This image comes from a freehand single shot during my last excursion along the dolomites. It is beautiful to see how the light filters through the mountains, leaving behind you a glimpse of a blue sky veiled with rays of yellow lights
Although from a first glance the forest and the mountains may seem on the same level they are actually at two completely different depths and during my editing with Photoshop I tried to increase these visual differences by increasing the contrasts and adjusting the exposures in this sense
I tried to let the viewer focus his attention on the scenery at the bottom but without decreasing the importance of what constitutes the forest at the foot of the mountain
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
As said at the beginning of this post this is a single shot, so for this photo I did not do digital blending but I only used the luminosity masks to correct lights, contrast and colors
I increased the light effect coming through the sky with dodge and burn and I launched orton effect as I usually do in every my lanscape. After a small push up of yellows tones, I decreased the blacks and the shadows in order to give more prominence to the mountain
With the use of clone stamp tool, I removed some bushes on the bottom of the picture that moves attention away and I manually create a vignette using the glow tool you can find insid my TTS Pro panel
I increased the colors increasing vibrance and a small decrease of expoure as last touch
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During this shot the sun was lowering in the sky and the colors of the sunset began, I captured the vertical scene to give the viewer a greater sense of movement between the waterfall and the mountain
This photo spot come next to the lake photographed in my last post, in fact I found this small artificial waterfall very close to the lake, probably the waterfall is used as energy source, the small costruction maybe is a energy cabin
I used a bridge that passed over it to benefit from a facilitated composition to portray both the flow of the waterfall and all the beautiful scenery that was behind it
I used a 3 stop ND filter since the light was not very strong I only tried to apply a filter that could give me more exposure without lengthening the exposure times too much
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
I blended the shots using TTS Pro using auto blend darks function, than painting the darker areas with luminosity masks in order to recover the exposure in the darker areas using the brighter exposure
I made some adjustmesnts using clone stamp tool and I fixed perspective on the house, increased the sunset colors appliyng a warm filter to luminosity masks and increasing the highlights into the sun direction
After adding orton effect I applied dodge and burn with a warm brush over the water and on the rocks on the foreground. I lightened some other spot of the image using luminosity masks increasing darks and some highlights
As final touch I incresed the vibrance colors of the frame reducing the opacity to 60%
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In the splendid setting of the Alps I took advantage of every single shot and moment of light that I had available, it was a beutiful excursion and a very prolific day from a photographic point of view. I made this shot using a large root of a tree that protruded from the ground around the frozen lake with the mountain in the background to complete the scenery
Here too, as in my two previous photos, I shot with the focus stacking technique, then first capturing a series of shots for the foreground and then a new series of shots for the mountain in the background. The result is a shot completely in focus, you can find more information on this technique in my article dedicated to how to use focus stacking with exposure bracketing
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
The processing was very similar to the latest of this series, I firstly blended the shots with respective focus, than I blended the two groups of images using focus stacking technique
With the use of TTS Pro I added details and contrast to the frame, than I increased warm lights with a warm filter applied to luminosity masks. I launched orton effect, than I fixed lights and contrasts using again luminosity masks around the main point of interests such as highlights and dark shadows
With the use of dodge and burn I lighten the root in order to give more appearance to the eye of the viewer, I also lightened the trees below the mountain and given more prominence to the sunlight reflections on the ice
I increased the colour vibrance and the autumn colour look using the specific effect you can find in my free panel
As final touch I darkened the the lawn area around the roots to give greater prominence to the central figure of the photo
I hope you will find this usefull! I’m happy to ear this from you!
I know, there are many photos that I am posting every week of this place and its surroundings but the situations I found with light, ice, colours and great points of view was very very interesting
Compared to last week’s shot I shot a few tens of meters but as you can see for yourself the main subject remains the same. Here too I benefited from large and interesting colors in the sky not quite the classical golden hour time, a sign that in the mountains there are many hours during the day where you can shoot with great colours during the day
Also here as for the previous shot I used the focus stacking technique with multi exposure, so I captured a bracketing series with a focus on the foreground and a bracketing series with the focus on the mountain subject in order to blend the “two series of shots” togheder
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
To use the focus stacking technique I digital blended the shots with foreground using TTS Pro than I repeated the same process for the shots with mountain focused, after this I merged the two series togheder using focus stacking function on Photoshop
I fixed the highlights using luminosity masks, than I regulated contrast and colours. With dodge and burn I regulated all the lighting around the mountain, the forest below it but also in the reflections of the lake and on the rock
With my glow tool and the use of a brush with warm colors I emphasized the colors on the rocks of the sun and on the ice around them
After this I increased details and sharpness removing the effect in the unwanted areas using a simple layer mask and a black brush
Also for this shot I applied two different kinds of orton effect: the first is the classic orton effect decreased to the opacity to 15% and the second is the orton effect dark, that emphatize the dark tones of the image this time reduced in the opacity by 10%
I also decreased a bit the whole exposure of the shot, to create more atmosphere in this view
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Here we are still in my location of the last posts, this time with a vertical shot, in this photo I captured the icy foreground on this beautiful lake. I love the vertical angle precisely because of the perspectives that the light can give to the viewer
In my post Afterlight I told you about the light that was present in this location and the lighting that filtered through the mountains, in that circumstance I was able to capture a beautiful moment of light that hit the lake giving magnificent golden reflections
Here instead I tried to shoot a different scene more focused on perspectives and depth. I love this mountain scenery, the ice, the colors of the sky and those of the ice. I can’t wait to leave again for new winter destinations soon, I will update you on the subject as always
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
For this image I used the focus stacking technique, I blended the exposure with foreground in focus than the other exposure series with the mountain both using TTS Pro with my filters, after this I blended the shots for focus stacking
I increased details using my panel, I increased the level of yellow tones to give more light at the sunset applying a warming filter to luminosity masks.
