I photographed flowers in a fish tank and added milk to create a smoke grenade effect. Here’s what happened…

Flowers underwater with milk and colourants.

I thought I'd take my flower portraits to the next level by submerging them in water and adding milk and food colorants to create an ethereal result.

I used a fish tank (another suitable container for water will do) as it’s best to have a flat glass surface, as a curved one will create distortion and possibly bring in unwanted reflections. You can get a 25L children’s fish tank for around $30 / £25 / AU$45 if you shop around.

The rest of the setup should include a light source – I used an LED light panel – as room lights may cause unwanted hotspots, shadows and reflections. You’ll need a macro lens and a tripod for the camera, some milk (whole milk is best) and some cheap food colorants that you can add to the water for even more effect.

Items such as a long-barrelled pipette to accurately squirt the substances are handy, but not essential.

Shooting steps

I did this project in my kitchen, so you don't need much space (Image credit: Future)

1. Fill up the fish tank
Work out where you’re going to do the shoot. I recommend setting up near your water supply; when it’s full of water the tank will be heavy, so you won’t want to move it far. I filled my tank with warm water, as hot or cold water will create condensation on the outside of the tank.

Macro lens and LED panel

(Image credit: Future)

I used my Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro lens, which was ideal for restricting the field of view, along with a Rotolight Neo 2 (the Rotolight Neo 3 is even better) at full power. I used aperture priority mode with zone metering, which was perfect for this lighting setup. Ensure there’s no sunlight through your windows hitting the tank

2. Submerge the flowers
I placed a blank background behind my tank and cut the flowers (you can use real or plastic ones) to size, so there was a gap between the top of them and the water’s surface. Weigh them down or they will float. I carefully lowered the flowers into the tank and used a knitting needle to remove any air bubbles.

3. Add the milk and food coloring
Set the camera up with the composition you want. I used a fairly wide aperture (f/4) and manually focused on the largest flower, or group, nearest the front of the glass. Pour in some milk to make the water misty, then add more milk and the colorants and shoot as they swirl around.

Tips and tricks

Add some food coloring for more creative effects (Image credit: Future)

• The more milk and colorants in the water, the more ethereal the images will get, so keep shooting.
• Put the light directly above the water, because if it hits the same side of the tank as the camera you’ll get reflections.
• Avoid using a potted plant (like I did first time around) as the soil floats on the surface and bits circulate around.
• An aperture of around f/4-f/5.6 offers a good combination between flower detail and out-of-focus areas with a 105mm macro lens. The shallow depth of field should ensure that the background is out of focus.
• If you want to try something even more creative, use a low ISO and an ND filter to drop the shutter speed to 1-2 secs.

And here are my results...

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

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