Dog Spray Afternoon

James Paterson douses a four-legged friend with water, and uses flash to capture high-speed action shots of the resulting shake-down

1 HOUR

When wet dogs start shaking their coats dry people usually dive for cover, but it’s a fun moment that’s filled with both action and character, and in this project, we’ll look at how you can capture that moment. We’ll explain how to light a sodden subject, and how to set up your camera to freeze the action in crystal-clear clarity.

We’ve used Rotolight LED panels to light our subject (you could also use a couple of flashguns), which have a high-speed sync flash mode that helps to freeze motion. However, as is the case with any LEDs, the maximum output of our panels doesn’t come close to that of even the most basic flashgun, so we have to adapt out exposure accordingly with a higher ISO. LEDs have their advantages though: more battery, near-instant recycle time in flash mode, colour temperature control, and the convenience of what-you-see-is-what-you-get lighting.

While getting the lighting right isn’t easy, you may find that the trickiest part of this whole project is the dog-handling. Our obliging pooch was more than happy to be soaked with water and didn’t have to be asked twice to starting shaking, but she didn’t feel like standing in the spot we’d set up, preferring to run off to another part of the garden. It took a few attempts to get her to stay put and get the posing and focusing spot-on, and you’ll likely shoot a few duds before getting a usable shot, but it’s all part of the fun!

THE SETUP SOGGY DOGGIES

1 BACKDROP

A dark background is ideal, as the water drops won’t show up as well against a lighter background. We’ve used the dark side of a large pop-up reflector here.

2 LIGHTS

The Rotolight LEDs used here have a high-speed sync flash mode, in which the light emits a continuous burst, and enables the use of very fast shutter speeds.