Capturing the allure of waterfalls, nature’s splendid spectacle, can elevate wedding and engagement photography to new heights. The fusion of natural charm and the dynamic cascading water results in imagery that’s both stunning and unforgettable. To harness the full potential of this majestic backdrop in your wedding and portrait photography, here are several expert tips to guide you in making the most of a waterfall setting.

All of the images are provided by the photographers at Wedding Maps and used with their permission.

1. Use a Wide Angle Lens

To capture the grandeur of the waterfall, consider using a medium to wide-angle lens. This allows you to include more of the surrounding scenery and convey the vastness of the waterfall in relation to the couple.  Take a step back, zoom out, and try to include all of the natural beauty.

2. Under the Waterfall

If it’s safe and accessible, consider taking shots from under the waterfall. This perspective can add a dynamic and adventurous element to your photos.

3. In the Water

Consider having your couple get into the water if they’re willing. This can create intimate, unique, and dynamic shots with a touch of spontaneity.

4. Winter Waterfall Portraits

Don’t let cold weather deter you. Winter waterfalls can provide a stunning, icy backdrop, offering a different aesthetic from the usual greenery.

5. Golden Hour Photography

Shooting during the golden hour – just after sunrise or before sunset – can add a magical quality to your waterfall portraits, with soft, warm lighting.

6. Centered Composition

Try a centered composition with the couple in front of the waterfall, creating an effect where the water seems to flow towards them, symbolizing unity and continuity.

7. Portrait Orientation

Using a portrait orientation allows you to include the entire waterfall, emphasizing its height and majesty alongside the couple.

8. Long Exposure for Silky Waterfalls

Utilizing a long exposure technique when photographing waterfalls can transform the appearance of the water, making it look smooth and silky. This effect is achieved by allowing the camera’s shutter to stay open for an extended period, which captures the movement of the water over time, blending it into a continuous, fluid motion. This creates a dreamlike, ethereal quality in the photographs, where the water appears as a misty, gentle flow rather than a series of individual droplets. This technique not only highlights the waterfall as a serene and graceful element but also adds an artistic, almost painterly quality to the image.

9. Man-Made Waterfalls

Don’t overlook man-made waterfalls at hotels and wedding venues. They can provide a controlled yet beautiful setting for portraits.

10. Top of the Waterfall

If it’s safe and accessible, positioning your subjects at the top of the waterfall can offer a breathtaking perspective and a sense of adventure.

11. Embrace Splashes and Mist

The natural splashes and mist from the waterfall can introduce a spontaneous element to your photography. As the water cascades down, it creates a fine spray and droplets that catch the light, adding a dynamic and unpredictable quality to each shot. This mist can softly blur the surroundings, focusing attention on the subjects and creating a romantic, almost mystical atmosphere. Moreover, the splashes can capture moments of joy and playfulness, especially when the couple interacts with the water.

12. Action Poses

Try action poses with the waterfall as the backdrop. This can add a sense of movement and excitement to your shots.

13. Use a Bridge

If there’s a bridge over the waterfall, use it. It can provide a great vantage point and add depth to your compositions.

14. Foreground Elements

Incorporate foreground elements like rocks or foliage to create a sense of depth and frame your subjects within the landscape.

15. Elopement Photography

Waterfalls make for an incredibly romantic and memorable backdrop for elopement photography, emphasizing the intimacy and uniqueness of the occasion.

16. Engagement Photography

Similarly, use waterfalls to add a dramatic and romantic setting to engagement photos, showcasing the couple’s love in a stunning natural environment.

Conclusion

Waterfalls offer a versatile and spectacular setting for wedding and portrait photography. By using these tips, you can create breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime images that capture the essence of the couple’s special day amidst the beauty of nature.

Photographing Love by Kristina Wikle

Outdoor and On-Location Photography: How to Create Better Portraits and Make More Money

The Location Lighting Series

Love Color Collection: Vol I | Vol II | Vol III | B&W

Copyright lawsuits are expensive federal court litigations. Now, the Copyright Claims Board — CCB — is an alternative for disputes up to $30,000.

