All of us have seen those fantastic, silky, cotton candy seaside scenes or milky, white waterfalls falling down a rock face. They all look so professional and challenging to shoot. Now, equipment may play a small part, but it’s simple to shoot moving water. The key is finding the right water to shoot and mastering your technique.
Choose the right location.
The necessary foundation for successful flowing water images, especially waterfalls, is choosing the right place for the shot. Waterfalls are notoriously difficult to access because, most times, they are found in rugged terrain. Be careful when selecting your location. It’s much better to approach a waterfall from below than from above; look for a route down near the water. By watching the light, you may find there is a perfect time for shooting.
Choose the right format.
Horizontal and vertical formats, also known as landscape and portrait, can both work well for seaside water shots. But, for waterfalls, most times, it’s best to use vertical or painting, because on most occasions there is more height than breadth to the image.
Choose the right shutter speed.
To create the milky white or silky smooth water shot, you need to choose the right shutter speed carefully. The variance between 1/30 and 1/15 of a second could be the difference between a great shot and just a good shot. Here, a problem you’ll experience is too much light, which won’t allow you to use a slow enough shutter speed. It may necessitate using an ND gradient or a polarizing filter to reduce the glare a little. You’ll need to experiment to get the right gear for the scene and lighting conditions.
