How to take stunning waterfall photos with your iPhone
Waterfalls are fantastic photo subjects. Whenever I travel, I always plan my route, so I can photograph one or two waterfalls on my route. In this waterfall photography tutorial, I'll share a few tips and photography techniques that will turn your waterfall photos taken on iPhone from pure snapshots to awesome memories.
Tips for taking Photos of Waterfalls with iPhone
The following tips for waterfall photography with iPhone are from previous trips. I’ve linked the apps and trips in the respective chapters.
Try Taking a Long Exposure
By taking a long exposure photo of a waterfall, you'll create a silky water effect. But as the iPhone camera does not support long exposure photography, you'll need a third-party app for such photos. In a previous blog post, you'll find several ways how to take a long exposure photo with iPhone.
Here's an example of a waterfall photo I took in Berlin. Yes, there's a waterfall in the middle of the city at the Viktoria Park. Learn where to find and about a few places to take great photos it in my blog post about photo spots in Berlin.
Long exposure photo of a waterfall in Berlin. Shot on iPhone 7 Plus using Slow Shutter Cam App
I took this photo using an iPhone 7 Plus with the Slow Shutter Cam app set to a shutter speed of 2 seconds. To avoid camera shake, I mounted the iPhone to the ultraportable Gorillapod tripod for iPhone.
Photograph People or Animals next to a waterfall
To convey the size of a waterfall, photograph the waterfall from a distance and try to capture people, animals or objects with a known size next to the waterfall. I did that in Ireland to illustrate the sheer size of the Gleninchaquin Waterfall in Kerry
Gleninchaquin Waterfall in Ireland
Visit my blog post about photo spots in Ireland to get more inspiration for your next Ireland trip.
Look for Rainbows next to a Waterfall
Depending on the weather and wind conditions, you may see rainbows next to a waterfall, which makes a great photo. The best chance for photographing a rainbow at a waterfall is when the sun shines and a light wind blows.
If you can't see a rainbow, try to change your perspective, but have your iPhone ready. Rainbows next to waterfalls appear and disappear quickly.
To capture the rainbow at the Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland, I had to climb quite a few stairs to get to the top of the hill.
Rainbow at the Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland. Shot on iPhone 6 Plus.
Get Behind the Waterfall
Here's another photo I took in Iceland. It's the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. If you look towards the waterfall, there's a small path to the right which takes you on a round trip behind the waterfall. You'll be able to get great photos from there.
Walk behind a waterfall
But be careful. Rocks next to waterfalls are usually slippery, and the soil is muddy.
Shoot from a Low Angle
Try to show from a low angle If you photograph a waterfall with the creek and numerous rocks in the foreground. This highlights the roughness of the foreground.
Such a photo is a great candidate for a fine art black and white edit. I made this edit using Lightroom Mobile on iPhone. To try that, please head to my blog post about how to convert a photo to black and white using Lightroom Mobile.
Summary
Waterfalls are fantastic photo subjects. My two favorite photo techniques for waterfalls are either to either capture people, animals or subjects to convey its size. Or to shoot from a low angle to emphasize the rough landscape with rocks and the water as a foreground.
I use a long exposure mainly for photographing smaller waterfalls.
