How To Use Sound Sensors To Freeze Time And Motion

Not to long ago, we showed you how to do a similar, but more budget-friendly, method of using sound detection to fire your shutter using a TriggerTrap and a Canon 600 EX-RT, but now let’s take a look at a slightly more expensive awesome way of doing it. Enter the Broncolor Scorro and a TriggerSmart sound trigger. Those two pieces of equipment paired with several softboxes and a some reflective black plexiglass and you’ve got yourself quite an impressive studio setup to help you get the job done. (Of course, shooting with a Hasselblad doesn’t hurt either.)

As Karl Taylor explains in the video recap below, there is a bit of luck involved with getting shots like this, but it also takes a bit know-how to get the entire setup right. With the wine glasses set on top of the plexiglass table, Taylor puts the TriggerSmart sound sensor system within close proximity of the wine glass with the idea being that having an assistant drop a second glass onto the glass on the table, a loud enough sound will be created upon impact that will be detected by the TriggerSmart which will in turn trigger the camera. In the same instant, the camera will trigger three flashes which are located behind or overhead of the table, like this:

Notice how Taylor covered the lighting in plastic before he started breaking glass and splashing liquids.

For the complete rundown, take a look at the video as Karl Taylor shows us how to make a mess of someone else’s studio and create tack sharp frozen motion shots in the process:

There are some important tips you’ll want to keep in mind whether you are using the TriggerSmart of the less expensive TriggerTrap. For example, before you start with your first test shot, make sure your camera hasn’t fallen into sleep mode, which will prevent it from being triggered in time to catch the bursting glass. Another big one is to set your camera to it’s mirror up mode. This is a common practice in long exposure photography to help prevent camera shake, but is also very useful in high speed stuff as it lessens the amount of time it takes for your camera to actually record an image.

Not too difficult of a setup all in all. Sure it’s a little pricey, but it’s hard to match the quality Broncolor. On that note, we’d love to here about the setup you ‘re using for freezing time, be sure to share with us in the comments below!