2015 52 Week Project // Week 4: You Shot That In Your Bathtub? (+ Before & After and BTS)

Camera settings: ISO 100, f/1.4, 1/50, Auto WB.

Camera settings: ISO 100, f/1.4, 1/50, Auto WB.

Okay. OKAY. Let's just talk about how super stoked I am about this week's image! 

This is a concept that I've been seeing in various different research jaunts online for other shoots. I never thought I could pull off a shot like this, but something about this project has got me gutsy to try new things that I've never tried in photography before. What's so funny is that this is actually a relatively easy shot to pull off, so what have I been afraid of this whole time?

In photography, we tend to stand in our own way. We're our own worst critic, and we all hold ourselves back. I told myself that this was beyond my skill level, and so it was, because I never tried to push myself there. However, this 52 week project is not only about staying motivated to shoot, but also learning new techniques and trying new methods. I plan to leave 2015 with a whole new arsenal of ways to shoot!

Anyways, back to this image. I had to do a little research ahead of time to pull this one together; the main thing being the colored water. I was stuck on how to color water without dying my model's hair or clothes, and our bath tub. I came across these wonderful things called "Bath Dropz", which are made by Crayola and designed to color kid's bath water. No stains, easy to wash right down the drain. Perfect. And only $3? Bonus!

The rest really just fell into place. I asked Hannah, my model, to bring lacy, neutral clothing items (which is what I'd seen in my research, plus I wanted to contrast the colored flowers and brightly colored water I was using.) Hannah also happened to have the really pretty blue eyeshadow she's wearing in this shot, which ended up being exactly what I wanted. 

The only thing that was harder to nail down for this, was the lighting. I knew I needed to use some kind of extra light; that just the light from the bathroom wouldn't work. (Here's where the technical photographer speak comes in, so feel free to skip through the rest of this paragraph.) I was able to shoot with a slower shutter speed and bounce a speed light off the white ceiling, a stop or 2 darker than the exposure of the photo, so I ended with an even blend of natural light (the lights from the bathroom) and artificial light (the light from the speed light). It created this warm, yet soft lighting that matched the mood of the photo. I was trying to avoid harsh shadows and and overly-lit photo, which I think worked out well!

I ended with three shots that I was super excited about. These ones were so much fun to edit, especially the one up above in the before and after: did you notice those extra flowers in the final shot? Photoshop is cool, people. 

Also, the fact that I can come out with shots like this, made in my apartment bathtub, is an added bonus. If there's one thing I've learned so far with this project, it's how to be resourceful with both lighting and location.

As you can see, this images were pretty interesting to shoot, you know, standing on a bathtub with a multi thousand dollar setup in your hands, over water. Us photographers are willing to risk a lot for a good image! Props to Mo for risking your camera in my hands and trusting me with it!

As always, if you want to keep up with my project, and see these blog posts every week, head over to my Facebook page and hit that like button!

Jessica Mumm3 Comments