Photographing water: tips on settings and howto

Whether waterfalls or water drops, with the right camera settings you can professionally photograph water motifs. In this practical tip we will show you how it works.

Tip 1: Images with long exposure times

If you want to photograph flowing water and bring a lot of dynamism into the picture, you should choose a long exposure time. Long shutter speeds mean that the water travels a certain distance during the exposure and thus also blurs optically.

• Exposure time: You can set the shutter speed via the time delay mode (Tv / S) or in the fully manual mode (M). The exposure time depends on the speed of the water. Here it is recommended to set an initial value of about 0.5 seconds. You can then increase this to achieve an optimal result.
• Aperture and ISO: With long exposures, a lot of light hits the sensor. For the ISO, therefore, choose the lowest possible value of 100 or even 50, if available. Also increase the f-number.
• Tripod: The camera must not move during long exposure times and should therefore be placed on a tripod. This will help you avoid blurring when shooting.
• Gray filter: In bright daylight, use a gray filter or ND filter for slow shutter speeds of several seconds. It is screwed in front of the lens and artificially darkens the image.

Tip 2: Freeze the structure of water

Water drops are only visible for a short time. Here it is recommended to freeze the motif.

• Shutter speed: With fast shutter speeds you can freeze fast movements. You should choose a shutter speed of 1/500 seconds or faster to take a drop of water.
• Aperture and ISO: For short exposure times you have to increase the ISO number or open the aperture.
• The prerequisite for this is a very bright environment - for example due to direct sunlight.

In further photography tips we show 5 interesting motifs in the rain, how you take pictures under water or how pictures take in the fog.