The very first thing I really wanted to capture when I got my camera was that silky smooth waterfall look. The only problem was, I had no idea how to do it.
Now that I live in a land full of waterfalls, I’ve got some helpful tips under my belt to help make your waterfall photography trips a success! Plus, I’ve included some bonus points at the end to help you get a photo from your waterfall adventure worth framing on your wall!
Let’s get started, shall we?
The very first thing you’ll want to do is pack the right gear. In order to get this silky smooth waterfall look, you’ll need some key pieces.
KEY PIECES OF GEAR:
CAMERA:
If you’re wondering what I use to take these shots, it’s the Canon 70D. One great thing that I find useful about this camera when taking waterfall shots is that it has a flip-out screen. This makes it super easy to compose my shot any way I want and still be able to easily see the screen.
LENS:
My favourite way to capture waterfalls is with a wide-angle lens like the Canon 10-18mm. What I love about this lens is that with such a wide field of view, I can capture the whole story, leading lines and all!
VARIABLE ND FILTER:
This is the key to getting those silky smooth waterfall shots. Without it, my waterfall photos always ended up being over-exposed.
You see, in order to make the water look silky smooth, we’ll need to slow down our shutter speed. The problem with this is that slowing down the shutter speed allows more light into the lens. Even if I was taking waterfall photos at sunset, it always resulted in an over-exposed photo. This is where the Variable ND Filter comes in handy because it’s like having sunglasses for your lens. With a Variable ND Filter you can adjust the amount of light being let into your lens. Now even during a bright day, I can capture this silky smooth waterfall look. The one I use is the ProMaster Variable ND Filter and I love the creative flexibility it allows me to have!
TRIPOD:
This is another key piece of gear to use when taking silky smooth waterfall shots. I’ll explain the camera settings in a minute but remember how I said we’ll need to use a slow Shutter Speed? Well it’s slow enough that holding the camera by hand just isn’t gonna cut it. Having a sturdy tripod will ensure that the parts of your scene that you want to stay sharp stay that way!
Alright, those are the main pieces of gear. If you’re looking for some creative tips to help your water photos stand-out above the crowd, don’t forget to grab my 3 Creative Techniques:
3 Creative Techniques to Capture Stunning Water Photos!
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Let’s jump into some quick prep details to help make your waterfall photography adventure a success.
PREP FOR A SUCCESSFUL SHOOT:
RESEARCH
Honestly, I plan a lot of my upcoming waterfall adventures through Instagram. All I do is open up Instagram and search for some locations or names of waterfalls that I’ve heard of and BAM, I’m rewarded with some beautiful waterfall photos!
I love using Instagram for this because in addition to finding some awesome spots to check out, I can get a feel for a composition that I like by viewing others’ photos! Check out some of these beauties here:
PACK YOUR BACKPACK
Some waterfall photo spots will require a bit of a hike in. It really helps to have your hands free to stumble over any boulders along the way so I always wear a camera backpack.
I researched quite a bit before purchasing one and what I love about the ProMaster Impulse is that it’s nicely padded so the camera gear doesn’t dig into my back. Plus, it is nicely padded on the inside too so I know my gear isn’t going to bump into each other along the way. Plus, it comes with a waterproof cover – very handy when getting constantly misted by waterfalls.
Ooh and don’t forget to bring some water and snacks. Nobody likes a cranky hiker!
COMPOSITION
When you arrive at your destination, take some time to scope it out. Sometimes you’ll be surprised with a vantage point you come up with.
Here’s a few tips to help you compose a stunning waterfall scene:
- Look for leading lines – If you can situate yourself downstream of the waterfall, you’ll catch a beautiful leading line that will guide the viewers eye straight to the falls! Just be very careful when out photographing waterfalls. It’s so much fun to be hopping around on the rocks, but not so much fun to be falling in.
- Wait for some clouds to roll over – If you can, this will help avoid any bleached out areas. The last two photos I’ve included in this article were taken on cloudy days whereas the first photo was taken on a sunny day. You can see in that first photo how the center fall in the photo is bleached out a bit. You see, the long exposure will make the water look quite white, so the less sun hitting the falls, the better!
- Make sure your horizon line is straight – Have a peek at some of the photos in this article. One thing they all have in common is that the horizon line is perfectly straight. This just makes the photo more appealing to look at.
Got some Instagram inspiration, your camera bag packed and some composition ideas? Awesome. Let’s jump into the camera settings to make sure you get that silky smooth waterfall look!
SILKY SMOOTH WATER CAMERA SETTINGS:
The absolute right settings will depend on the amount of light available, but here’s a few suggestions to help you get started.
