Bloody Shower Photography How-To

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Exodus 7:19

Today I’m going to walk you through how I created the image above. Honestly, it’s one of my proudest photographic moments so far and it’s also one of the pictures I use everywhere online, so it’s a big part of my branding too. However, a showerhead with blood pouring out is a fairly recognisable aspect of the horror genre, especially in film, and it’s really fun (and gloriously messy) to create this effect in photos so I totally encourage you to have a go!

♥ TOOLS
I took this photo way back in 2007 when I was still using my Canon 350D (I loved that camera so much!). For this shot, I was using an 18-55mm lens at a focal length of 47mm and an aperture of f7.1 – this will depend on what kind of space you’re confined to, so you definitely don’t have to use the same settings as I did. I would advise not having your aperture too wide open though cause you’ll end up with a shallow depth of field which will result in a lot of the blood drops not being in sharp focus. The shutter speed was 1/200 second, but if you’re doing this yourself make sure the shutter speed you use is right for whatever flash gun you have. I was using a Canon Speedlight 430EX and 1/200 second worked fine there. My shower cubicle is completely lined with white tiles, so the light from the flash bounced around wonderfully, bleaching out most of the definition in the tiles themselves and creating lovely catch lights on the droplets of ‘blood’.

♥ SET-UP
Unless you have a few extra arms, you’re going to need an assistant if you want to create a shot like this. I disconnected the tube and shower head from the electric shower unit and held it in a ‘U’ shape so my glamorous assistant (my husband, who is accustomed to getting covered in fake blood, food dye and make-up for my photos) could pour the mix of food dye and water into the tube without it instantly dribbling out of the shower. The food dye itself was predominantly red with a little bit of pink added, but the exact colour you get will depend on the brand of food dye you use. Some reds will be fine on their own, or you might even want to add a little bit of blue for a colour with more depth.

♥ TAKING THE PHOTO
This was a one-shot deal for me because I didn’t have enough food dye to give it more tries – that’s why I’m so proud of the picture! There’s no reason at all why you shouldn’t experiment and play though, so if you have plenty of food dye, a bit of time and lots of patience, you’re not going to be constrained by having to get it right first time. I set my camera up on the tripod (whether or not you use a tripod is completely up to you), directed my flash at the side of the shower cubicle, focused, and then when I was ready to shoot, my patient and slightly perplexed assistant blew into the disconnected end of the tube to push the ‘blood’ out of the shower head. You’ll notice that the shape of the liquid stream and droplets are different from how water would look when pushed through by an actual shower. This slightly slower movement and more defined droplet shape was perfect for the look I wanted the photo to have, but you might enjoy experimenting with puffing with more or less strength into the tube or, if you’ve got really quick reflexes, hooking the shower back up and letting the water pressure do its thing for a more spray-like appearance.

♥ PROCESSING
There was so little processing done here! People often look at this photo and assume that it’s almost completely digital art. This couldn’t be further from the truth. All I did was crop the final image just a little for symmetry and lighten the mid-tones ever so slightly on the RAW file to get rid of the tiny amount of definition in the edges of the tiles that the flash hadn’t managed to quite bleach out.

♥ OVER TO YOU
While it’s fun and a great learning experience to recreate someone else’s work almost exactly, it’s even better to bring your own artistic vision to life and do something with the concept that is uniquely you. You might want to try a lower-key version (ie without a super-white background) or show the ‘blood’ spray on the walls or tray of the shower. You might even want to have a go with different coloured liquids instead of red for a more surreal shot or point your shower at a willing volunteer (please test your food dye mix for skin staining before you do this though). Blowing water through a disconnected shower could be a great way to make ‘rain’ on a small scale as well, indoors or outdoors. The possibilities are endless!

♥ SHARE YOUR RESULTS
If you make your own bloody (or rainy) shower photo, I’d love to see it so hit me up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or leave a comment here with a link. If bloody showers aren’t your thing, why not share the photo you’re most proud of or a technique that you were really excited to get to grips with? I’d love to hear from you!

If you’d like this photo for your wall, prints are available at http://www.deviantart.com/print/26411917/

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