Bubble Photography
Photographing bubbles is not rocket science – everyone including beginners
can learn how to take great shots of bubbles! Before we get into the
tools/equipment and ingredients that is needed for this project, here are some
quick macro photography tips –
Close Up Photography – Tips On Shooting
Bubbles
Be creative when doing close up photography with bubbles

Bubble photography is all about having good lighting conditions.

Ideally shoot during the early mornings or right before dusk. The natural morning
sunshine does a good job at lighting the bubbles. The sunshine right before dusk
provides darker backgrounds which will bring out the colors of the bubbles.

Ensure you take photos of your bubble against a darker background to bring out
the swirly colors of the bubble.

Choose a day that’s not as windy as this will allow you to blow bigger bubbles.

Try to avoid dry and hot days as your bubbles will pop quicker.

Try different mix ups of your bubble solution as this may affect how big or long
the bubble lasts for. Adding glycerinto your bubble soap solution will help it to
get stronger and last longer.

Regardless of the shape of your wand, the bubble will always come out ROUND.

You can never get bored with photographing bubbles. There are just so many
different things you can do with bubbles. Try the following macro photography
ideas –

Try composing your shot with a reflection on a bubble.

Try composing your shot with it resting on the ground/grass.

Try capturing the moment when the bubble pops.

Try blowing bubbles inside bubbles.

In freezing conditions during winter, try letting the bubble freeze. You will be
wowed by the texture that this creates.
What Is Required?

Pre-made solution:

Bottle of soap bubble solution – this can be found at any stores in the kids /
toys section. This should come with its very own wand.

A few drops of glycerin – this can be purchased at Walmart or hop on over
to Amazon here

OR Home-made solution:

1 cup water

2 tablespoons of glycerin

4 tablespoons of dish washing liquid

1 pipe cleaner to form the wand. This is just a very flexible and bendable
piece of metal.
Tutorial Steps
Close Up Photography Tip – Add glycerin to your bubble solution to make them stronger.
1. For the home-made solution, first create your bubble soap solution by adding
water, dish washing liquid and glycerin together. For the pre-made solution
option, add a few drops of glycerin into your pre-made bubble soap solution.
Adding glycerin to the solution will help the bubble to lasts longer.
2. Mix well.
3. For the home-made option, you will want to bend your pipe cleaner to form a
round wand at the top.
4. Dip your wand into the solution and start blowing!
5. Grab your camera and start composing your next masterpiece! Remember the
photography tips from above.
What Camera Settings Should I Use?
Unfortunately there is no golden camera setting for every bubble photography
project. The setting will be dependent on the lens used and the amount of light
there is when you are shooting. As a start, we suggest using the below
settings. You will need to adjust it accordingly to obtain the outcome/exposure
you are after –

Aperture: f5.6 (You will typically find that the reflections on the bubble will be
stronger if you use smaller apertures such as f9.0)

Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec

ISO: 200-400 (some cameras at ISO setting of 400 will be quite noisy/grainy so
make sure you check the preview on your camera to see if it is acceptable first)
It will be somewhat of an experiment and you may need to do this by trial and
error, but if your photo is looking blurry you can either open up your aperture
to let more light in. If it is still blurry, you could increase your shutter speed
and then compensate by increasing your ISO.
Turn in as: FirstnameBubble.jpg