыл бұрын

A tip for you... to avoid bubbles, use boiled, cooled water. I use it in drinks shots as real alcohol can destroy the surface of acrylic ice.

@maxbridge8921 3 жыл бұрын

Only trouble there is it will seriously slow you down. When you do this sort of thing you have to do it again and again and again, I'll normally fill and empty the tank 5-10 times in an hour. Given how much water that is it's just not feasible to boil first. Bubbles aren't an issue if you shoot straight away, it's only when you leave the water that they start to appear.

@estebanlakatos9011 5 жыл бұрын

Hey, awesome tutorial, thanks for the pieces of advise. I would like to ask you something that is holding me back, when trying this kind of shoots. Do you need a flash that has a short flash duration in order to accomplish, this type of shoots?. Thank you so much in advance, for any help. EDIT: Or any regular flash is enough and works well?.

@maxbridge8921 5 жыл бұрын

You don't need a flash with a crazy fast flash duration but it does help. The clouds don't move as fast as liquid being thrown for example. I've done this with bowens Gemini pro's in the past which aren't the fastest. Honestly it's hard to say if your lights will work but it's really quick and easy to do so I'd just say to give it a go!

@SteveHookEm 4 жыл бұрын

Great image! Tip: you won't get bubbles if you use distilled water.

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Steve. When I do this sort of thing I normally fill and empty the tank 20 ish times. Not sure that much distilled water would be feasible

@paulm8157 6 жыл бұрын

Nicely presented. I would have thought that full product containers would be dense enough to be stable in the water - without need to glue them down. Would Velcro be a practical alternative to glue?

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

They probably wouldn't float but given that the final images will require quite a bit of compositing, it's better that the bottle does not move at all. I suppose Velcro would work but I think the hot glue gun would be easier. Thanks for the comment!

@Reylap 6 жыл бұрын

I have several questions if you don't mind. 1) Will the milk solution + food colouring stain the product? I'm thinking of using this for figures and stuff, would be kind of annoying if I wreck the paint job. 2) what sort of lighting setup youre using? Thanks for the tutorials, I'm excited in trying it!

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Not to worry, happy to try and help. 1) I've never had anything come out stained but I'd suggest testing it on something less important first just in case the mix you use causes staining for some reason. I've done this loads of times and the tank, which obviously has been exposed the most, is still perfect. 2) Lighting will always be different you'll just have to experiment here. One big thing to consider is the colour of your background. I often end up re-creating the background in post but it makes it easier if my background is close to what I want in camera. If not, the edges of the clouds can look nasty. You may also come into issues with reflections, in which case use polarizers, move your camera close to the tank, adjust lights etc. All the usual stuff to avoid reflections. I'd also suggest lighting while water is in the tank. You may be tempted to light your subject with no water in the tank but the water will have a huge impact on your lighting. I hope all that helps and good luck!

@Reylap 6 жыл бұрын

Square Mountain thanks for the tip! Ill try it on cheaper stuff first to see whether it stains or not. I'm planning to just use white plain background and then see where i can go from there. Thanks for the reflection warning though. I had an idea to emulate pool-like water by taping the glass box wifh a blue cellophane tape.

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Sounds interesting. My immediate concern is the tape getting in the way of your lights but I'd definitely like to see the results!

@jacquecousteau459 6 жыл бұрын

How do you set up the lighting to avoid reflections

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Good question! Away from this type of photography, reflections are pretty easy to deal with. Oddly enough, while shooting things in a fish tank, I've had quite strange results. On some occasions, I've had zero reflections and on others they've been a big problem. The strange thing is the lack of consistency. If you understand the angle of reflection then the same principles apply. The difficulty can come with the fact that we are also dealing with a tank filled with water which can have a significant impact on those reflections. Personally, as the problem has often been quite random, I'll always light one by one (which I recommend anyway). By doing so we can see exactly what each light is doing and address any reflections caused. You can also employ techniques like; having your lens very close to the glass, using polarizers on your lens and lights, surrounding your shooting area with either white or black (whatever is appropriate), and cutting a hole in a piece of foam board and placing that over your lens. Be sure to also take test shots with your subject in the tank. I often find that once either my subject or the substance I'm adding enter the tank those annoying reflections can dissapear. Hope that helps!

