{"id":24,"date":"2007-11-18T16:22:08","date_gmt":"2007-11-18T06:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2007\/11\/18\/shooting-waterfalls\/"},"modified":"2018-03-05T21:12:06","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T10:12:06","slug":"shooting-waterfalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2007\/11\/18\/shooting-waterfalls\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips For Long Exposure Waterfall Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hold up\u00a0a second –<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>I’ve recently written a guide that explains waterfall photography in more greater detail. It explores the equipment needed for waterfall photography, visual examples\u00a0comparing how shutter speed can affect the photograph, best weather for\u00a0waterfall photography and other tips.\u00a0You can view this other waterfall photography guide here<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I continually come across photographs of waterfalls and they seem to lack something. I wonder if the owner just doesn’t understand what their camera is capable of or they just don’t care. But anyway I wanted to note what natural resources I rely on (such as weather) but also the technical aspects such as shutter speeds. I just find it amazing that people come across waterfalls with such potential and if they just took their time for a extra\u00a0minute then I think the shot would be of much higher standard. Anyhow here are a few beginners photography tips which might help.<\/p>\n

When shooting landscape photography, not only does the location\u00a0play a important\u00a0factor but the weather and time of the scene must also be taken into account. For waterfall photography, I find the weather to be\u00a0a very important factor, this comes as it can ensure\u00a0that the exposure is good which contributes to the final shot.<\/p>\n

My favourite weather for shooting waterfalls is a overcast\u00a0sky with patchy showers. The reason behind this comes as a result of the highlights which a clear sunny day may create when shooting. As you will be aware, most waterfalls have many surrounding trees which with a sunny sky can contribute to highlight around the scene. This in turn means that when attempting to take your shot, the end result\u00a0will have patchy bright areas around the scene which aren’t exactly appealing. Also, when the weather is sunny and there is more light available this means that it’s difficult to use slower exposures to create movement in the water. So if you have the option\u00a0and can be\u00a0selective with when you are planning to shoot a popular waterfall, hold back for a overcast day. Here are a couple of examples of what I’m getting at and you can decide yourself which looks better..<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Highlight\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks Flickr <\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Another important part of shooting a waterfall is the exposure time. When shooting waterscapes\u00a0at the beach I’m careful not to sometimes shoot exposures that are above 3-5 seconds. This is because an exposure of 20 seconds creates a completely different image which a 3″ second exposure may create. For waterfalls this isn’t as much the case and the only thing which puts me off a long exposure is that trees may move during the exposure and create a blur. This is usually fine if they aren’t even at the viewers attention\u00a0but are something just to take into account because although the long exposure is good for the water to create an effect, you must carefully manage your other areas of the scene. I increasingly come across people who take pictures of waterfalls and just use a high shutter speed. This is fine and that’s your decision but I find adjusting the shutter so it’s relatively slow (say 0.3″ seconds) can make quite the difference. Obviously this requires a tripod but is well worth the extra weight you may have to carry in.<\/p>\n

\"quickexp\"<\/p>\n

Thanks again flickr<\/a><\/p>\n

\"snug<\/p>\n

So just in a nutshell\u00a0for anyone starting out doing long exposures, set the camera into a shutter priority mode and set the speed to around 0.3″+ seconds and slowly play with it until you end up with a image your happy with. Initially you might be faced with an over exposed (bright image) which may mean you will have to fasten the shutter up a bit. If you just can’t get the shutter slow enough to create a blur in the water then I recommend neutral density filters.<\/a><\/p>\n

In terms of composite of waterfalls, that’s something which you can’t really teach someone as we all have our own way of taking a photograph. Personally I like to frame the shot so there is something in the foreground such as rocks and then have the waterfall in the background. This is good as it not only creates a bit more interest to the viewer but also forms a different perspective to the average post card image.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"stcolumb\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hope that helps with your future endeavours. I’m by no means a expert\u00a0at photography but these things are so simple, abide by them and you will be rewarded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hold up\u00a0a second –\u00a0\u00a0I’ve recently written a guide that explains waterfall photography in more greater detail. It explores the equipment needed for waterfall photography, visual examples\u00a0comparing how shutter speed can affect the photograph, best weather for\u00a0waterfall photography and other tips.\u00a0You can view this other waterfall photography guide here. I continually come across photographs of waterfalls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":25,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1114,191,188,1106,192,73,189,1101,190,193,1104,18],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technique","tag-alex-wise","tag-beginners-photography","tag-blog","tag-long-exposure","tag-nature-photography","tag-photography","tag-photography-tips","tag-technique","tag-tutorial","tag-types-of-photography","tag-waterfall","tag-waterscape"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/snug_falls_running_by_alexwise.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p93MA-o","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4447,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2011\/11\/16\/how-to-photograph-waterfalls-tutorial\/","url_meta":{"origin":24,"position":0},"title":"How to Photograph Waterfalls – Tutorial","author":"Alex Wise","date":"November 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Photography Tips: Waterfall Photography Waterfall photography is one of my favourite styles of photography as it combines my love of nature and long exposures.\u00a0 I'm a sucker for standing waist deep in a freezing stream capturing a photo. It's strangely relaxing especially when you have a scene all to yourself.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technique"","block_context":{"text":"Technique","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/technique\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_1324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_1324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_1324.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/IMG_1324.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6017,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2013\/06\/02\/long-exposure-photography-ideas\/","url_meta":{"origin":24,"position":1},"title":"Long Exposure Photography Ideas","author":"Alex Wise","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Great ideas to help inspire and start your journey into long exposure photography","rel":"","context":"In "Jibber"","block_context":{"text":"Jibber","link":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/category\/jibber\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/seascape-long-exposures2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/seascape-long-exposures2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/seascape-long-exposures2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/seascape-long-exposures2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10743,"url":"https:\/\/www.alexwisephotography.net\/blog\/2017\/03\/12\/landscape-photography-tip-shutter-stacking\/","url_meta":{"origin":24,"position":2},"title":"Landscape Photography Tip – Shutter Stacking","author":"Alex Wise","date":"March 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One thing I love about\u00a0landscape photography is the challenge that comes with trying to capture a particular moment in quickly changing conditions. 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