Oil and water

Setup for Oil and water:

Setting up to capture oil emulsified in the water certainly is fun and creative. With a simple setup explained below gives the opportunity for capturing infinite combinations of colors and patters at home. The philosophy of shoot is similar shooting smoke from scent-stick.

In a glass bowl/dish, mix equal amount of water and oil
Keep the bowl/dish at some height.
Keep a colorful paper/design with bright colors in the space between the bowl and table
Use flash to light the background i.e.the colorful paper
Shoot from top, perpendicular to the plane of the liquid to use least depth of field and maximum shutter speed. Higher depth of field may be avoided.

Tips for better results:

Use a dedicated macro lens and accessories
Clean the glassware before use
Use bright multi-colored paper / design for background. I used magenta bottle for some photos.
Try different backgrounds
Keep the water/oil mixture stirring periodically
Use a strong daylight - setup should be near a window
Shoot handheld, tripod might be irritating to handle since need to change the composition and place of interest frequently
However, take advantage of both.
Try using design on the glassware as well instead of simple plan glass
As always shoot RAW and edit them