Photo by Steve Berardi
Waterfalls are one of my favorite things to photograph. They’re so simple, yet so beautiful. It’s usually the immense contrast that attracts me to a waterfall–the color of the white water contrasting with dark rocks and green moss. Together, they create such a pleasing sight!
Some of the same principles of landscape photography apply to waterfall photos as well, but there are a few other things to keep in mind when composing waterfalls:
Shoot at an angle
Most waterfalls look a lot more dramatic when viewed from an angle, rather than straight-on. Naturally, we want to be in the center of everything when we look at it, but before you set up that tripod, walk around the entire waterfall and look through your viewfinder at different angles.
As an example, here’s a photo of one of my favorite local waterfalls, Sturtevant Falls (located in Angeles National Forest) that was taken directly in front of the waterfall:
Photo by Steve Berardi
And, here’s a photo of the same waterfall, but taken at a different angle:
Photo by Steve Berardi
Can you see the dramatic difference?
Get in closer
Sometimes a waterfall is just too massive to capture it all with a photograph, or it’s just too small to have a dramatic look. In either case, try getting in closer and zooming in on a small part of the waterfall, instead of trying to capture the whole thing.
Living in Los Angeles, I’m fortunate enough to have many waterfalls close by, but most of them are just little trickles, like this one (Millard Canyon Falls):
Photo by Steve Berardi
Although I like the photo above, I think this close-up below is much better:
Photo by Steve Berardi
Include foreground elements
In an earlier article I mentioned the importance of a foreground in landscape photographs, and waterfalls are no exception. Most of the time, a waterfall photo can be dramatically improved just by including a foreground.
Here’s a photo I took of Wahclella Falls, from the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon:
Photo by Steve Berardi
And, here’s a photo of the same waterfall, but with a foreground this time:
Photo by Steve Berardi
Notice how adding a foreground can help add depth, and make the viewer feel more like they’re actually there, instead of just looking at a photo.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree about the inclusion of a foreground but the last two photos illustrating your point would be more pleasing (to me) if that big boulder were not there. I am completely drawn to that instead of the waterfall. It is distracting. Now some people don’t believe in Photoshopping something that large and integral out of the shot, so I would suggest nest time to just roll it out of the way
It would make a mighty good splash to photograph!
@Reno, there’s always been something I didn’t like about that photograph, and I was never able to pinpoint what it was, but I think you just found it! I agree, that boulder is kind of distracting. Here’s another shot of the same waterfall, without the boulder