Lords

Since I shot in RAW, I first brought back the highlights and shadows to get more data off the file.

From there I did some minor color adjustments, as well as bring back the detail through the RAW format.

Composition was changed and a black background added in Photoshop. The original image is masked to only show the model.

The first paint drop picture is added. Using brushes and masks, I shaped it to a flowing shape. I also used liquify on the layer masks themselves to distort the colors to be more flowy.

Several other paint drop images are layers, masked and liquified.

Added water drops of other colors and used Hue to change them to red. Adjusted RAW data for all water drops and added minor color adjustments.

Finally added master mask to the whole image and painted off parts that didn't fit.

Reflection

I originally planned to do a series of photos instead of just one, but after shooting and actually editing them in Photoshop, I found that each final image is actually a merge of a host of takes together. The pose above, for example, was merged with 10+ different paint drop images to form one cohesive flow. In addition, since the paint drop images depended so much on luck - you burst and hope one of the exposures work - the ratio of workable paint drops and images taken is very small. 

On the note of paint drops, I think I really got a chance to learn and experiment with the flash through this shoot. Since paint drops are split-second stop motion, to get a crisp image flashes are a must. I learned how to sync flashes to shutter speeds, light with flashes and using different serves to bounce the flash light around to cover up shadows. 

Originally I had hoped to be able to Photoshop the paint do it looks like it literally is dripping off the model, but after repeated tries the effect just didn't look real. Upon some research on examples I was getting inspiration from, I found that they actually poured paint on models - the effect was in camera as opposed to digiral. Although the final product didn't reach the level of realism I had hoped for, I still like it stylistically with its color, composition, and "feeling."