I was recently asked, by an entrant into our 2021 Q3 draw for a $640 photoshoot: how do I make waterfalls look like they are in slow-motion?

What an awesome question - and while this is not something we often do for our work here with Studio Lumen (there is a blog post about how we use shutter speed for our work, but it doesn't address making waterfalls look smooth - it's more about people photos), using shutter speed like that to create a 'smooth water' look, is something that I (Jean-Marc), have done a lot of in the past (check my personal website here for some). And since I love sharing photography tips (and it was a blog entry that wrote itself when I replied!) here it is for posterity.

The key to smooth water is a slow shutter speed - and by slow, I mean anywhere from 1-2 seconds, to 20 minutes or more. So here are a few additional tips on making water look glassy:

• You must use a sturdy tripod.
• Use a remote shutter release, that is, a cable you attach to the camera to press the shutter button, will help to ensure that everything except the water is sharp - by removing and camera shake when you hit the button.
• Adjust your exposure so that your shutter speed is at least 1s long, depending on the water you're photographing
• The faster the water is moving, the less time you need.
• Typically that means changing your settings to a low ISO, and a very high f-stop (aperture) number.
• If it is super bright out, you might need what is called a 'Neutral Density filter' on your lens, to darken the whole image down so you can achieve the slow shutter speeds with the other settings you have available.

Hopefully that's helpful! If you have any questions feel free to email us or leave a comment! Til next time