Get set up to capture wonderful water balloon splashes with high-speed flash and a sound sensor

1 DARK ROOM

The room in which you’re shooting needs to be pitch-black at the moment the shutter button is triggered – any ambient light will cloud the exposure and introduce unwanted motion blur. So set up the shoot in a room that can be completely blacked out, or shoot outdoors at night (which is easier for the clean-up, too).

2 FLASHGUNS

We’ve set up two flashguns. When the room is completely dark then the shutter speed becomes irrelevant – it’s the flashes that effectively determine the length of our exposure. This allows us to freeze the motion of the water, as flashguns have an incredibly fast flash duration when used at lower power settings.

3 SOUND TRIGGER

We’re using a Hähnel Captur Module Pro (£100/$100) to detect the sound of the bursting balloons and fire our flashguns at that precise moment. It transmits wirelessly to receivers attached to each flashgun. As well as a sound trigger, the device has sensors for light, infrared and laser, so it’s useful for numerous applications.

4 TRIPOD

As we’re taking the shot in the dark, a tripod comes in handy to keep the camera locked in one position, and frees our hands. We need to work out the composition and pre-focus on our subject, then switch to manual focus to lock the focus in place, thereby preventing the autofocus hunting when we’re in darkness.

5 STEP LADDER

A ladder allows us to drop the water bombs from a height onto the subject’s head. Of course, climbing a ladder in the dark can be tricky, so it helps to have a head torch to aid the ascent and line up your aim. Keep the ladder close to the sound trigger, so that it can be activated once you’re in position.

6 WIRELESS RELEASE

A wireless shutter release and receiver allow us to trigger the camera remotely, useful if you intend to be the one launching the water bombs. Shooting in the dark, after engaging the sound trigger and turning off our head torch, we can trigger the shutter wirelessly then drop the water bomb, hoping for a direct hit!

QUICK TIP This setup is going to take a little trial and error to perfect. So rather than repeatedly dousing a person while we fiddle with our camera settings, it’s a good idea to use a ball or other head-sized object as a stand-in for a few test shots.