Photographing waterfalls: a practical guide
Waterfalls are the most forgiving dramatic subject in nature photography: they hold still, they're self-lighting in the right conditions, and one technique — controlling shutter speed — accounts for most of the difference between a snapshot and a print.
Shutter speed is the whole game
Fast shutter speeds (1/500s and up) freeze individual droplets — good for thundering volume. Slow speeds blur water into the classic silk: between 1/4 and 2 seconds covers most falls. Longer than a few seconds turns water into featureless fog, which works for some moods and ruins others.
Slow shutters need a steady camera. A small tripod is ideal; a rock, a railing, or a backpack works. Phones do this too — most have a long-exposure mode, and a 'live photo' converted to long exposure gets you the silk effect with zero gear.
Overcast beats sunshine
Bright sun on white water blows out highlights and drags harsh shadows across the canyon. An overcast sky is a giant softbox — even light, saturated greens, and no blown water. If you get sun anyway, shoot early or late when the fall is in shade, and expose for the water, not the rocks.
Spray management
Closer looks better right up until the lens is wet. Carry a microfiber cloth, wipe just before each shot, and start each composition with the lens cap on until you're set. A polarizing filter cuts glare off wet rock and deepens the water color — it's the one filter worth carrying.
Composition beyond the postcard
Shoot the obvious wide frame, then work: put a person in for scale, use the creek as a leading line, frame through foliage, go low over foreground water. Tiered falls often read better one tier at a time. The photos that stand out at a famous fall are never the one everyone takes from the sign.
Get the shot from where it's safe to stand. Wet rock at the lip of a drop has ended more photographers than any other terrain — no image is worth it.