@elaynebarre491 4 жыл бұрын

Great video! Where did you get your tank, and what sort of triggers do you use?

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

Tank was from an aquarium supply shop but I need a better one which doesn't have a support across the top. Tirggers I use are Profoto for the lights then yongnuo RF 605's for the camera

@elaynebarre491 4 жыл бұрын

@@maxbridge8921 Thank you :)

@alfiosambataro9277 4 жыл бұрын

Hi! How would this savage translum compare to a Full white diffusion?

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

Translum is much thicker than full white, which means it doesn't crease easily and is a little nicer to work with. It will also diffuse the light a little more than 216 (full white), it's more comparable to the diffusion you get from using perspex. The flip side to this is you lose 2 stops of light compared with 1 1/3rd (I think) from full white.

@SusanneGeert Жыл бұрын

@maxbridge8921 Thanks so much for sharing this very helpful video 🙌 May I ask a question, please? I'm not sure what evaporated milk is (or converts to here in Denmark) When I google it, condensed milk comes up. But I guess that's much thicker, isn't it? Wouldn't you ve able to use just normal milk or what are your thoughts? Thanks a lot in advance 🌱

@maxbridge8921 Жыл бұрын

Honestly I'm not sure of the difference between evaporated and condensed. It's been a long time since I did this. There was certainly a reason at the time but I'm afraid I can't recall! I think regular milk is not good for this purpose, too thin. If I were you, I'd experiment with a few substances, I often see people using paint, which I think I did try at the time but again It's been so long I think I'd need to test again. Sorry I'm not much help here

@rileyarthur352 2 ай бұрын

Can you use continuous light or does it have to be strobes? Have you had any issues with glare on the glass tank?

@maxbridge8921 2 ай бұрын

You can use continous but you'll need a lot of light to have your shutter speed high enough. Yeah reflections can be an issue, it requires some play

@acesofgambit 4 жыл бұрын

Can you show your light set up for this? Thanks a lot

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

I've not got an image of the lighting but I described it in another comment. I'll just copy that response for you - " I think it's one light in an optical snoot to get the label and then two lights in strip boxes either side. There may be an additional light for the background" - Sorry I can't be more specific

@acesofgambit 4 жыл бұрын

@@maxbridge8921 Thanks a lot 🙏

@HANNAHDAVISPHOTO 4 жыл бұрын

What’s the light setup here? One light from above then bounces either side

@maxbridge8921 4 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure exactly, it was a while ago, but I think it's one light in an optical snoot to get the label and then two lights in strip boxes either side. There may be an additional light for the background

@transikk 6 жыл бұрын

Cool tutorial but where did you place all your lights?

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! There were 4. Two either side in stripboxes to get a nice highlight on the bottle, one in front and high up to illuminate the label and avoid reflections on the glass, and one on the background.

@transikk 6 жыл бұрын

Square Mountain hey thanks. Do you think I could get away with only 2 when shoot on black background it would by white colour can of beer.

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

If you only have two lights I'd suggest compositing more. You can use the two lights to shoot the clouds but you may want more for the can. Get the clouds shot and then shoot the can again afterward and composite multiple shots to get it looking how you want.

@transikk 6 жыл бұрын

Square Mountain cool thanks for that. Not verry confident with layers blending but i will give a go can you consider to do a beer( can) tutorial in future? yours shots are stunning. Thanks again

@oneeyedphotographer 6 жыл бұрын

A drop of detergent, possibly glycerol, would deal with the bubbles.

@maxbridge8921 6 жыл бұрын

Interesting, not tried that before. Would you put that in while the tank is filling up? I've not had an issue with it before but it's definitely good to know in case I need to leave tank full for any length of time.

@oneeyedphotographer 6 жыл бұрын

Square Mountain The technical term is a surfactant. It breaks down surface tension on water. I believe it will disperse those bubbles. I would add a drop or two after filling, then stir gently to spread it. You don't want surface froth you see in the kitchen sink.