How to Photograph Waterfalls: Tips for Stunning Shots

What should the waterfall look like?

The first question comes up before you even press the shutter: how do you actually want to capture the waterfall in your photo?

There are two basic options:

1. You want to show the waterfall the way it looks in real life — a shot that freezes the falling water in a single moment. Done right, you can even make out individual droplets.
2. You want to show the flowing motion of the water. The waterfall takes on a milky appearance — that classic silky veil effect. This brings out the movement of the water far more dramatically.

Here are two photos that show exactly what we mean.

The right gear for photographing waterfalls

Obviously, you’ll need a camera first. If you just want to freeze the water (Option 1), a regular camera or even a smartphone is perfectly fine.

But if you’re going for that silky veil effect, you’ll need a longer exposure — what’s known as long exposure photography. That requires a bit more than just your camera. Here’s exactly what you need.

The right camera

Since you want to capture the motion of the water rather than just take a simple snapshot, you need a camera that lets you make manual settings.

The good news: almost every camera can do this! Do you have a dial next to the shutter button with P, A, S (or Tv), and M on it? Perfect!

If you don’t have a dial, check your camera menu to see whether you can adjust aperture or shutter speed. If none of this means anything to you yet, start with our article Photography Basics — it’ll give you a solid foundation.

Looking for a new camera? Check out our Camera Buying Guide, where we break down which camera is the best fit for you.

The right lens

Technically, you can photograph waterfalls with any lens.

That said, we think a wide-angle lens works best. It lets you capture as much of the waterfall as possible in a single frame.

Read more about choosing the right lens

A tripod

For long exposure waterfall photography, a tripod is non-negotiable. Your camera needs to stay completely still — without one, you’ll end up with blurry photos.

When we’re traveling light, we always pack our Rollei Compact Traveler No. 1 Carbon — at just under two pounds, it strikes the best balance between weight and stability.

Be sure to also check out our detailed travel tripod buying guide.

A remote shutter release

Using a remote shutter release when shooting on a tripod gives you one key advantage: it prevents camera shake when you trigger the shot. When you press the shutter button manually, you inevitably give the camera a slight nudge.

That said, a remote isn’t strictly essential. A simple workaround is your camera’s self-timer — set it to fire two or three seconds after you press the button, and the shake has already settled by the time the shutter opens.

The cleaner solution is of course a remote shutter release. These come wired or wireless — we use this wireless remote. Just make sure whatever you buy is compatible with your camera model.

Filters

Filters are seriously important for waterfall photography. Here’s what you need.

ND filters

To get that silky veil effect, you need a fairly long exposure — typically several seconds. In daylight, exposing for that long without help will blow out your image completely. That’s where ND filters come in. You’ll also hear them called neutral density filters or gray filters — they’re all the same thing.

ND filters come in different strengths, and we recommend carrying two when you head out to photograph waterfalls. We always have an ND64 and an ND1000 in our bag.

The ND1000 is very powerful and lets you use long exposures even in bright sunshine. The ND64 is less aggressive — it’s the better choice when light is limited but still too bright to shoot without any filter at all. Think of standing in a shaded gorge with just a bit of daylight filtering in: the ND1000 would be overkill there.

Filters range from a few dollars to seriously expensive. After a lot of testing, we’ve landed on Haida as our go-to brand for the best price-to-performance ratio. When buying, make sure the filter matches the thread size of your lens — you’ll find this printed on the front of the lens (something like 52 mm or 71 mm).

These are our filters:

Urth ND64 / Urth ND1000

Polarizing filter

We also recommend using a polarizing filter when shooting water. Why? Because it cuts down on light reflections — not just on the water itself, but also on leaves and wet rocks.

It’s important to know how to use a polarizing filter correctly. Check out our video about filters in photography — from the 1:15 mark onward, it’s all about polarizing filters and how to get the most out of them.

A polarizing filter isn’t absolutely essential for waterfall photography. If you want to travel light or keep costs down, you can skip it. But we’d really recommend having one with you.