What is the CCB?

Basically, the Copyright Claims Board is small claims court for intellectual property issues under $30,000. It is a much easier and cost-effective way to resolve copyright disputes. Historically, copyright disputes are federal court actions. This is a time and dollar intensive process. Until the creation of the CCB, there was no alternative for relief in copyright violations. An infringement case usually starts at $250,000.

Who can use CCB?

CCB is for creators. Photography, music, writing, graphic design and other intellectual property owners can benefit when a controversy about copyright happens. The CCB is the place for you when your work is used without permission.

CCB is not a court

The Copyright Claims Board is voluntary. You can’t force someone to participate nor can anyone force you to. CCB participants are claimants or respondents.

Claimants file with the CCB. Respondents answer the filing. Claimants can use CCB or a file in a federal court. Respondents can choose to either participate in the CCB or opt-out.

CCB is lots cheaper

Using the Copyright Claims Board costs a whole lot less money and is much simpler than a federal copyright action. You do not need a lawyer in a CCB proceeding. The entire process happens online.

CCB claim requirements

You must have a valid copyright registration or have filed for one for the works involved in your claim. If you need to file a Copyright Claims Board claim, you can pay a fee to speed up your copyright registration.

More about CCB

Information about filing or responding to a CCB claim, the fees and more are in the CCB Handbook.

A second edition of More Than the Eye Can See – artist and event organizer Greg Smith’s exploration of the potential of the photographic medium – is the current attraction at White Rock’s Landmark Pop-Uptown Gallery at Central Plaza (15140 North Bluff Rd.).

Work of a large contingent of Semiahmoo Peninsula photographers is gaining exposure through the show, co-sponsored by Landmark and the City of White Rock, in which the cast will change mid-month (after Sunday, Jan. 14) to display works by a new collection of contributors.

Judging by a viewing of the first half of the show, it is well meeting Smith’s criteria of showing the many artistic possibilities of the photographic medium, providing arresting images of many kinds just as deserving of space on local walls as painted or drawn media.

Participants in the first segment include such well-known photographers as Don Hudson, Lynn Kelman (former president of the Crescent Beach Photography Club), her husband Ron, and Tharaka Mapalagawa, a member of both the Surrey and Crescent Beach photography clubs.

Also very much in evidence are members of the White Rock-based Praxis Photo Collective – Jan Lyle, Gary Kennedy, Linda Bickerton-Ross, Barbara Cooper and George Omorean.

The show is a demonstration of how a photographer’s eye can find pictorial opportunities in virtually every setting, whether across the globe or close to home, and with virtually any level of equipment.

As a displayed quotation from David Alan Harvey exhorts: “Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.”

Ron Kelman’s and Barbara Cooper’s images, for example, show how travel photos can far transcend the usual holiday snapshots, while Lyle points out that most of her intriguing pattern-heavy imagery in the show was captured on a cellphone, either in her garden or within a block of her home.

Kennedy’s and Bickerton-Ross’ work again shows the aspect of opportunity in capturing widely diverse images. Kennedy finds fascinating textures in Fraser River scenes, while Bickerton-Ross utilizes slow exposures and other manipulation to create dreamlike, semi-abstract scenes offering a new perspective on familiar landscapes.

Omorean’s experimental approach almost puts him in a class by himself in the show – with such images as Infra Island Road – an infra-red photo of a palm tree-lined road in the Cook Islands, enhanced by silver-gelatin printing, while the abstract Violin Strings and Scroll is a camera-less photogram of violin parts along with electric sparks on a sheet of photographic film.

But the show also demonstrates the enduring viability of gallery-style work, as embodied by photographs by Hudson, Mapalagawa and Lynn Kelman.

Hudson’s Peppers! is an old-school, monochrome homage to Edward Weston, utilizing a 1940s Graflex 4×5 camera and painstaking focusing, developing and printing techniques to make the most of form composition and texture.

