A few tips to capture lakes and rivers
Take great care to use a wide aperture. A wide aperture will ensure maximum depth of field. Depth of field is the range in front of and behind a subject in focus, within which parts of the image appear sharp. Aperture refers to the size of the hole in the front of the lens that lets light in.
Choose a wide aperture. If you have an 18 – 70mm lens, the most common focal length for a beginner, an aperture of f/3.5 would be ideal for shooting lakes and rivers. This means the depth of field will be around 6 – 7 inches. If you were to narrow this to f/2.8, the depth of field would be about 2 inches. So, when you’re shooting wide open you have an abundance of the bokeh (the blur) you love.
A tripod is a must. Even when you’re using a slow shutter speed, the movement of the boat or the current can cause your camera to vibrate slightly. Using a tripod will stop this motion, making your pictures less blurry.
Shoot in RAW mode. When you’re shooting in RAW mode, the camera will automatically create the perfect settings for the scene. This means you’ll get the best quality images, as your camera will be capturing all the details in the image. The downside to shooting in RAW mode is that it takes a lot more time to process your photos, however if you’re planning to edit your images, then it’s definitely worth it!
To get the best results, we recommend shooting in RAW mode, and if you want to speed things up, you could use Adobe Lightroom to edit your images.
Get creative. You don’t have to stick to photographing boats or rivers. You could also shoot them in other ways, such as shooting them underwater, or from a bridge.
Lake Photography Ideas
