3 Methods for Impressive High-Speed Photography

The Miops Smart+ is said to be an extremely versatile trigger – and, according to the manufacturer, ideally suited for high-speed photography. The device can be triggered by movement, sound, or even by a laser pointed at the trigger. We at Rollei wanted to know more about the types of shots possible in this special area of photography with the Smart+ and tested it with professional photographer Paul Reiffer.

Method 1: Triggering by sound

Method 2: Triggering by laser

Method 3: Triggering by water droplets

Method 1: Triggering by sound

To begin, we focused on sound triggering and dramatically smashed a full red wine glass with a hammer. The Miops Smart+ is ideally suited for precisely this type of shot.

What accessories and technology you need

• Camera
• Tripod
• Miops Smart+ with cable
• Background roll (white)
• Studio flash (e.g., Rollei HS Freeze 6s)
• Spot attachment with Bowens mount
• Safety glasses
• Protective gloves
• Lab coat

Photography also thrives on preparation. That's why we meticulously prepared our Rollei studio before the shoot, ensuring everything was set up for broken glass and spilled wine.

At this point, it's important to mention safety glasses and protective gloves, which are truly indispensable when working with flying shards of glass. A lab coat that can get red wine on it is also an important piece of equipment.

Example: Table fireworks

We also fitted our Rollei HS Freeze 6 with a spot attachment. This light shaper ensures that, in this case, the red wine glass is particularly well-lit for the image and no light spills to the sides. We placed the glass of wine in the center of the table and set the Miops Smart+ to trigger the flash, not the shutter. The reason for this is that the sound must first go to the camera and be processed there.

The problem: The camera isn't fast enough for this, which can be easily understood by imagining table fireworks. The fuse burns, and the black powder ignites the fireworks – after the bang, the contents of the table fireworks spread, and the shot is triggered.

It's also easy to imagine if you think of a picture of a pistol firing a bullet:

• The more modern the pistol, the faster the bullet leaves the barrel, and the harder this type of high-speed photography is to achieve.
• The older the pistol, the slower the bullet, and the easier it is to capture the subject.

In the worst case, the subject is already gone by the time the camera triggers. So, you have to rethink if you want to have the explosion and the bullet in the picture.

In studio photography, there are three scenarios for this case:

• The studio is very, very bright, and you can photograph without flash.
• The studio is very dark, and you can use the flash for the shot.
• The studio is moderately lit, and you give the object enough time to trigger everything without flash.

Paul Reiffer explains:

"If you were to fire the shutter with the Smart+, the fastest shutter on a Canon would be 1/4000. For a good photo, you either need a lot of brightness or a lot of ISO, which in turn leads to too much noise. That's why you have to trigger the flash so that the camera can already see the subject when it's there, and not only afterwards. So the light has to be particularly fast. And that's where the next difficulty comes in. Because if the light is very fast, the camera can't keep up either."

Triggering by laser is easier for high-speed photography

The solution: The device's shutter must already be open; only then is the flash triggered. However, the ambient brightness for the shot should be very low.

Sound is probably the most difficult way to trigger the Miops Smart+ for high-speed photography because the sound around us is not filtered and propagates as it pleases. Laser would be much easier to control for the shot, but you have to be very precise, Reiffer explains.

In any case, this type of photography is about trial and error until the perfect result is finally achieved. But that's part of the appeal.

Method 2: Triggering by laser

At the beginning of this blog post, we devoted ourselves to triggering by sound and smashing a full red wine glass with a hammer. Our next project with the Miops triggers was then triggering by laser. We captured the moment strawberries fall into water (an image often seen in advertising, for example).

What setup and technology do I need for this type of photography with Miops Smart+?

• Camera
• Tripod
• Miops Smart+ with cable
• Laser Pointer
• Background roll (white)
• Studio flash (e.g., Rollei HS Freeze 6s)
• Spot attachment
• Long cable, so the equipment doesn't get wet

The challenge: How to photograph strawberries entering water

With Miops triggers, working with a laser requires a lot of practice. Here, too, what you want to photograph is paramount.

Often, in connection with high-speed photography, you see images where, for example, a water-filled balloon is smashed in the air with a baseball bat. These types of photos are definitely possible with Miops triggers, and they also look fantastic – but they require relatively many repetitions with the laser function, because a good picture is probably only achieved by luck on the first try.

