Quick tips for better waterfall photography
With all the rain we’ve been having around Sydney lately, I thought it would be a good opportunity to photograph some waterfalls. Up at the Blue Mountains, I was fortunate enough to have some great conditions for shooting waterfalls.
The Blue Mountains is only two hour’s drive from Sydney, but the region boasts a plethora of beautiful waterfalls to visit and shoot depending on your fitness level.
Weather Conditions
When the sky is overcast, or even when it is lightly raining, it is the ideal weather conditions for capturing waterfall shots. Sometimes if you are lucky, there may even be some mist or fog on an overcast day.
When you shoot a waterfall that is surrounded by a canopy of trees on an overcast day, you’ll find that as the soft diffused backlight hits the leaves the green of the plants will look more luminous.
Composition
The strongest compositional elements in waterfall photography are magnitude of light in the tones showing texture in the water flow. If you frame your image to capture a curved or diagonal direction of water flow, this helps to create an illusion of dynamism and a feeling of rhythm within your photographs.
Wet Weather Gear
While it’s good to shoot in wet weather, you need to have the gear to keep you safe and dry throughout the shoot. The items I like to take with me are: spiked boots, hand towels, waterproof pants, raincoat, a large umbrella and a camera bag cover. It’s also worth taking some spare clothing and a large towel to use, as you will likely get quite wet.
Camera Gear
On my recent trip to the Blue Mountains, I used my Canon EOS R and one prime lens: an 18mm wide angle Carl Zeiss Distagon and NISI CPL Filter. I also brought along my Gitzo carbon fibre tripod with a Gitzo ball head.
Camera Settings
As for the settings on my camera. I had the aperture set to F11, ISO 100, and varying shutter speeds, from 1/8s to 1s, depending on the ambient light and water flow to try and show texture without getting blown out highlights in the shot. I usually keep my gamut warning on to make sure I maintain the details in the whites of my image and in highlight areas such as the water.
Editing
I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I use Lightroom to carry out some basic edits, and then I use Photoshop to do some selection and masking to separate areas and add level adjustments to the final image. Within the program, this is known as luminosity masking.
About the author: Alfonso Calero is a professional photographer based in Sydney, Australia. Over the past 20 years, Alfonso has photographed everyone from politicians to artists and everything from exquisite food to amazing landscapes. See more of his work at alfonso.com.au, book a 1-on-1 photography course with him, or join his workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, or Fremantle.
If you liked this helpful guide, you should check out the free e-book that Alfonso has created. The e-book is called 'Travel Photogapher's Essential Guide' and you can find it here.