Subsequently I added two types of orton effect: the first was the classic orton effect decreased to the opacity to 15% and the second was the orton effect dark, that emphatize the dark tones of the image… you can fin both filters inside my panel
I fixed the contrast and lights using luminosity masks, and helping myself with a brush in a new layer I lightened some dark areas of the picture and given more light to the highlights and clouds
As last touch I created a soft vignette to give more attention to the ice subject on the foreground
I hope you will find this informations usefull! I love to ear feedback from you!
During my photographic trips it often happens to be in the places that have waterfalls nearby and every time I don’t miss the opportunity to go and visit some of them. The reason for this is that in addition to their natural beauty and charm of the fullness of nature they have an incredible variety
Waterfalls also represent an incredible photographic spot for every landscape photographer for the context in which they are often inserted and for the possibility of photographing them from multiple angles, radically changing the perspective and the sensations that are transmitted to the viewer
So in this article we will see all you need to know to photograph waterfalls starting from necessary equipments up to shooting tips
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Tripod: One of the essential requirements for every long exposure shot is a sturdy tripod, when using the tripod in the field always consider the slippery surfaces that are around the falls, explore the position well to find the right pov
Lenses: in most cases it happen to photograph the falls with the help of a wide angle lenses, these lenses are the best to include as much as possible of the scenery around the waterfall and allows to create good compositions with foreground, rocks, water etc. It is also interesting trying different angles, for example with 24-70 (it depends on the waterfall) to have a closer look of the scene
ND Filters: this is the part of your gear that in many cases manages to give that extra touch to the movement of your waterfall. It is not required a strong ND because the waterfalls are almost always found in wooded areas and with not too strong lighting, a 3 – 6 stop is usually what I use most
At the same time happened to me to photograph waterfalls even without any filter to catch the movement in a different way or simply because I liked the flow of water as it was
Waterfall captured without ND Fiters
SHOOT IN THE RIGHT MOMENT
Unlike many landscapes, waterfall photography can be done in different conditions, if usually in landscape photography you try to avoid gray and flat skies or rainy days, these are instead the ideal days to take the waterfalls. So cloudy day will helps so much to create a natural soft light to your waterfall
It is also possible to photograph waterfalls in sunny days to take advantage of the sunlight that filters through the leaves of the vegetation to have beautiful light effects, in this cases you have to pay attention to the water reflections and avoid to keep them too overexposed or creating too much contrasted areas
Waterfall captured during Sunset
CAMERA SETUP
Iso: Since you’re using a tripod to photograph waterfalls use the lowest ISO possible, this will reduce the noise and capture the most dynamic range
Shutter Speed: The key is to use slows shutter speed, I usually move through f13 or f18 it depends of what filter I am using for the shot, I try to avoid diaphragms totally closed to for this kind of photo unless it should also include sun spikes
Manual Mode and Manual Focus: If you are using ND filters on waterfall, manual mode is a must because the camera didn’t always choose the aperture I needed to get the right depth of field.
