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Tips for Photographing Waterfalls |
Tips for Photographing Waterfalls
By Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence
Waterfalls are popular landscape photography subjects.
Flowing water seems to add to a landscape, and the sense of
power and of motion of water flowing over a set of falls can
be fascinating to watch and to photograph. Waterfalls can be
difficult subjects for getting great photographs, however,
so we thought we would give you some tips (many of which we
learned the hard way!).
1) Shutter speed is important in waterfall photography!
Tastes vary in how people like to see the water flowing over
waterfalls presented in a photograph, but we prefer using a
slower shutter speed for a motion effect to the water. A
fast shutter speed will show individual waves and droplets
in the water, but a slower shutter speed actually shows the
path that the water travels - the slope of the water off the
fall, the arcs of the water as it splashes off a rock on the
way down the falls. For us, this makes a more interesting
picture. Typically, we'll try for a shutter speed of ½ to 1
second if we can, but will try to at least keep the shutter
slower than 1/15 of a second.
2) To keep the shutter speed this slow, we use a low ASA
film (we often use 50 ASA) or set the ASA on the digital
camera as low as it will go (usually 100). Even so, if the
light is bright enough, we may not be able set the aperture
small enough to have as slow a shutter speed as we would
like. At times like these, a neutral density filter
(essentially this filter blocks some of the light, but
doesn't change the color balance) can be used to get a
slower shutter speed. If you don't have a neutral density
filter, a polarizing filter can be used to drop the shutter
speed by about 2 stops (i.e. setting the shutter to one-
fourth the speed that it would have been without the
shutter).
3) With shutter speeds this slow, you will need a tripod to
steady the camera. Also, remember that with a shutter speed
this low, anything moving in the picture other than the
water (e.g. people, foliage blowing in the wind) will also
be blurred.
4) While this is not an absolute rule, photographs of water
tend to look better if it is flowing towards the viewer or
across the photograph than it does if it is flowing away
from the viewer. Also, remember to check that your camera is
level - a photograph of water that appears to be flowing
uphill is very disturbing.
5) Remember to check the direction of the falls, to
determine the best time of day for light hitting the falls
to give the most dramatic photograph.
6) Also, check out the falls in different seasons, e.g. does
it look best with new spring foliage? Best in the fall with
the leaves turning? Some other time? Since spring and fall
tend to be the wettest times of the year, these are usually
good times to catch falls at their peak levels.
7) Learn what you can about the falls, and what you'll need
photographically, before you get there. The web can be a
great resource for this. Visit the Eastern Waterfall Guide
http://www.aria-database.com/waterfall/ for information on
over 150 waterfalls in the eastern US.
8) Most of the waterfalls we have been to involve some
hiking in hilly terrain (it is tough to have a waterfall
over perfectly flat land) - don't forget comfortable hiking
shoes for the trail, a water bottle (especially in hot
weather), and bug spray and sunscreen in the appropriate
seasons.
Vist the web based version of this article for some photos
of waterfalls that illustrate the impact of different
shutter speeds on photos of waterfalls.
Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence are the co-owners of
Hankins-Lawrence Images, LLC, a digital photography
company based in Maryland. HLI Photonotes, their
monthly ezine, provides information and tips for
photographers. To subscribe email
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or visit www.hankinslawrenceimages.com.
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