Turns out the best weather for capturing a waterfall on camera doesn’t align at all with the best weather to be outside; in fact, it’s just the opposite. So stay indoors on a clear sunny day and save that trek to the falls for a day when the sky is overcast and threatening intermittent showers.
According to Alex Wise in his article “Tips for Long Exposure Waterfall Photography”, getting great shots of waterfalls isn’t especially difficult; it’s just a matter of finding the best weather conditions and adjusting your camera’s exposure time. When it’s overcast, Alex advises, you can use slower exposures to capture the natural movement of the water.
Alex shoots with a tripod at relatively slow shutter speeds, around 0.3 seconds. He also recommends using neutral density filters, if you can’t get your shutter speed slow enough to create a blur in the water. (More information is on his site about neutral density filters.)
Armed with these tricks, you too can take photographs of waterfalls suitable for use on motivational posters and Hallmark greeting cards!