CAMERA SETTINGS:
Set your shutter to a 2 second delay. There are 2 ways to do this on a Canon 70D. The easiest is to press the DRIVE button on the top right hand side of the camera and then select Self-Timer: 2 sec/remote. The second is by going to your shooting settings (by pressing the Q button on the back of a Canon 70D and changing your drive mode). Again, select the Self-Timer: 2 sec/remote and we’re good to go. This way, when you press the shutter button, the camera will wait 2 seconds before taking the photo. This will ensure any camera shake from you pressing the button is avoided and you’ll end up with a beautifully sharp photo!
Make sure your focus mode is on One-Shot AF. I go into more details on focus modes here if you need more info, but basically we want to use One-Shot AF because we’re using a tripod and taking a photo of a landscape where the scene is still – I know the water is moving, but the elements that we want to be sharp in the photo, like the trees or mountains, are not.
EXPOSURE SETTINGS:
To capture a photo like this, set your camera to Manual Mode (you can do it – really!) and try these settings:
Shutter Speed: 1/2 second – this will show as 0″5 in camera (having a slow Shutter Speed is what creates that silky smooth look because what we’re doing here is capturing the movement of the water while our shutter is open for half a second).
Aperture: f/11 – this will show as 11 in camera (having a small Aperture like this ensures the entire scene will be sharp as opposed to an Aperture of say f/2.8. I know it seems a little backwards but I go into some details here if you would like to learn more about Aperture).
ISO: ISO 100 – this will show as 100 in camera (the lower the ISO, the less grain you’ll see in your photo. So something like ISO 1600 would probably result in a grainy photo when compared to ISO 100).
Start with something like this and check your exposure meter bar by pressing your shutter half-way. If the bar is smack dab in the middle like I’ve shown below, then you’re good to go! If not, try adjusting the Aperture between f/8 (shown as 8 in camera) and f/22 (shown as 22 in camera) to correctly expose your photo and still come away with a sharp photo.
BONUS POINTS!:
Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you’ve read all the way to the end, here are some bonus points to make sure you come home with a spectacular waterfall photo worth framing on your wall!
- Take multiple photos. The course of the water is changing from second to second so make sure you take at least 10 photos when you’re set up in one spot to make sure you come home with a few that you love!
- Bring a shower cap. When you get close to that waterfall mist, it is crazy how fast the water builds up on the lens. To help protect your camera, put a shower cap over the camera and you’ll be good to go! This is especially handy while you’re getting the settings ready.
- Bring a remote if you have one. This will save a lot of time and also get rid of the camera shake. So if you have a remote, you can use this instead of having to use a 2 second shutter delay. The one I use is the Foto&Tech Wired Remote Shutter Release.
Here’s one final photo for inspiration!
If you’re heading out on an adventure soon, be sure to print a screen shot of the summary down below. This way, you’ll have all the details with you to make sure you get that silky smooth waterfall look worth hanging on your wall!
SUMMARY:
KEY PIECES OF GEAR:
Camera
Lens
Variable ND Filter
Tripod
PREP:
Research other photos taken at these waterfalls to get an idea of composition.
Pack a comfortable camera backpack for the hike.
Scout out the location for good compositions. Consider leading lines, wait for some clouds if you can and make sure your horizon line is straight.
SETTINGS:
Start with these settings and tweak the Aperture between f/8 and f/22 as necessary to properly expose the photo.
Shutter Speed – 1/2 second (shown as 0″5 in camera)
Aperture – f/11 (shown as 11 in camera)
ISO – 100 (shown as 100 in camera)
Hope you’ve enjoyed this article! If you’ve found it helpful, I’d love to hear from you in the comments down below. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
Raymond Rodriguez
I like the clear, step-by-step instructions/tips on how to shoot waterfalls nicely. I will try it during my next travel to the countryside. Thanks a lot!
Claire
Thanks very kindly. Nice to hear the feedback and wishing you wonderful adventures to come with your photography!
Thank you. This was wonderful !
My pleasure! So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the article, some good info I will have to try in field.
one question – you use a variable ND filter as compared to fixed “drop in” ND filters – any particular reasons why?
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Good question. I find for waterfalls, I tend to like shots around a particular shutter speed, (specifically 4 seconds) so with a variable ND as opposed to fixed, I can typically get the settings I want dialed in and then twist the variable ND to the correct exposure.
Yoy get a 10 frommy for your step by step on how to shoot the waterfalls this will by first time out
Much appreciated! Hope you had fun on your first time out!