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If I had to pick a single subject in nature that I would never get tired of photographing, it might have to be waterfalls. Not only are they absolutely beautiful, but being able to sit in quiet contemplation while shooting long exposures is a sublime experience. You’ll find waterfalls all over the Earth, from the frigid Arctic to the humid tropical rainforests and while the climates you find waterfalls in may be polar opposites, the basic principles of capturing these natural wonders are essentially the same.
Although waterfalls can be captured using any shutter speed, I’ve always found that their beauty and cascading, silky smooth water wrapping like cotton candy around eroded stones makes them especially good subjects for long exposure photography, which will be the primary focus of this guide.
Waterfall Photography Tips
1. Overcast, even lighting is ideal for waterfall photography and means you won’t have to deal with harsh shadows or bright highlights on the water. Cloudy days, early mornings, and late afternoons are best.
2. If the scene includes lighting that isn’t quite even, shoot RAW and bracket your shots, capturing a variety of exposures of the same scene that you can merge when post-processing the photo.
3. Photograph the same waterfall from multiple vantage points. Different angles often yield strikingly different compositions.
4. Consider the other elements of the scene in addition to the waterfall, potentially incorporating the surroundings if they add to the composition and purposely leaving them out if they’re distracting.
5. Photograph multiple identical photos of the waterfall. The flow of the water will always look a bit different in each thanks to bubbles and ripples, and you’ll usually find that one shot stands out as your favorite among the series.
6. Experiment with a variety of exposure times for the same waterfall photography compositions. When it comes to long exposures of waterfalls, longer isn’t always better — start with a fraction of a second and increase your exposure time to see what looks ideal for the scene. Some waterfalls seem to look best when photographed using shutter speeds of 30 seconds or more, while others look best with an exposure time of just a second or two.
7. Many photographers often stop their lens down to use the smallest aperture so that they can use the longest shutter speed possible. For most lenses, the sharpest results don’t actually come from using the smallest aperture though, so it’s better to choose the aperture you want and then use an ND filter of the appropriate strength to reduce the incoming light.
What you’ll need for waterfall photography:
A camera that can shoot in manual mode to capture long exposures
Any DSLR & mirrorless camera like the Nikon D5500, Canon 7D II, Pentax K3 II, and Sony A7 II will work perfectly, and so will many advanced compact cameras like the Sony RX100 IV. Even less recent camera models like the Canon T3i and Nikon D3200 will produce great results without forcing you to spend lots of money.
A Sturdy, Lightweight Tripod
Keeping your camera motionless is essential to getting share long exposure photos, and a tripod is one of the most useful items you can bring. Because most waterfalls tend to require a bit of hiking to reach, ideally you’ll bring along a tripod that’s both sturdy and lightweight. A few options include the Sirui T-025X Carbon Fiber Tripod with C-10S Ball Head, Manfrotto MKBFRC4-BH BeFree Carbon Fiber Tripod, and Oben CT-3451 Carbon Fiber Compact Travel Tripod. Several additional lightweight tripods that are great for hiking with can be found in our guide here.
If you find yourself confronted with a stunning waterfall but don’t have your tripod, you’re obviously not going to just give up! Other alternative support options include resting your camera on a rock or on a sock filled with something like rice or pebbles. Be aware that the ground and rocks next to waterfalls can be very slippery and unstable — you don’t want to have your camera slip into the river when that rock you thought was secure suddenly shifts, so if you find yourself resorting to some kind of unorthodox support method, hang onto the camera strap — this will allow you to avoid touching the camera body and causing a blurry shot, while still keeping it tethered to you to prevent it slipping into the water.
Polarizing filter
If you don’t have a circular polarizer, you can still take waterfall photos, but having one on your lens can definitely improve your shots by cutting glare on the water and reducing distracting reflections. With a circular polarizer, you’ll need to rotate the filter until you get the desired effect.
ND (Neutral Density) Filter
For shooting in the middle of the day, a strong ND filter is virtually a necessity. A dark piece of glass or resin that blocks a percentage of the incoming light, an ND filter makes it possible to use longer shutter speeds of a second or more even in bright light.
ND filters come in a variety of strengths and configuration options — circular, screw on filters like you’re probably most familiar with, and square/rectangular slide-in filters that require a special filter holder. Filter brands like Lee, Formatt Hitech, B+W, and Hoya enjoy a large market-share thanks to their consistent quality. For those who want to experiment with waterfall photography on a budget and find the ND filters from these brands to be a bit out of reach, the ICE 10 Stop ND Filter offers excellent results at a very low cost.
Some advanced compact cameras like the Ricoh GR II have a built in 2 stop ND filter, while others such as the Sony RX100 III and Sony RX100IV have built in 3 stop ND filters, which when enabled, block either two or three full stops of light respectively, allowing photographers to use either wider apertures or longer shutter speeds.
Shutter release cable
When shooting long exposures of any kind including waterfall photography, you want to avoid shaking the camera. A shutter release cable can trigger your shots and keep you from touching the camera body, but you’ll want to be sure to buy one that’s compatible with your particular camera body.