DIY Underwater Shoot | Inside Fashion and Beauty with Lindsay Adler

How can you make your subject look underwater without having to put them underwater? Easy! Use the power of hard light and an inexpensive DIY tool. That’s what I’ll show you in this video!

The inspiration for this technique comes from a Lana Del Rey music video (“Blue Jeans”) that is beautifully shot all in black and white. The video takes place in and around a pool and there are several shots that have a beautiful texture of rippling water across her face. Obviously, she is not underwater (she is not wet and is singing), so I set out to discover whether the technique was done with a projector or other specialty tool.

I discovered in a BTS photo that the beautiful texture of light was actually very simple and DIY! They had rigged a large clear tank of water above her head and used sunlight to create the ripples.

Armed with this knowledge, I set out to create the technique myself!

Ingredients:

To achieve this effect you need a few things:

Hard Light: First and foremost you’ll need hard light. The easiest option is to use direct sunlight (in the middle of the day is preferable).

In the studio, you need to use a small, hard light source. A speed light is a great choice or a bare studio strobe (no modifier). In either case, try moving the light source further away from your subject to create extremely hard, defined shadows.

Water Tray: You will need to select some sort of clear tray to hold the water above the subject’s head. This could be a fish tank, a clear acrylic serving tray (that’s what I used here) or even a picture box frame.

I have used this technique several times, and my friend Eddie Merino actually made me a larger water try with a frame so that I could cover more area of the subject’s body. His homemade solution included a wooden frame, plexiglass, watertight sealant, and washers to create a system that could be propped up on the sides (so that it could be a large, hands-free solution).

Macro Lens: For this shot, I decided to use Canon’s brand new macro lens for the Canon R5. The Canon RF 100mm macro would allow me to crop closely and focus specifically on the ripples on the subject’s face. I decided to crop in a way that only included a tight composition of her eyes and lips.

Technique:

To achieve this technique, hold the water tray above the subject’s head while they recline not the floor. Be sure the hard light source is elevated high above the subject. Agitate the water in a variety of different ways to create beautiful textures of light on the subject’s face.

You’ll want to have the tray of water as close to the subject’s face as possible to ensure that the shadows/ripples are crisp and defined. Of course, feel free to try different distances and see which creates the most flattering and visually compelling results.

The results? An inexpensive, timeless and beautiful result that appears as if my subject is underwater!

PRODUCTS USED:

• Canon R5
• Canon RF 100mm Macro
• Profoto D2
• Avenger Roller Stand
• Avenger Telescoping Boom
• Texture Muslin Background