There are plenty of excellent natural features available in this big world which we don’t know.
but wait there are also some outstanding places available which we know but as a photographer, we never tried to catch that every single place !!!
Lots of places like the waterfall, landscapes, mountains, etc which are damn hard to capture.
but if you learn and gain some special skills then, in the end, you can capture something marvelous !!! that’s for sure.
So in today’s article, I am talking about waterfall Photographs which are tough to capture if you don’t know some must require kind of settings and equipment.
believe me, you can able to capture some unique kinds of waterfall photographs using these tips which I am going to share in this article.
as we know, to get better waterfall photos you must need to learn Manual mode, if you don’t know manual mode then read Beginner’s QUICK guide to Manual Mode.
if you are an entry-level photographer or even an expert and want to know or learn how to capture waterfall photographs (in-depth) & want to turn the flowing water into blurry & creamy lines then this article is for you.
now without wasting your time, let’s get started !!!!.
How To Capture Awesome Waterfall Photographs
This article is so straightforward, so I am just sharing some tips to capture a better waterfall.
I am not talking about what is shutter-speed or ISO or Exposure or Manual Mode etc kind of things.
if you don’t know then here are some resources which you must need to read or learn to finish this Article.
- Beginners Guide to DSLR Camera
- What is Aperture ??
- What is Shutter-speed & ISO ??
- Know Exposure & Rule of Thirds
- How to Use a wireless shutter release ??
What you need to capture Awesome Waterfall photograph
Here is the list of the Most Important things which you need or know to Capture an Awesome Waterfall photograph
- Aperture
- Shutter-speed
- ISO
- Exposures
- remote shutter release
And Some Filters…
Filters are the most Essential part to capture good-looking waterfall photographs.
because filter gives a good amount of shadow and some other sharpness and it reduces reflections.
It also creates saturated colors and a better tonal range which are much important to transform the waterfall photograph into an Eye-catching waterfall photograph.
See this Example To know the Difference !!!
Photograph capture without/with ND filter
so, in this article, I suggest you total two most popular filter which is normally used in this type of photography.
- ND filter
- Polarizing filter
you can use ND Filter or Polarizing filter, but if you have money then you can buy both, but not necessary !!
There is little difference between these two filters.
- Some users say that ND filters are best for all types of weather, and Polarizing filters are not good enough for morning time.
- but the Polarizing filter decreases reflections and gives a better tonal range.
if you are asking me which one is better then first choose ND filter and then Polarizing filter.
For Indian Readers
- Buy ND filter(for Canon/Nikon)
- Buy Polarizing filter
For US Readers
- Buy ND filter(for Canon/Nikon)
- Buy Polarizing filter
All right, now you know some “Must required” equipment or topics to capture beautiful waterfalls.
so now let’s know some important tips and tricks with proper steps to capture awesome waterfall photographs.
Steps Which you need to follow
1. Let’s Find a better place !!
- Find a suitable waterfall near you.
Too little water to have a nice effect, Cloudy is always perfect for more intimate landscapes.
- get one tripod.
Bonus for you!!!
don’t have a tripod !!!?? find some Cheap and Amazon’s BEST seller tripods under 19$ (in-depth review included !!!).
- find a perfect position where you can stick your tripod and able to capture the whole waterfall.
My suggestion – use a wide lens to capture waterfall photographs.
- set your tripod with filter, and you are good to go !!!.
that’s it !!?? nah that’s not enough !!! now you just need to follow these tips to capture good-looking waterfall photographs.
2.Tips to capture awesome waterfall photographs
These tips are so important to capture a good type of waterfall photos, so you must need to follow all these tips.
What type of Photographs you get !!??
while doing waterfall photography you get lots of different types of output.
may you get a dark or too dark photograph?
or may you get a too sharp photograph, or even if you work smarter then get some sharp+blurred type of waterfall photographs which we really want.
Let’s talk about Camera Settings !!
After setting everything up, choose manual mode, and use a small aperture.
starting with f/16 and then going smaller which I use to capture good waterfall photographs.
Use the lowest ISO speed on your camera(choose ISO between 100-400), so you get a more sharp image and clear result !!!.
as you know more ISO means low-quality photographs.
While looking through the viewfinder, rotate the filter and watch for the reflections to disappear.
here as we know sharpness is everything, this thing makes our waterfall photograph into a masterpiece !!!.
Remember the main part is Shutter-speed.
Shutter speeds that blur water or freeze water or neither blur nor freeze water, so you need to try a variety of shutter speeds.
For most waterfalls, use exposures from 2 seconds up to about 1/8 second.
If you use exposures longer than 2 seconds then the individual paths that water takes through the waterfall may be lost, so it gives you the worst result at the end.
use Shutter speeds over 1/1000 to stop the falling water mid-air.
After clicking a couple of photographs you may notice that slower shutter speed(2-3 sec or more) makes the water flowing, and fast shutter speed(1/1000-1/4000) makes water blurry.
if you want some real examples then see how waterfall photographs look like while capturing it using different shutter-speed.
follow all these tips to get sufficient waterfall photographs like this …
Credit: Unsplash
if you want to give a final finishing to your photographs then you can use these top 7 Photo Editing Applications to get a better result.
I hope you like to capture photographs using shutter-speed.
if you want to capture some more interesting photographs using shutter speed then read my guide on Night Photography to capture stunning night photographs.
if you like this article on how to capture an impressive waterfall photograph then share it and send some photographs which are captured by you using these suggestions.
thank you have a great day.
