Greer Spring Branch – Exposure 13 seconds @ f22 ISO 200 polarizer filter
Often when we’re making photos of moving water it’s desirable to create a “creamy, flowing” look to the water. This is a very popular look and easy to do! Here are some guidelines to get you started!
1) Shoot when the light levels are low – early or late in the day, preferably in a shaded environment. Bright sun and extreme contrast create all sorts of problems and challenges.
2) Using a tripod is a must. A cable release is also a great accessory to use.
3) I shoot in Manual exposure mode and recommend doing so as this allows you complete control and the ability to make subtle changes to the exposure easily.
4) Start with a very low ISO setting – 100 or 200.
5) On most landscape type photos you’ll want a lot of depth of field so select an f-stop in the f16 or f22 range.
6) I recommend using a polarizer for two main reasons – one is to control the reflections in the water. You don’t want to eliminate them totally, so rotate the polarizer until you have reduced the reflections to the level you like. The second reason is to allow you to increase ( longer time ) your shutter speed to allow the moving water to create a blur. Remember, the polarizer drops your exposure time by two stops so this accessory is very helpful.
7) Personally I don’t use the light meter. I just select a shutter speed at random. You’ll want something into the several second range and make a test exposure. I’m not necessarily judging the amount of blur at this point, but rather looking for a proper exposure. I will then move the shutter speed up or down until my exposure looks good.
8) Once the exposure is proper I then gauge the amount of blur in the water. Is it to much? To little? At this point I use two variables to tweak the amount of blur. If I want more blur, that means I need a longer shutter speed so adjust this control incrementally in one stop moves ( say from 2 sec to 4 sec ). To compensate for this you’ll need to either stop your lens down an equal amount ( say from f16 to f22 ) or lower your ISO by one stop. If you need a larger move in these values to get the blur you want you’ll probably have to then add a Neutral Density filter. These come in various strengths as well as a version that can be dialed in to different levels of light absorption ( 2 stops/4 stops/8 stops/etc ). The reason you may need this additional filter to get the blur you like is because you’ve bottomed out on your ISO and maxed out on your f-stop, so just moving your shutter speed to a longer setting would create more blur, but overexpose your photo.
What if you have to much blur? In this case you need to decrease (shorten) your shutter speed ( say from 4 secs to 2 sec ). To keep your exposure proper you’ll also then need to open up your f-stop ( from say f22 to f16 ). Or leave the f-stop where it’s at and increase your ISO by one stop ( say from ISO 200 to ISO 400 ). Just make these moves in small steps and you’ll have exactly the exposure and amount of blur you want very easily.
9) I strongly recommend also bracketing your exposures to be sure you have the optimum exposure values in the scene. Also, shoot the scene at different shutter speeds to give you a variety of different blurs. Of course, as you make these shutter speed changes, if shooting in manual mode you’ll need to adjust the f-stop and / or ISO to keep your exposures proper while allowing you to obtain different levels of blur in the water.
10) Finally, as for composition, look for something to utilize as your main subject. Sometimes it may be the water itself. But often a powerful photo can result from having a moss covered rock, or as in the photo above, a fallen branch, as the main subject that the blurred water flows around.
My thanks to the Author Michael Schlueter..
Author: Launched in 2010, Michael now teaches and leads Photo Workshops focused on Landscape, Nature, Travel, and High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography in addition to his commercial shooting.
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