Waterfall Photography Things that you will need for waterfall photography
1. Tripod
2. Polarizing Filter
3. Neutral Density Filter (6 or 9)
4. Grad. Neutral Density Filter (optional)
5. Wide-angle lens
6. Telephoto lens
Photography is one of my great loves and water and waterfalls are my passion, I find that the water gives me peace and allows me to share that with others through my photography. There are many different approaches to water and waterfall photography, it all depends on the effect that you wish to create and the water or waterfall itself. Your personal preference as to how the water should look can be using longer exposure times to make the water look silky, or another is shoot faster to stop the action. I usually shoot long exposures for the slow or silky water. Choosing a lower ISO will mean that your camera’s sensor is less sensitive to light and will need the shutter to be open longer. It will also mean less ‘noisy’ or grainy shots, which will give your shots lots of nice detail. If you choose to shoot with a long exposure the exposure time should be at least 1/4 second or longer using a small aperture (f16 or f22). This allows for slower speed settings making the water or waterfalls look silky, and two, you get as much depth of field as possible. This is where the polarizing and neutral density filters come into play; sometimes you may only need a polarizing filter to allow you to shoot at a longer exposure time and to help take out any glare and intensify the color. If you still need to slow the exposure time down add a neutral density filter.
There are several ways to get a correct exposure of water and waterfalls, whether it is in bright sunlight or overcast conditions. One method is to take a meter reading of the two extremes (highlights and shadows) and then set your meter between the two. Another option is to find something in the frame that is middle gray and take a meter reading off of it. What you choose to meter should be receiving the same amount and angle of light as the waterfall. The other ways are to use a gray card or a hand-held light meter.
When in doubt it is always a good idea to bracket your exposure, I usually do one full stop over and under. For those of you that are shooting digital I would recommend shooting in the RAW format and adjusting in an imaging program, which would allow you to adjust your exposure and white balance, I usually shoot RAW and JPEG.
No matter how you shoot remember to walk around and try varies angles, use a wide angle lens and also try a telephoto lens and go in tight for a part of the water or waterfall.
I hope you find these few tips helpful when you are out enjoying and photographing water and waterfalls.