Taking photos of water is one of the most pleasurable and challenging ways to photograph really exciting natural photography. The great thing about taking images of water is that you can produce some different effects each time you photograph. Some of these special effects can be smooth and flowing. Other special effects can be amazing and dramatic. It all is dependent on your lighting and your speed of the shutter.
What does light and shutter have to do with photographing moving water? In order to get a clear shot of your water photograph you have to have the right level of lighting. Because most flowing water photos are done outside you will be at the mercy of the elements. You will also should be able to work with your ordinary light in an effective way.
Let's take a water fountain for example. Fountains in the city can give beautifully inventive photos. We can try to take photos of them two ways. We can photograph the motion of the water to look like a silky-smooth ribbon. Then again we can photograph the flowing water so we see every drop. These two things depend a lot on your shutter speed.
A quick speed of the shutter means that you can freeze the action. This means that you will be able to distinguish every droplet of water poised in the air as it shoots out to the water fountain. You need a lot of daylight to be able to do this. You need lots of good lighting so that you can have a fast shutter.
A slow shutter speed means that you can slow the speed of motion. This produces what is called a silken effect. A silken effect is where your shutter slows. The water seems like it is streaking across your photograph. You also have to carefully watch your light so that you do not over expose your photograph.
So how does this work? Let me go into more detail. The more time you have your shutter open the more light enters the sensor. And it works the other way too. The quicker your shutter the less light that you have to work with. So you must find the equilibrium between what outcome you want to create and your light.
Lets say for example you wanted to photograph the water fountain. It is a dim day. Perhaps there are clouds approaching and creating some overcast light. You already have in mind that you want to stop the motion of the water. You want to be able to capture a photo where you can observe each separate water drop. You know that you need a speedy speed of the shutter to do this. But there is not a lot of lighting in the scene. So how do you get a fast speed of the shutter (so you can freeze action) and be adept to get just the precise level of light?
The way you would do this is the following. You would choose a very fast speed of the shutter. 8000th of a second may be your preference. However, you see that the camera is telling you that to take photos of at the speed you are going to have a very underexposed and dark photo. This will not suffice at all. Therefore you select a large aperture. Remember that a wide aperture will blur your background. This might be fine given the circumstances. So therefore you choose F 4. An aperture this large will let a lot of daylight in.
So now you are set. You have set your speed of the shutter at 8000th of a second and you have F4 as your fstop. But now there is an additional setback. The camera is telling you that you are still not getting adequate light. Is there something else you can do? Yes there is!
This is at the point your ISO comes in. Your ISO is your light sensitivity. When you do not have enough light you can just boost your ISO. When you photograph in auto the camera will decide the ISO for you. But when you are working in manual you have to decide it yourself. If you are shooting fast flowing water on an gray day choose a high ISO. A high ISO is like getting another two or three f-stops available. This means that even though you might not be able to get extra light through your manual setting, you can get more light using ISO.
Now how about the silken effect? You won't have to use a very high ISO if you want the silken effect on a gray day. However, if you are shooting your water in a dark forest you may still should increase your ISO.
Your ISO is a useful function that gives you more light. Just keep in mind the key to shots of moving water is light and speed of the shutter. Your shutter speed captures the movement of water, your aperture and ISO can take care of the light for you.
What does light and shutter have to do with photographing moving water? In order to get a clear shot of your water photograph you have to have the right level of lighting. Because most flowing water photos are done outside you will be at the mercy of the elements. You will also should be able to work with your ordinary light in an effective way.
Let's take a water fountain for example. Fountains in the city can give beautifully inventive photos. We can try to take photos of them two ways. We can photograph the motion of the water to look like a silky-smooth ribbon. Then again we can photograph the flowing water so we see every drop. These two things depend a lot on your shutter speed.
A quick speed of the shutter means that you can freeze the action. This means that you will be able to distinguish every droplet of water poised in the air as it shoots out to the water fountain. You need a lot of daylight to be able to do this. You need lots of good lighting so that you can have a fast shutter.
A slow shutter speed means that you can slow the speed of motion. This produces what is called a silken effect. A silken effect is where your shutter slows. The water seems like it is streaking across your photograph. You also have to carefully watch your light so that you do not over expose your photograph.
So how does this work? Let me go into more detail. The more time you have your shutter open the more light enters the sensor. And it works the other way too. The quicker your shutter the less light that you have to work with. So you must find the equilibrium between what outcome you want to create and your light.
Lets say for example you wanted to photograph the water fountain. It is a dim day. Perhaps there are clouds approaching and creating some overcast light. You already have in mind that you want to stop the motion of the water. You want to be able to capture a photo where you can observe each separate water drop. You know that you need a speedy speed of the shutter to do this. But there is not a lot of lighting in the scene. So how do you get a fast speed of the shutter (so you can freeze action) and be adept to get just the precise level of light?
The way you would do this is the following. You would choose a very fast speed of the shutter. 8000th of a second may be your preference. However, you see that the camera is telling you that to take photos of at the speed you are going to have a very underexposed and dark photo. This will not suffice at all. Therefore you select a large aperture. Remember that a wide aperture will blur your background. This might be fine given the circumstances. So therefore you choose F 4. An aperture this large will let a lot of daylight in.
So now you are set. You have set your speed of the shutter at 8000th of a second and you have F4 as your fstop. But now there is an additional setback. The camera is telling you that you are still not getting adequate light. Is there something else you can do? Yes there is!
This is at the point your ISO comes in. Your ISO is your light sensitivity. When you do not have enough light you can just boost your ISO. When you photograph in auto the camera will decide the ISO for you. But when you are working in manual you have to decide it yourself. If you are shooting fast flowing water on an gray day choose a high ISO. A high ISO is like getting another two or three f-stops available. This means that even though you might not be able to get extra light through your manual setting, you can get more light using ISO.
Now how about the silken effect? You won't have to use a very high ISO if you want the silken effect on a gray day. However, if you are shooting your water in a dark forest you may still should increase your ISO.
Your ISO is a useful function that gives you more light. Just keep in mind the key to shots of moving water is light and speed of the shutter. Your shutter speed captures the movement of water, your aperture and ISO can take care of the light for you.
About the Author:
Amy Renfrey is a professional photography teacher. She is the author of several photography ebooks and a monthly photography emagazine. She shows you how to take stunning photos every single time, even if you have never used a digital camera before. Click here to learn photography the easy way.
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