Prerequisites:
Understanding the exposure triangle
Experience in ‘Manual’ mode
You can see it in fine art photographs everywhere: a smooth, dreamy quality to a body of water. Unlike the harsh and crunchy appearance of most smartphone snapshots, the water in these fine art images takes on a fantasy-like artistic look. How do photographers get that magical silky effect? It’s actually quite simple: with a medium to long exposure, we can blur the movement of the water into a velvety texture. Today we’ll look at how exactly to “soften” moving water: the gear needed to pull off the shot, just how “long” the exposure needs to be in different situations, and some side effects and pitfalls to avoid in the process.
The East River in New York City is tidal and always moving, even on the calmest day. Softening the water requires a long exposure of 15 seconds or more. Notice the blurring effect the long exposure has on the moving clouds. Canon 5D III | EF 24-70 f/2.8L II | Aperture f/16 | Shutter 60” | ISO 100
GEAR
The technique to soften water is in controlling the shutter speed and the most important item aside from your camera and lens is a sturdy tripod. You may also want to bring a polarizer and a neutral density filter, especially for daytime shots. A remote shutter trigger is a convenient tool and a back-saving device when your camera is positioned low to the ground. Finally, a rain cover for your camera is good idea when shooting by water — especially near waterfalls or breaking waves.
HOW LONG IS “LONG”?
Sure, we know the trick to softening water is in a slow shutter speed and long exposure but what exactly do we mean by “long”? That answer really depends on a number of variables, but as a rule of thumb, any shutter speed that is too slow for a hand-held in-focus shot can be considered a long exposure. I can see some of you rolling your eyes — “just give me a number!” — so for the sake of simplicity let’s say 1/15 of a second up to 1 second is a medium length exposure, and anything over 1 second is “long”.
“That’s quite a range” (another eye roll) — it sure is, and there’s a certain amount of experimentation needed to arrive at the optimal shutter speed for a given shot. It’s also the case that two exposures of the same scene can look quite different even at the same shutter speed.
TECHNIQUE
A good tripod is essential to pulling this off, so ensure your camera is mounted and stable before you begin. Put your camera in manual mode and set the aperture to a narrow f-stop such as f/16 or f/22. Set your ISO to its lowest native setting (100 for most Canon cameras; 64, 100, or 160 for different Nikon bodies). Evaluate how fast the water is moving relative to the camera and dial in a shutter speed of a few seconds to start. Look at your exposure meter — if the scene is underexposed, you can open the aperture a bit wider or increase the ISO. If the scene is overexposed, shorten the shutter time a bit. In bright daytime scenes it may be necessary to use a neutral density filter in order to achieve the desired shutter speed. Adjust the shutter speed until the water is softened to taste. Take several exposures and choose the best one.
The “crunchy” water look is typical of smartphones and cameras in Automatic mode. The camera is shooting with a fast shutter speed in order to ensure a sharp image — which is the right thing to do in most situations. It doesn’t know we want an artistic effect in the water. Sony QX100 with iPhone | Aperture f/4 | Shutter 1/640 | ISO 160
The key to softening water is to understand how quickly the water is moving relative to your point of view. When the relative movement is fast, you don’t need as long of an exposure because you capture more movement (and thus blur) in a given amount of time. When the water movement is slow, a longer shutter speed is required to smooth out the texture. Be careful to consider the relative movement of the water, not the objective speed. For example, a moderately flowing stream might be visually quite rapid if you position the camera low and close to the water. In other words, the water moves across the frame quickly. On the other hand, a lake in the background of the image could be churning in the wind, but because of it’s distance, the water is not moving much at all relative to your point of view. This would require a lengthier exposure.
Fibrous streaks are a variation of softened water. In this image the camera is positioned on the bank low and just inches from the gushing stream. A modest shutter speed of 1/5 of a second is all it takes to achieve the silky tendrils in the image. A CPL filter (aka circular polarizer) will help to reduce the reflective glare on wet rocks. Canon 5DSR | EF 24-70 f/2.8L II | Aperture f/22 | Shutter 1/5” | ISO 100 | B&W Circular Polarizer
Sometimes we prefer a more fibrous look to the water, especially in rapids and waterfalls. The recipe for this effect is still in the shutter speed, but in this case longer is not necessarily better. You want to blur the water just enough to soften the crunchy look at you would achieve with a fast shutter speed. A medium shutter speed — somewhere between 1/15 and 1 second will usually produce this effect.
Less is more: a long exposure will turn the stream into a milky mess and potentially blow out the highlights. This image was shot with a 1 second exposure — not especially long — and has already exceeded the ideal shutter speed. The mill is well exposed but the water is too frothy and some of the trees in the background show motion blur. Sony A7RII | 24-70mm f/4 | Aperture f/22 | Shutter 1” | ISO 100
SIDE EFFECTS
Long exposures can sometimes result in odd or undesirable effects in images. Remember that a long exposure will create motion blur — this is how we soften water — and that blur will affect any moving object in the image. On a windy day bushes and trees will sway, along with flags, traffic lights, boats, and even skyscrapers! Moving cars will appear as streaks of white and red when their lights are on. And clouds will lose their shape and become foggy strokes of whitish gray (sometimes this adds to the dreamy effect we achieve in softened water). There is a relatively easy way to control these unwanted effects, but it requires some work in post processing. First take the photo at the desired shutter speed to properly soften the water. Then, take a second photo with a much faster shutter speed (you will have to increase your ISO and/or widen your aperture) to ensure there is no unwanted blur in the trees / boats / moving items. Combine the two images in post processing.
Remember that softening water is an artistic technique that deliberately stretches the shutter speed. Have fun experimenting and soon you’ll enjoy the pleasing and professional looking images you create.