Tips on Photographing Waterfalls
By the time you read this article, the rainy season will be almost upon us. Here are some tips on photographing waterfalls.
Uncle Ronnie helps you to get the perfect effect in your waterfall photographs
Rohinton Mehta
Photograph waterfalls under overcast lighting. If you shoot in harsh light, more often than not, highlights will overexpose and shadows will go overly dark.
If it has rained some time ago and the rocks are wet, the rocks will appear darker (good thing).
Use a Circular Polarising Filter (CPL) to reduce glare, saturate colours and increase contrast.
Frame the waterfall with some interesting foreground elements. Then go close to the foreground elements and try photographing the scene using a wide-angle lens. A wide-angle lens not only offers greater depth of field, it can also exaggerate the foreground element to draw-in viewer interest by causing perspective distortion.
Consider shooting in portrait as well as landscape orientation.
If possible, use a steady tripod. This will allow you to photograph the waterfalls using your base ISO (generally ISO 100) for overall better image quality. It will also allow you to use narrow apertures for greater depth of field without causing camera shake.
Different shutter speeds will evoke a different response from the viewers. There is no right and no wrong shutter speed for waterfalls. Fast shutter speeds (like 1/500 sec and faster) will freeze the water droplets while slow shutter speeds will smoothen the flow of the water. The focal length of your lens, the amount/force of water flowing down the waterfall and the distance between you and the waterfall will have a say in the final look. I suggest that you try various shutter speeds and later on, in the comforts of your home, decide which you like the most. Do keep in mind that very slow shutter speeds can make the water lose its texture and detail. Also remember that strong wind blowing against the waterfall can change how the final image looks, especially when shot with slow shutter speeds.
If the light is not suitable for use of slower shutter speeds (that is, if the light is stronger than what you need), consider using Neutral Density (ND) filters. ND filters are available in different strengths. Personally, I have found that a 3-stop ND filter works well for me.
If you have to place your tripod in the water, do spend some time to clean it dry after your work is done. Also dry/clean the camera as water spray will often settle on the camera.
When standing in the water, take extra care that currents in the water do not drag you /your equipment into the water. It would be a good idea to have a friend (a physically strong friend) stand next to you just in case.
| SP
All images shown here have been shot in July 2019 at Thoseghar, 20 km from Satara city in Western India and all are shot hand-held (no tripod)! A viewing platform has been created by the authorities but during my trip to Thoseghar in the rainy season, the wind pressure was so strong that I feared my tripod mounted camera would fall over if I left it unattended even for a few seconds. I also had to keep an umbrella open over my head and that was most difficult considering the very strong wind. As I took the pictures, I continuously noticed my own movement due to the strong wind pressure. Keeping the camera steady was no easy task.