Here’s the one we use:
Urth CPL Filter

Using a polarizing filter and ND filter together

You can screw both filters onto your lens at the same time. First, attach the polarizing filter to the lens thread and dial it in correctly (watch the video for how). Then screw the ND filter on top. Just be careful not to shift the polarizing filter’s position in the process.

Our tip: Check out our in-depth article on filter photography for a deeper look at the different filter types and even more practical advice on using them.

Camera settings for photographing waterfalls

Enough setup — here are our concrete waterfall photography tips.

Shoot in RAW

This advice applies to all photography, not just waterfalls. Shooting in RAW means your camera outputs raw files instead of JPEGs — files that contain significantly more image data.

If you plan to edit your photos afterward, always shoot in RAW. It gives you far more flexibility in post-processing because there’s simply so much more to work with.

If you don’t edit your photos, RAW isn’t the right choice. Stick with JPG. Many cameras also let you save both formats simultaneously if you’re not sure yet.

The right shutter speed

To give flowing water that silky veil look, you need a fairly long exposure. The exact time depends on how fast the water is moving, but shutter speeds of one to two seconds and longer are a good starting point.

On an overcast day, you may even be able to achieve this without an ND filter — just set your ISO as low as possible (e.g., 50 or 100) and close down your aperture (e.g., f/13) to let as little light as possible hit the sensor.

For exposures of several seconds to make the water look even milkier, you’ll need an ND filter. We often expose for up to 30 seconds.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Not only does every photo look different — since the water never flows exactly the same way twice — but different shutter speeds also change the overall feel of the image.

The right aperture

In landscape photography, you’ll typically work with a closed-down aperture to get the greatest possible depth of field.

For waterfall shots, that means setting your aperture somewhere between f/8 and f/13.

Want to understand aperture better? Our article How Your Camera’s Aperture Works breaks it all down clearly.

The right ISO

Set your ISO as low as your camera allows. For most cameras, that’s 100. Higher-end models often go down to 50, and some have 80 as their minimum.

The lower the ISO, the cleaner the image — which matters a lot on long exposures.

Turn off image stabilization

When shooting on a tripod, always turn off image stabilization first. Counterintuitively, leaving it on can actually cause blur. You can find out exactly why in point 9 of our article on blurry photos.

Tips for composition & light

Clouds are more than welcome

Believe it or not, overcast conditions are actually great for waterfall photography. When the sun isn’t shining directly on the water, you get softer, more even light — and fewer harsh reflections.

So if there’s no brilliant blue sky, don’t be disappointed. Your photos can still look absolutely stunning.

Avoid reflections

We touched on this above, but it’s worth repeating: always photograph waterfalls with a polarizing filter if you can. It cuts reflections on the water, leaves, and wet rocks — and makes a real difference in the final image.

Foreground

Depending on how dramatic the waterfall is, it can be worth deliberately including a foreground element in your shot.

That could be rocks sitting in the water, grass along the banks — maybe even a boat nearby. Get creative with it!

Including yourself in the shot

With waterfalls especially, having a person in the frame can look really spectacular. The challenge with long exposures, though, is staying still enough to appear sharp.

Here’s a little trick we use to make it work.

There are two options:
No. 1: If you appear very small in the frame, just try to hold as still as possible. This works surprisingly well.

In the photo below, Jenny held still for a full 30 seconds. If you zoom in close, you can spot a tiny bit of blur — but at normal viewing size, it’s barely noticeable. A seated position helps a lot, since you naturally sway less when sitting than when standing.

No. 2: The second option takes a bit more effort, but guarantees a sharp result. You take two separate photos: first, the waterfall alone using a long exposure; then the waterfall with the person in front of it using a very short shutter speed.

Afterward, layer both images in your photo editing software, cut the person out of the regular shot, and drop them into the long-exposure image. Just make sure both frames are shot from exactly the same position — with a tripod, that’s easy.

Long exposure isn’t always necessary

Honestly, you don’t have to use a long exposure at all. The silky veil effect is beautiful, but it’s not the only way to show a waterfall at its best.

The waterfall below was shot handheld — no ND filter, no tripod, just a polarizing filter. Sometimes a straight shot captures the scene just as well. It really depends on the waterfall and what you want to convey.