Waterfall Pictures

[desertstrike]

Hi guys, i have a problem with taking waterfall pictures...

i wan a slow shutter speed so that the water running down will look "smooth"
but when i use a slow shutter speed, the picture becomes over exposed...
and if i use a fast shutter speed, the water becomes "droplets"...

hmm.. did i miss out anything?

 

[srinivasanj]

There might be a few answers to this question. Here are a couple.
1. Increase f number - Set to the smallest aperture possible. This reduces the amount of light entering the sensor and would require a longer exposure than normal.
2. Add an ND filter - This reduces the amount of light entering the sensor but lets you maintain your perferred f number.
3. Decrease to lowest ISO

I guess you were shooting in bright conditions. Not the best time for long exposures... Early morning or dusk are good times for long exposures for such cases.

 

[desertstrike]

There might be a few answers to this question. Here are a couple.
1. Increase f number - Set to the smallest aperture possible. This reduces the amount of light entering the sensor and would require a longer exposure than normal.
2. Add an ND filter - This reduces the amount of light entering the sensor but lets you maintain your perferred f number.
3. Decrease to lowest ISO

I guess you were shooting in bright conditions. Not the best time for long exposures... Early morning or dusk are good times for long exposures for such cases.

oh i see... hmm... what is a ND filter?
and i am using a prosumer len currently... dun think can fit a filter...?
yup, i shooting ard 11am... v bright...

 

[giantcanopy]

oh i see... hmm... what is a ND filter?
and i am using a prosumer len currently... dun think can fit a filter...?
yup, i shooting ard 11am... v bright...

Neutral density filter.

The prosumer ( having a much smaller sensor ) typically do not offer very small apertures because diffraction starts kicking readily, hence a limit to how much light u can cut down by just stopping down the aperture.

You can have the ND filter be placed in front of the prosumer lens to make longer exposures / darker shots at the given aperture.

Ryan

 

[attap seed]

the best time to shoot such watery scene can be during overcast days.

the contrast will be low, and the entire dynamic range can be contained within one shot.

go give it a try.

 

[desertstrike]

Neutral density filter.

The prosumer ( having a much smaller sensor ) typically do not offer very small apertures because diffraction starts kicking readily, hence a limit to how much light u can cut down by just stopping down the aperture.

You can have the ND filter be placed in front of the prosumer lens to make longer exposures / darker shots at the given aperture.

Ryan

hmm... too profound for a newbie like me...
thanks anyway

 

[desertstrike]

the best time to shoot such watery scene can be during overcast days.

the contrast will be low, and the entire dynamic range can be contained within one shot.

go give it a try.

hmm... what do u mean by contained within one shot?

 

[lifepursuer]

Whats he means is capture with one shot.

 

[gymak90]

The limitation of a lens on the prosumer is the aperture is usually quite big.
So if ND filter doesn't solve the problem (it should), then just try not to shoot under bright conditions like 11am.

 

[desertstrike]

Whats he means is capture with one shot.

hmm.. icic... on the contrary... how to shot with multiple shot? and what is the usage of multiple show...? i mean why need multiple shot? newbie question, sry abt that

 

[Octarine]

hmm.. icic... on the contrary... how to shot with multiple shot? and what is the usage of multiple show...? i mean why need multiple shot? newbie question, sry abt that

You need to read more about the very basics. Check the newbie sections, there is a beginner's guide.
Exposure of an image depends on the light conditions. But the light conditions are never even in a good picture, you always have areas which are darker (technically being underexposed) and areas which are brighter (technically being overexposed). The range between the darkest area and brightest area where details still can be recognized is called Dynamic Range. All sensors have a Dynamic Range that is much smaller than the human eye.
If you want to extend the Dynamic Range in a picture you need to follow the HDR workflow (HDR = High Dynamic Range). This means to combine 3 or more exposures of the same object but taken with different settings (also called exposure bracketing). It needs a tripod.
I suggest you focus on working with filters and reading the available light. 11am is not a good time to shoot. In Jurong Bird Park there is a nice waterfall, with a nice light in afternoon, at about 4pm. If you spend the whole day there you can see how the light changes during the day and how the atmosphere around the waterfall changes.

 

[night86mare]

back to basics. what is the main idea here? shutter speed

work around that principle to work out how to get correct EXPOSURE at the shutter speed you want. if you understand the 3 perimeters, and understand the tools available to you, like nd filters that others have mentioned.. you just need to play with iso/tools/aperture to get what you want, end of story.

btw, if you are shooting just the waterfall, no sky, no nothing.. just the waterfall.. then you don't need hdr, even if it is sunny.

 

[aungzawwin]

using ND filter when taking the waterfall pic in bright sun is a better choice IMHO.
cos using even about f22 could not help preventing overexposure when shutter speed slowed down to about 1 sec, ISO 100.
just like...rather using a sunglass to prevent bright light hitting your eyes than trying to shrink your eyes
cheers

 

[giantcanopy]

using ND filter when taking the waterfall pic in bright sun is a better choice IMHO.
cos using even about f22 could not help preventing overexposure when shutter speed slowed down to about 1 sec, ISO 100.
just like...rather using a sunglass to prevent bright light hitting your eyes than trying to shrink your eyes
cheers

You can have equivalent exposures from either stopping down alot ( within limits ) or using an ND filter. But exposure aside, depth of field and issues of diffraction will be different in both cases.

Ryan

 

[attap seed]

using ND filter when taking the waterfall pic in bright sun is a better choice IMHO.
cos using even about f22 could not help preventing overexposure when shutter speed slowed down to about 1 sec, ISO 100.
just like...rather using a sunglass to prevent bright light hitting your eyes than trying to shrink your eyes
cheers

the problem under bright sunlight is that water is highly reflective and will result in a burned out, featureless blur.

also, no fixed rule to shoot at certain shutter speed. too blur, also not nice. can experience with anything from 1/15 to 1 sec.

 

[night86mare]

hmm... too profound for a newbie like me...
thanks anyway