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By Fotoflock Editorial
25 May 2009
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Water… gorgeous to look at but just as hard to shoot. Reflectivity, composition, texture all play a part when shooting water. And then there’s moving water. Capturing water in motion and being able to show that in a photo is one of the most interesting shots a photographer can take.
Here’s how you can make them look great:
If you permit the automatic settings in your camera to record moving water, chances are it will opt to use a fast shutter speed to eliminate blur. While this gives an accurate depiction of the moving water, it may not create the tone or texture that is desired.
By adjusting camera settings manually, the appearance of moving water can be made smooth and almost “soft”. This is done by choosing a slower shutter speed. If there is adequate light around, you could also choose a slower ISO setting for a more detailed effect. This may require reliance on a tripod to prevent hand shake and blurriness, but the result will be dramatically different than from an automatic settings. The slower the speed of the shutter the blurrier the passing water becomes giving it the softer and opaque appearance.
For blurry water, it is best to begin with one eighth second setting and work down from there, but true smooth water usually is not available until a shutter is open for a full second or more. Also the lower the ISO on the shot, the more likely the image captured is going to be satisfactory. This is where the smallest aperture and highest f/stop will result in the slowest possible shutter speed for the ISO and lighting conditions.
The distance between the camera and the image of water it is capturing changes the effect of shutter speed on the “blur” factor. The closer the camera is to the water the more quickly the blur is captured. Low lighting may exist within many moving water environments and this too will necessitate slower shutter speeds and even tripods. 
It is recommended that you experiment with a few shutter speed settings for moving water, and allow the shutter priority to determine the f-stop and aperture on the image. Record which results you find the most appealing and visit other bodies of moving water to further experiment.
Remember that water flows to the sea shore in large waves and gentle lapping tides, it flows from lawn sprinklers and regularly spurts and erupts from public fountains, so experiment at many types of locations.
Water never looks the same at the same point for long. Be sure to move around, change settings and try some interesting stuff. Water won’t disappoint. And neither will you!
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Last Updated ( 25 May 2009 )
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