The reason: In this scenario, the camera triggers exactly when the baseball bat breaks the light barrier and then hits the balloon. The moment is always different because you never hit with the same force (and therefore never at the same speed) as in the previous attempt. Adjustments are therefore difficult to achieve.

In the Rollei studio, we tested the laser function of the Miops trigger with strawberries, which we dropped into a water tank from above. With this motif, you can work quite precisely, because gravity always remains the same, and therefore only the height, but not the speed, needs to be adjusted at which the strawberries hit the water. Here, too, there is the option of connecting the trigger to either the flash or the camera.

The challenge: If you connect the trigger to the studio flash, it may trigger before the fruit hits the water. If you connect the trigger to the camera, it may not be fast enough to capture the subject. To make matters worse, the equipment must not get wet, so you should use a long connection cable to connect the trigger. However, by the time the trigger signal arrives, some time has passed, which must be taken into account during subsequent adjustments.

The solution: As in the previous shoot, we triggered the flash. For this, the studio must again be particularly dark and the shutter already open – so that the subject is already "visible" when the flash comes.

Tip:

For laser triggering, you can use a normal laser pointer, which does not need to be particularly strong and is also sold online. When positioning the equipment, it is only important that the trigger and laser do not move during the shoot, because the separation of trigger and laser triggers the image.

An obvious idea would be to use adhesive tape. However, if you use tape for fastening, you must be aware that the tape will move, which in turn would result in a camera trigger. So if tape is used, you should make sure it can settle a bit before it is used. It is best to give the tape a few hours to settle before the photo is taken.

Metal clamps, similar to clothes pegs, are even better. They don't move, and then nothing stands in the way of your truly impressive photo.

Method 3: Miops Splash

At the beginning of this blog post, we dedicated ourselves to sound triggering with Miops triggers and smashed a full red wine glass with a hammer. Subsequently, we triggered the triggers by laser and photographed the moment strawberries fall into a basin full of water.

For the grand finale, we saved a special treat that should particularly appeal to fans of macro photography. Namely, the "Miops Splash Kit", which allows you to photograph water droplets in a truly impressive way.

What setup and technique do I need for this type of photography with the Miops Splash Kit?

• Camera
• Tripod
• Miops Splash Kit with cable
• Shallow dish, preferably made of clear glass
• Studio flash (e.g., Rollei HS Freeze 6s)
• Macro lens
• Water

The challenge: How do you photograph a water droplet falling into water?

While the other triggers sometimes require a bit more practice, you'll quickly get the hang of the "Splash Kit". You can think of it as an automatic pipette that drops droplets at a certain interval. The intervals can be set in the associated app, and the size of the released droplets can also be determined.

With the right camera equipment, the Splash Kit allows you to capture fantastic water formations created by a drop hitting calm water.

It is also possible to let one drop hit the water first, and then another drop onto the water column created by the first impact. This creates an interesting formation consisting of a water column that, so to speak, wears a hat.

Experiment – for example, with food coloring

At this point, we experimented with food coloring, so that the falling drops were yellowish/orange and the water they hit was colorless. An interesting color effect is also created when you use color foils in combination with studio flashes and flash the water from the back. We then took it to the extreme by illuminating the water with a red and a blue flash head, while the water was flashed colorless.

Overall, like all Miops triggers, it's an exciting and entertaining tool that you should try out.

Here are some more tips for using the Splash Kit:

1. Focus manually before letting the drop fall from the device. Your camera's autofocus will not (or not well enough) capture the drop and the subsequent formation.
2. The cable release will still cause some delay, which is absolutely normal. Experiment a bit – you'll quickly factor in this circumstance. In this case, we let the Splash Kit trigger the camera, which in turn triggered the flashes.
3. When shooting this close to the subject, it's possible that not the entire image will be sharp. But this circumstance can also make your image a bit more artistic – so don't worry.
4. As a reminder: The more power your flash has available, the more light it will also have in freeze mode with a particularly short flash duration. The Rollei Freeze 6, for example, has an output of 600 watt-seconds available, so you can easily freeze your subjects (as in this case) at 1/13,000 and with an output of 9.4 Ws.

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