Techniques of shooting waterfalls

Waterfall has always been one of the favorite scenic themes of many filmmakers. The contrast between the atomization of water and the hardness of stone can often form a beautiful composition. Actually, it's not difficult to shoot waterfalls. The following are the practical skills I have compiled for you to shoot waterfalls. Please refer to them ~

Practical skills of shooting waterfalls 1. Wide-angle lens is easy to shoot momentum.

Even in a shallow stream with little water, a magnificent work can be shot with a wide-angle lens at a low angle on a tripod and a slow shutter to capture the details of the waterline flowing in the stream.

3 1mm terminal of Canon EOS 30d+sigma17-70mm2.8-4.5macro. Aperture F/20, shutter 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, manual exposure mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Second, the constituent elements affect photometry.

Before shooting, we should carefully consider the proportional relationship between dark scenes such as rocks and plants and light flowing water and bright parts in the overall composition. If there are many dark elements in the whole picture, relatively speaking, it is easy for the camera to mistakenly think that the shooting environment is dark. In order to make the dark object reach the normal exposure standard, it will decide to increase the exposure compensation by itself; Results Although dark scenes such as rocks and plants were normally exposed, light-colored running water or bright places were seriously overexposed, which affected the picture presentation. Therefore, when metering, I will use the camera's spot metering or the central key metering, so that the bright part will not be overexposed, but the dark part can still retain more details and texture, making the three-dimensional sense of the front and rear levels more obvious and achieving the effect we want to express.

Canon EOS 30d+Sigma18-200mm F3.5-5.6 DC OS 35mm bottom. Aperture F/25, shutter1/2s, ISO 100, shutter required mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Canon EOS 30d+sigma18-200mm f3.5-5.6dcos18mm end. Aperture F/22, shutter 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, shutter required mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Thirdly, emphasize the interaction between theme and environment.

After all, the photography of stream waterfall is a part of landscape photography, so we should pay attention to the relationship between the main body (stream waterfall) and the surrounding scenery when shooting. If you only shoot for the current, you will abandon the thinking of "scenery" and see that the trees can't see the forest, and it is easy to miss many beautiful scenery.

The theme of this painting is beautiful streams and rocks, which bring the environment near the river bank into the picture and let the audience feel the atmosphere of the scene. This kind of composition emphasizes not the scenery where the stream bypasses the rocks, but the charm of the scenery, which has a strong record.

Canon EOS 30d+EF-S17-85mm F4-5.6 isum21mm terminal. Aperture F/22, shutter 2 seconds, ISO 100, shutter required mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Fourthly, make good use of the prospect and grasp the characteristic flow curve.

When we stand on the shore and shoot a stream, we often make a composition in the form of inclination. We can look for leaves as the foreground and observe the curve changes of water flow, so as to shoot simple but flowing works. If you shoot the downstream stream at a low angle, you can also look for fallen leaves as the foreground, and let the water flow down the river, which will also make the work more layered.

5. Pay attention to the leaves blown by the wind.

When shooting waterfalls in the mountains, the leaves can't stay still because of the frequent blowing of the wind; When we shoot a trickle with a slow shutter, we should also pay attention to whether the blur caused by the shaking of leaves meets our needs.

Canon EOS 30d+sigma18-200mm f3.5-5.6dcos18mm end. Aperture F/22, shutter 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, shutter required mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Canon EOS 30d+sigma18-200mm f3.5-5.6dcos18mm end. Aperture F/22, shutter 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, shutter required mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Six, the sky as far as possible not into the mirror.

Most waterfall scenes are in great contrast, unless you follow the light. Therefore, when shooting bottom-up waterfalls in Gao Fancha environment, it is suggested to shoot at a low angle, but try to avoid the overexposed sky to avoid blank pictures.

Canon EOS 30d+ef-s17-85mm F4-5.6 isum18mm end. Aperture F/8, shutter115s, ISO 100, aperture priority mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Master the dialogue between light and water.

If composition is the art of capturing space, then choosing shooting time is the art of capturing time. This picture was taken in weak light at the moment when the sun just rose in the morning. Through the smooth angle and the refraction of water waves, people echo the light and shadow on the water, just like talking to nature.

Canon EOS 30d+Tokina AT-Xpro12-24mm F4DX12mm End. Aperture F/6.3, shutter1100 second, ISO320, aperture priority mode, automatic white balance, RAW to JPEG.

Eight, try the magnificence of horizontal composition.

If you want to show the grandeur of the waterfall, you don't have to use a straight composition. In some natural scenery, you have emphasized the momentum of wide scenery. Photographers only need to use composition to enhance the terrain features, and instead use banners, there will be more image strength.

As for the position of the subject, there is no certain criterion, but there must be aesthetic feeling and visual focus. For example, in this example photo, the water left by the waterfall on the left is not very large, so the whole picture is changed to a banner composition, bringing the water flow, stones and a few fallen leaves on the right into the picture, which not only enhances the momentum, but also increases the harmony of the picture. The principle of another work is the same. Maybe the single strength of the waterfall is not very strong, so we capture this picture horizontally and add the far and near scenery to add points to the work.