Waterfalls make great subjects for long exposures

Waterfalls make great subjects for long exposures. It helps if you have ND filters to hand but in this case I was lucky in some ways as the weather was quite overcast, so the light was not too much to take long exposure shots without overexposing the image.

The longer the exposure, the more silky the water becomes

The longer the exposure, the more silky the water becomes. Of course you can overdo it so it's important you spend time finding that sweet spot where the effect is still leaving evidence of motion in your shot.

The same is true for under doing it, this image is the same shot but instead of using 1/4th second at F22, this image uses 1/60th second at F5, the difference is quite striking.

The silky water in the first image is as a result of the long exposure smoothing out the image where the movement of the water is in frame.

Finding the right balance between the length of the exposure and the depth of field

For me, the key with capturing the perfect silky water effect is finding the right balance between the length of the exposure and the depth of field.

An over exposed image is not going to look great, the water will just look whited out and the definition in the rest of the scenery could be lost. So finding a good aperture to work with and the right filters (Where needed - depending on the ambient light) plus using the must have tripod and possibly a shutter release cable or remote trigger (Or timer if you don't have either of these) will be a must for this type of photography.

Motion visible in the water for you to still feel the water is rushing over the edge

Whilst it is important to have a long enough exposure to create that lovely silky smooth effect, it is also important to leave enough motion visible in the water for you to still feel the water is rushing over the edge. It is also important not to zoom in too much on the waterfall itself and forget that the image needs some context.

A shot that leave the viewer wondering what is going on in the frame is not the one that is going to capture the imagination. So remember to keep enough context in the frame as you can while maintaining the focus of your shot.

I cannot forget to mention the importance of framing

As with so many of my articles, I cannot forget to mention the importance of framing, some times the use of foreground imagery like the trees in this case, can add to the interest in the picture, the extra depth that this creates gives the viewer a different perspective on the shot and can make them feel they are in the shot, looking through the foreground and seeing the scene for themselves.