Moving Water

Transparent Falls

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is, “How do you photograph water to make it look like that?”

The answer is quite simple if you understand how a camera works. I use a tripod and long shutter speeds. How long of shutter speed? That depends on how much water is flowing and how smooth do you want it to look. That is the part that takes experience and vision. If you don’t know what you want it to look like, then it really doesn’t matter, but if you know, then you must practice and practice and practice. That is the concept that I find difficult to teach. Many students just want me to tell them what and how to shoot, but I don’t operate that way. I want my students to learn to make good decisions so that when I am not around to answer them, they can come up with their own decisions.
I am currently teaching a unit on basic exposure, apertures and shutter speeds. I am finding that the students who take the time to go out and photograph catch on quickly and those that don’t struggle. It is that simple. Practice and you’ll get it, but don’t and you won’t.