Manual Focus it is a very important requirement to have the sharpest images possible, it constitutes that added value to your landscape photography, to better master manual focus read this article
Waterfall composition example
Compose the Waterfall Scene: This is the most important point, composing the frame doesn’t mean simply photography a waterfall but capture it’s movement, the envinroments that composed it. Every waterfall has a lot of vegetation, rocks, trees, leaves around it. The goal is to capture an image that includes the waterfall within the context in which it is located, this will make the image much more interesting for the viewer
Always Watch Highlights: In waterfall photography the water probably will be your primary subject, so the best choice will be to expose to the waterfall in order to control the highlights on the water. Always check the instogram to control the shot and avoid too much underexposed/overexposed areas
Freeze Trees: Capturing one shot of the scene without the use of filters or long exposures is important for having a static image of the waterfall and its surroundings. Waterfalls are often in wooded environments full of leaves and trees that can move and move with the wind making all the leaves fuzzy. Capturing one or more shots in this way will allow you to replace the blurry areas in post processing
In this image I used the exposure to save the trees from movement
Bonus Post Processing Tip: A general tip for post processing waterfall is to take the highlights down, usually I do the same but in camera Raw I balance this using white points. I capture the scene with multiple exposures in order to blend images, for example with trees as I described above or to darken or lighten properly the exposures using digital blending or luminosity masks
If you haven’t already download my free luminosity masks panel to make your workflow easier and start using it on your next waterfall shot
I took this photo earlier than my last posted last week. In this photo I wanted instead to take a larger part of the frame by going to directly insert the reflection of the sun also inside the water
I absolutely love the winter scenery on mountain lakes, here conditions change continuously and every shot can give you totally different look
I closed the shutter to catch the spikes of the sun with the help of a series of shots taken later to eliminate the lens flare, some time ago I also wrote an article that I recommend you read on the topic: 5 useful tips to shoot into the sun direction
Putting the hand on the sun on the camera is a great way to have a shot without any lens flare, this allows you to have a clean shot very usefull to mask out all flares
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
I digital blended the exposure using TTS Pro, the blend focused mainly on lightening the shadows using the overexposed shot
As I saied on top I used the shot without reflections to eliminate the lens flare on the water and around the rock on the right
I increased the detail by removing the effect on the water, then I added a slight orton effect as I do in practically all my images
Always using my panel, I fixed contrast using luminosity masks applied to curves, I increased the color vibrance and I pushed up sun warmth by applying luminosity masks to a warming filters
As last steps I added a small vignette and pushed up the shadows using luminosity masks
I hope you will find this informations usefull! I like and I’m avaiable to ear feedback from you!
I have a beautiful remember of this afternoon when I went to this lake, the light was fantastic and the sun peeked through the clouds and the mountains
I have long been looking for a spot where I could take the beautiful reflections of the lake and I waited for the moment that the light filtered through the clouds, the colors of the lake that changed in the sunlight were beautiful and made the atmosphere warm and magical
The light intervals were really fast and I happened to lose some of them but I managed to capture this moment, the light coming from the left was much stronger than what is shown in the photo, I eliminated the lens flare using layer mask with the other expousure taken before
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
Although I captured the scene in different moments of light the result of this photo is not a digital blending, I used the other shots to remove lens flare and light imperfections of the main shot but basically I worked on a single shot
I started with a variation of colors increasing the warm tones, then I raised the details by removing the effect on the reflections of the water
With orton effect I increase the sense of softness of the scene to mitigate the strongness of details throught the trees and on the mountains, I raised up the light using dodge an burn and fixed the contrast using curves applied to luminosity masks
I darkened the scene increasing the purple tones, as last step I increased sharpness on the mountain peaks and on the branches of the trees
I hope you will find this usefull. I like to ear this from you!
During my last trip in Carinthia I visited many of the famous lakes that distinguish this area in Austria. Mostly these are large swimming lakes, with very interesting views of the mountains, but what you see in the picture was what fascinated me most
I’m talking about the famous Faaker lake, on my arrival I was impressed by the incredible silence that was heard in the clearing, only the noise that I heard was the ducks bathing in the distance, I walked on the shore for a few time until I found this point of view with these moorings for boats
I started taking some test shots until over time the sky brought out the beautiful colors of the golden hour, coloring not only the clouds behind the mountains but the whole body of water of the lake where the sky was perfectly reflected
I tried both compositions both vertical and horizontal but the vertical one was the one that gave greater depth to the photo and greater movement also thanks to the leaf that was at the bottom
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
I blended my exposures using digital blending, after this I edited colors to give more emphasis to yellows and golden hour colours. I increased details and contrast in order to let the image result less flat
I added orton effect to create a dreamy look and make the image more pop, after some adjustments using luminosity masks on the exposure and highlights I used dodge an burn on the poles and on the leaf in order to give more result and make them less dark
I added a soft vignette to darked the lower part of the picture and give more sense of depth on the whole picture
I always hope you will find this usefull. I like to ear this from you!
Here is my first photo published in 2020, for this image I resume the location of my last photo published, I am talking about the beautiful Dolomites and its incredibles scenery
These are the waterfalls of Fanes, imposing waterfalls that are located inside a gorge and can only be reached through a wide climb on the promontory which must be followed by an equally descent to see them from below
I photographed the waterfalls from the top of the promontory in front of me in order to portray as much as possible the flow of water from the source to the end
The same atmosphere of the low clouds can be seen in the upper part of the photo above the trees giving them a mysterious look
WORKFLOW EXPLANATION
I blended the shots using digital blending to create the image to work on, the final bled is not so much far from the original shot, I just take some point of the brighter exposure to give more lights around the rock and to increase the softness of the water
I increased the yellow colours applying a warmer filter to the highlights through luminosity masks, after this details was increased using TTS Pro details effects
I fixed contast and lights around the rocks, after this I pushed up some colours like the autumn colours and the end of the waterfall to better look the amazing blue colour of the water
I also created a small vignette to give more darkness of the area around the waterfall and concentrate the viewer’s eye on the waterfall
I hope you will find this usefull. I always love to ear this from you!
Hi, my name is Giuseppe Sapori, a professional photographer and author of this website, created by yours truly to show my work and share with you the techniques I use. My expertise is in the field of Landscape Photography... (Read More)
