Tuesday 16 February 2016

10 tips for shooting waterfalls


The highest waterfall in the world - Angel, located in South America, and more specifically, in Venezuela's forests. Its height is 979 meters - almost a kilometer! Make a good photo of the waterfall is already difficult because of his height, and for many photographers such an attempt would have become a real challenge to their skill. In order to achieve the desired result, you will need not only the right lens (probably wide). It is equally important to take the correct position for shooting.
Of course, not everyone will go to Venezuela to remove the highest waterfall in the world. But any shooting waterfalls - an interesting and exciting experience, especially if you do it right. And see the results of their labors in printed form on paper - twice as nice.
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" Photographer Mark Broughton
So, here are ten tips to help you learn how to make spectacular shots of waterfalls:
1. The higher, the more effective. Even if you are not planning a trip to South America, you can find waterfalls that look grand because of the high altitude. Especially lucky for those who live in Norway or has the ability to be there (in Norway are seven of the twenty highest waterfalls in the world).
2. Pay attention to the weather conditions. Of course, it is unlikely you will go home with a camera in hand, if the weather does not have to shoot. But it is important to make sure that in the place where you want to go, at the moment there is no precipitation. In the rainy season, many waterfalls or snow turned into formless flow of water.
3. Plan your trip. Try to advance to explore the area and determine what time of day would be the most favorable for the shooting. Although early in the morning and afternoons are considered optimal in terms of lighting, they may not be ideal for shooting a particular waterfall. Find out what time of day is best illuminated waterfall, as well as which side will fall light.
4. Change your perspective. Usually, photographers try to remove the entire waterfall from the bottom up. However, showing a little creativity, you can get a very unusual result. For example, try to climb up or get under a waterfall. Of course, in this case it is necessary to protect the camera from the spray, but often the result is worth the extra effort and risk. Sometimes you can swim on a boat for a falling stream of water and try to take a picture with the "wrong side."
5. The composition changes the picture. Try to change the focal length to shoot from different positions, in order to achieve more interesting results. Add to frame other objects: trees, rocks. A key factor in the choice and may be a camera and / or lens. Again, try to change lenses to understand the difference.
6. Use the filter. Waterfall - it is always sharp differences of color and lighting. May come to enhance the depth of the color range of neutral gray filter (ND). Can become a useful and a polarizing filter.
7. Change the shutter speed. The most spectacular pictures become easily or at very long, or with a very short exposure. A long exposure gives a soothing effect. Short captures individual water droplets in the air. Try something, and more. You must know how to choose the shutter speed when photographing a waterfall.
8. Use a tripod. Still, the camera is very important, especially at slow shutter speeds, if you want a smooth and slightly dimmed image, not dull and blurry. Also at slow shutter speeds, try using the self-timer or remote shutter release function.
9. Adjust the white balance. Of course, you can select one of the presets in the camera settings or scenes, for example, a "cloud" or "sunshine", however, can use the filter to change how the camera will react to the specified settings. One way to solve this problem would be to shoot in RAW format - then you can adjust the white balance in post-processing on the computer, for example, of Photoshop.
10. Use bracketing. Most cameras support bracketing exposure to three stages. This feature allows you to cover the entire range of luminance values ​​in a single shot. To do this, you need to combine three shots into one during post-processing. Also, some cameras support the regime of the HDR, which allows combining three images taken with different exposures, instantly and without using a computer.
No matter what you are going to photograph a waterfall, - make as many shots, change lenses, try different settings for the camera. After all, the biggest disappointment comes when you come home, sit down at your computer to view the images ready, and suddenly realize that very small changes could result in significantly better results.

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