[jay900]

Hi.

I have been asked to shoot a guy pouring tea from a tea pot. They ask that the guy is sharp (flash?) and the tea looks to have movement.

Is this possible?

Any ideas?

I will be shooting in a restaurant, so a mixture of daylight and incandescent light.

1# Camera is mounted on a tripod and I use a slow shutter speed. No flash, shutter speed 1/30 1/15?

2# Camera is mounted on a tripod and shoot at 1/8 with some flash? Will this work? I am not convinced?

[Markulous]

hmm, I guess you could get it with some careful lighting. Must admit that I'd be tempted to shoot twice - once for the guy and once for the pouring tea, then merge

[Dabhand16]

Unless you go for a really slow shutter speed and ask the guy/gal to keep really still when taking the shot.

You might need more space than normal between the cup and the teapot to give sufficient space to see 'movement' regardless of how you actually do the shoot. Might help to create 'movement' if you have him/her use a teastrainer. That will break up the flow a bit.

Good luck, and don't forget to tell us how you did it.

[jay900]

Thanks for the help.

This guy works in a restaurant. He is a 'Tea King' and his Tea pot has a metre long spout! He pours tea in fancy ways? This job is a total nightmare :-)

Keep the suggestions coming.
I will tell you how it went.

Cheers.

[Gary Bagshawe]

I think second curtain flash sinc and a slow shutter speed should do it.

[Steve400]

b'goodness a metre long spout!! good luck for the shoot!!

Steve

[silver]

I would try getting an assistant to do a bit of pouring for you while you try some diff shutter speeds,.

tbh I would probably just aim to get everything sharp - you could always blur the tea stream (whatever) in PS if you had to,. I'd bet they will be happy with decent images and not ask why the tea isn't blurred (strange request?!)

good luck!

Sil

[mouldy101]

of course the water doesn't have to be blurred to make it look like its moving.... If you were to catch the flow of tea half way between the spout and cup it would give the impression of movement, and it would get around some of your lighting and shutter speed issues. You could simply use flash and a quick enough shutter speed to freeze the flow....

Matt

[namllihs]

Originally Posted by Gary Bagshawe

I think second curtain flash sinc and a slow shutter speed should do it.

I agree

[Gary Bagshawe]

Really it will!!!!

[fionaB]

ok this may be a silly questions and slightly ott topic,....... but what is a curtain flash?

[mouldy101]

2nd curtain sync flash is when the flash fires just before the end of the exposure rather than at the beginning of the exposure... I think!!!
It means the image will convey movement well. It will show light trails following the moving object

Matt

[Charlotte]

Theoretically this should not prove a nightmare at all - the tea's moving, but the guy's not. So a slow shutter speed should do the job if you use a tripod. No flash, as this will freeze movement, which will defeat the object. You could experiment with different shutter speeds 'til you find one that produces a pleasing result. Practise at home + "it'll be alright on the night"

[jay900]

The tea movement thing, was the art directors idea.. he had it in his head that it must be moving for the shot to work.

The guy was moving, sometimes at high speed! He does martial arts type moves before pouring the tea, quite a spectacle... and never did a drop miss the tea cup!

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I use rear curtain flash in the end, the restaurant was too dark without. I got a good image after several cups of tea!

Cheers all.

[Charlotte]

Sounds like it was a fun job, anyway
Glad you worked it out, + it worked out for you