3 replies to this topic

[beastinem]

This post will be riddled with beginner questions I'm sure, so please bare with me as I am just now starting to use my Nikon D3100 and learning about specific DSLR lingo such as the shutter speed, iso, aperture, etc. and how they all affect the quality of a photo.

 

My fiance and I just returned from a weekend trip to GA/NC to do some hiking and see some waterfalls in the area. I came across a quick tutorial while we were out on how to get the silky smooth effect of the water on a waterfall. I was really excited about it, especially when I discovered the guide feature of the D3100 and the "show water flowing" feature of the camera. I shot all these amazing pics....or so I thought!!! I get back to the hotel and 95% of the pictures were garbage. Either the water was too bright and blurred, or the surrounding area was blurred, or BOTH! I am so bummed as we have returned home and the only decent pics I have of the trip are few and far between. And on the other hand, my fiance took tons of pics with her Sony a6000 mirrorless camera and got all these great shots.

 

So, I am not sure what went wrong. I have been watching some videos and now I'm not sure if all my pics turned out so terribly because I was using the kit lens (AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm), maybe because I didn't use a tripod or set the camera on a steady surface, because I didn't use some sort of filter, was it my ISO settings, so many possibilities and I have no idea what went wrong??

 

I guess my question is, has anybody here shot some really good waterfall pics using the Nikon D3100 and kit lens only? What mode did you shoot in? And if so, do you know of a good tutorial video that you could refer me to?

 

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[leighgion]

You described the situation very thoroughly, so it's immediately apparent what the problem was. 

 

You wanted something along these lines, right?

 

Back to the Falling Water by Leigh, on Flickr

 

The Underfall by Leigh, on Flickr

 

You knew the type of shot you wanted of the waterfall, but you didn't understand the nature of the technique to get it. In order to get that smooth look to the water, it's necessary to use a slow shutter speed to capture the motion of the flowing water. However, by definition, this means the camera is also capturing any other motion like branches waving in the breeze, things moving through the frame or... the hands holding the camera.

 

For this type of shot, you need a tripod so the camera stays steady. Your lens, ISO, filters, etc, are irrelevant to this problem. It's a pure matter of stability. 

 

The general rule of thumb for shutter speeds is that if all possible, not to try to handhold a shutter speed slower than the reciprocal of your focal length i.e. 1/50th of a sec for 50mm. This isn't a hard and fast rule, as skill and situation can allow you hold steady at slower speeds, but there's a human limit. In order to get the smooth water effect, you're looking at least going to 1/4th of a sec and quite probably several seconds. 

 

So, next time you want to do the smooth water effect, bring a tripod and also, check your shots to make sure nothing is going badly sideways. There was no need to shoot blind the whole day only to be disappointed by everything at the end of the day. 

[ScottinPollock]

And sometimes (bright sunlight) a ND filter comes in handy to get that shutter speed at the desired aperture.

[jpere8]

As a newbie. The key things for me was a tripod. You can’t do long exposure pictures w out a tripod or placing camera on something flat. The Filters are going to be my next purchase too as I have seen some great pictures when it’s too bright to get the picture you want.