Slow motion waterfall - high or low shutter speeds?

M

Martin.G

Well-known member
So, i like waterfalls and plan to shoot some. I will test properly when i get the time, but until then i am curious if perhaps someone else has tested slow motion with various shutter speeds.

What i am thinking about is appearent in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCQwp25Do64

You can see how the shutter speed decides if the water either looks like a beautiful veil going down the waterfall, or if it will look like ripples and droplets in chaotic motion.

Im curious if a veiled slow motion will look worse than a crisp shot with 400, or even 600 shutterspeed.

Has anyone done some tests and care to show?
 
I would think that you'd want to avoid the digital frozen motion just from a purely aesthetic point of view. If you're going to be shooting real slow-motion, as in 240fps or higher, then you're going to want to be able to see that it's water, that it has form, but that it's still moving. I'd start with a shutter speed that is double your frame rate and adjust from there to your own personal taste.
 
From my perspective, seeing each and every water droplet falling in slow motion really exemplifies the slow motion effect. Using a very slow shutter speed really takes away the character of a slow motion capture and becomes more of an artistic expression. Pick your intention.
 
cuervo said:
From my perspective, seeing each and every water droplet falling in slow motion really exemplifies the slow motion effect. Using a very slow shutter speed really takes away the character of a slow motion capture and becomes more of an artistic expression. Pick your intention.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i was hunting for an artistic effect. Maybe related visually to that of the stills photography world, where an extra long shutter makes the water dreamy.


I finally got around to shoot a little today. Tested 1/100, 1/300, 1/425. No grading, other than curves.
 
Waterfalls is what I do. I normally shoot at 1/60 and 1/120 shutter speed depending if I am set at 30fps or 60fps. Sometimes I slow clips down in post to get a slow motion effect. At 1/120 it results in some cool frozen drops look. Other times in post I add a motion blend filter to get the swirly look in the water reminiscent of still photography using long exposure times. No way is the right way. Just continue to experiment as you are doing. You can check out some of these looks on my Vimeo channel at http://vimeo.com/channels/3523
 
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