Raindrops keep fallin’ on my coat

Have you ever seen shots like this in advertisements and wondered how they get the raindrops so perfect? Simple answer – 1,2,3-trihydroxypropane, C3H8O3, 

Glycerin.

This wonderstuff is used all the time in product photography, and especially food photography. It can be used by itself to provide gloss, or mixed with other liquids to replicate water droplets with a lovely round shape. Normal water droplets have a tendency to flatten out very quickly, but the nature of glycerol increases the surface tension of the liquid and gives a long-lasting, pert shape. 

This shot was done for Barbour a good few years ago now – for the cover of the branded Nikwax bottle of waterproofing liquid, showing the merits of the product when applied to their waterproof, breathable outerwear. The brief quoted a contrasty, textured feel to the image – demonstrating the water-repelling quality of the wash-in product. It was a very simple lighting setup – a single 1500J flash, fitted with a reflector dish – positioned almost horizontally, about 15ft away. The distance between light and subject meant that there was virtually no light fall-off from one end of the frame to the other, courtesy of the inverse square law. The shallow angle and hard light created deep shadows, and distinct highlights on the fabric and raindrops (which were 50 percent glycerin, and water). I used a 60mm Micro-Nikko lens, which is as sharp as a wasps sting. Job done.