Shooting Waterfalls from MPB

Many outdoor photographers love shooting waterfalls. But to capture a stunning waterfall image takes practice. In this video lesson OPG’s pro photographer David Johnston visits his favorite waterfalls in Tennessee and gives you tips and suggestions on shooting waterfalls.

To get complete coverage in shooting waterfalls, David experiments with a variety of compositions and lenses. For wide angle shots, he suggests using different foreground anchor points within your compositions. He uses a medium format Fuji camera he purchased from the international used gear company, MPB.COM.

In this video on shooting waterfalls, you will learn to pair angular shapes together: logs, rocks, and shoreline boulders. This technique creates leading lines. You will also learn to use longer exposures to achieve a silky smooth texture for the main subject, the waterfalls. For expansive drama, David creates his images with a 23mm wide angle lens for horizontal and vertical shots.

If you are looking for fine detail in shooting waterfalls, you might choose a long lens. David employs a 110 lens to capture the cascade effects. These are detail shots, and it’s good practice to try to vary your angles. You are looking to compress the elements. By experimenting with different exposures and angles, you can create abstract designs through the meandering water patterns and wet rock textures.

It’s a good idea to take your time and look for those compressed compositions before you leave a scene. You want to magnify your experience in the amount of shots you get in a single waterfalls location. No matter how you choose to capture waterfalls, you will experience constant mist. It’s wise to keep a microfiber cloth handy to wipe your lenses.

Take a trip into nature with Outdoor Photography Guide’s professional photographer David Johnston to discover the ideal process for photographing waterfalls.