A beginner guide to capturing gorgeous waterfalls photos

Now, this is always a fun topic for most landscape photographers.  Capturing waterfall photos can bring out some of the most rewarding pictures.  This is not a scene that must be captured on a nice day. Those overcast days can be perfect for reducing glare and reducing washed out colors.  Those lush greens will look even more green without direct mid-day sunlight.  Photo above taken in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the fall.

Tips for Capturing Waterfall Photos: Use of Proper Focus, Shutter Speed, and Aperture

Proper Focus

First things first, when capturing waterfall or stream photos, a sturdy tripod is necessary. This is because you will typically be using slower shutter speeds.  Focus your image at the hyperfocal point then lock it in if your lens has a focus lock switch.  But, if not, then focus with manual mode, which is usually what I do.  Either way is fine.  Just take a few test pictures first to make sure you have good sharpness throughout the frame. 

Remember, if you change your aperture, focal length, or your location, you must refocus your camera to the hyperfocal distance/point.  Hyperfocal distance is not altered by changing your shutter speed or ISO.

Shutter Speed

There is no such thing as the exact shutter speed needed for a waterfall.  Just remember that slow-moving water will need longer shutter speeds than faster moving water to produce motion blur.  If you have very quick-moving water than you should do just fine with 1/8th second.  With slower moving water you might need half a second to several seconds or more of shutter speed. 

If you overdo it then most of the water will turn bright white and overexposed.  But gentle smooth water streaks are pretty and show movement over time. It makes the picture take on more life.

on a side note, some waterfalls like those in Yosemite National Park, are so massive and fast flowing that you often don’t need slow shutter speeds.  The massive, expansive flow is so energetic that trying to add much motion blur will be useless.  In those circumstances, I’ll focus more on composition and proper exposure than a precise shutter speed.

Filters (see next section) are also very useful if you have high dynamic range issues and/or need longer exposure times. This helps to produce those beautiful, smooth water flow results. 

Aperture Selection

For your aperture, f8 or higher is going to help with fairly good depth of field.  If you want sharp focus on elements very near in the foreground and you also want some distant elements in sharp focus, then experiment using high f-stops.  Consider using a hyperfocal distance table to help understand a rough estimate of how far out your hyperfocal point is with a particular aperture and focal length.  Otherwise, smooth water details immediately in front of the camera without particular objects of interest won’t need to be in great focus as the blurry water motion will take the attention.

Tips for Capturing Waterfall Photos: Lighting and use of ND Filters

Adjusting for the Light:

My ideal day for capturing waterfalls is a nice, enjoyable hike and overcast weather (or be out before or after the light is too harsh-like early morning or late evening).  A nice overcast day means you may not need any filters if the dynamic range is low.  Often though, I still choose to apply a graduated neutral density (ND) filter and may stack this over a regular ND filter in brighter light.  The ND filter will enable slower shutter speeds and the graduated filter will improve dynamic range issues.

Get the Focus and Exposure Correct with ND filters:

Autofocus in low light can give inaccurate results and should ideally be avoided.  After slapping ND filters on your camera, manual focus is a very difficult process and likely to result in failed focus attempts.  If you need to focus again, take the ND filters off, refocus, then reattach the filters.  This is a slow, patient process, but a necessary one for good results.

Before you put on any ND filters you can get an idea of what your overall exposure is.  For example, if you have a good balanced exposure at aperture f11, ISO 100, but can’t get a shutter speed slower than 1/30th of a second without the imaging becoming too bright, then you can add your ND filter. 

Each ND filter stop doubles the light loss and you can compensate by doubling the shutter speed for each stop (getting closer to the longer shutter speed you desire).  Personally, I have options to choose from a 3-stop ND filter, 6-stop ND filter, and 10-stop ND filter (only for quite bright days or very long exposures).  

Ultimate Goal Using Filters:

A side note about dynamic range is that your camera does not have the dynamic range of your eyes.  What I mean by that is you may see detail in the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows quite well, while your camera may only be able to capture details better in the highlight or shadow range of light, pending which way your histogram is leaning.  For waterfalls, they are meant to add an artistic, tranquil effect, that can make your image all the more stunning, beautiful, captivating, and rewarding.

We often need these effects to display the emotion of the scene that cannot be well represented by a static, two-dimensional image.  Which is often why you’ve heard the phrase, “the pic just doesn’t do it justice.”

Circular Polarizer Filter:

I also use a circular polarizer filter.  This tremendously helps reduce glare and improve the color of the scene.  It can make you see right through the water and the natural colors that have been washed out by glare and harsh light.  I can use the polarizer with the two other filters mentioned above with a proper stacking system, such as the Nisi 100mm Square Filter System, which I love.

If I had one filter only it would be the polarizer, unless there was just no way to get a decently slow enough shutter speed for satisfactory results. In that case I would go with the ND filter.  I don’t recommend stacking many circular filters together as they can result in serious vignette issues.  This is not seen with square and rectangular filters that I use.

Tips for Capturing Waterfall Photos: Limiting Motion Blur

If it’s a windy day with lots of foliage in the background, they may blur too.  I will try and wait for a moment of calm wind or keep my shutter speed at a shorter acceptable speed for my desired results.  Some foliage blur is less problematic if it is not a large supportive element of the waterfall scene.  

Use a shutter release cable or the camera self-timer (2-5s) to avoid motion artifact from hitting the shutter button during slow shutter speeds.  It’s not worth losing focus and sharpness due to not taking one of these precautionary measures.

Use a sturdy tripod.  Especially if in the flowing water.   Small vibrations in the feet or legs of the tripod can cause significant loss of image sharpness.  

Thanks for reading and enjoy your next waterfall adventure! Please see Blue Ridge Mountains Gallery for a broader image collection.

Paul Watson