Best Lighting

It might seem counter intuitive, but bright, overcast days are often best for photographing waterfalls.  Bright sunny days are great to enjoy, but direct sun on the white water of a waterfall is usually too bright to be captured on film or digitally at the same time as the darker rocks or trees.  Either too much of the water will be all white or the rocks and trees end up black.  Overcast days reduce the difference between the brights and darks so that both can be captured at the same time.  Waiting for a passing cloud can have the same effect.  If the day is too overcast and dark, photos will come out lacking punch.  Best to hope for puffy clouds that can shade your subject and also provide interest if the sky is in the picture!

"Soft" Waterfall Effect

Looking to get that smooth, soft flowing water effect with your waterfall photographs?  You'll need to get the exposure time to 1/4 second or longer.  If possible, set your ISO setting as low as possible on your digital camera or use slow film (ISO 50 - 100).  Next, put your camera in aperture priority mode and raise the aperture number (creating a smaller opening) and check the resulting speed until you reach 1/4 second or longer (taller waterfalls will need longer exposures than shorter ones).  If the speed is still too quick at the maximum aperture, you'll need to use a neutral density filter to block more light (ND filters are fairly inexpensive and can be found at camera stores, look for a 3 stop filter).  Maker sure to use a tripod.  You're trying to smooth out the water, not blur the rest of the image.

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