Kelman, too, produces amazing textural results, in colour prints using groupings of fruit and other objects against black velvet.

Mapalagawa’s painterly figurative work, shot against a plain grey wall in his home, juxtaposes human subjects with carefully chosen props, sometimes producing surreal effects reminiscent of Man Ray, but also employs mixed media by applying paint and brush to photographic prints.

More Than the Eye Can See continues at the Landmark Pop-uptown Gallery until Jan. 28; hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Wednesday to Saturday.

The winners of the latest Close Up Photographer of the Year competition have been announced. This year’s winner was an amazingly-timed image of a Eurasian nuthatch flying overhead through a forest – an image taken by Hungarian photographer Csaba Daróczi while hidden inside a hollowed-out tree stump.

“The photographer clearly had an image in his mind’s eye and went that extra mile to make sure anyone looking at the picture would share the wonder he felt when he encountered the scene” Tracy Calder, co-founder of of the competition, told BBC Science Focus. “Placing the camera inside the tree trunk really makes us feel as though we are immersed in nature”. 

This is the fifth year of the competition, and it attracted 12,000 entries from all around the world. Categories include Fungi & Slime Moulds, Micro (for images created using a microscope) and Young Close-up Photographer of the Year (for entrants aged 17 or under).

Here are all of the winners and some of our other favourites from this year’s competition.

Winner – Underwater category – Dreamtime

Winner – Fungi category – The ice crown

Winner – Butterfly category – The wedding guest

Micro category finalist – Butterfly Eggs

Winner – Young photographer category – Small Wanders

Animals category finalist – Kiss of death

Winner – Intimate landscape category – Undertow

Winner – Insects category – Wood Ants Firing Acid Secretion

Winner – Human-made category – Asymmetrical Threads

Winner – Invertebrate portrait category – Jumping Stick

Winner – Plants category – Reflexion

Winner – Micro category – Beach Grass

Underwater category runner-up – Heart of the Sea

Overall Winner – The bird of the forest

Read more:

Nestled in the heart of a youthful neighborhood arts district, just opposite the bustling Port of Los Angeles, lies a relatively unassuming gallery, much like any of those that surround it.

On its walls and tables sit dozens of framed photographs of stunning landscapes, majestic wild animals, magnificent architecture, and intriguing people. Placed in any other gallery, they would easily be mistaken for the work of a seasoned veteran photographer whose work might grace the pages of any number of prestigious publications. And yet, every single one of these pieces was created by a student no older than 18.

The Port of Los Angeles High School (POLAHS), located smack in the middle of San Pedro, is unique among schools in the Los Angeles area. Established as a tuition-free charter school in 2000, it’s now home to approximately 1,000 students and has a very low student-to-staff ratio for the area of about 15:1.

Among its myriad advanced courses and ample scholarship opportunities, the school also offers a variety of Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways, including everything from construction to boat operation-hey, it’s right next to the port, what did you expect? Of particular interest to this journalist though, and probably you as well, is its groundbreaking approach to digital photography education.

The Digital Photography program at POLAHS is split into 3 classes of almost 90 students. Over 2 years of study, students are taught the history of the medium, how to work efficiently, and, of course, a wide variety of photographic techniques. They’re even tasked with completing the Adobe Certified Associate course, which involves intensive study and mastery of Photoshop and Lightroom, and gives each student an official endorsement for their resume.

Aside from their classroom education, students are supplied with everything they need to create amazing art pieces thanks to the school’s partnership with Nikon Education. Currently, the cabinets in the photography room are brimming with many copies of just about every Nikon lens you can imagine, from kit standbys like the 24-70mm f/4 S to professional-grade equipment like the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S – I even saw a flight case for an F-mount 500mm f/4 prime. These are mated to a fleet of Z6IIs, and a recent addition of a handful of Z8s for special projects.

If that weren’t enough, thanks to the generosity of donors, industry partners, and investment from the school itself, students are afforded the opportunity to participate in photo field trips to places like the sidelines of Dignity Health Sports Park, home of the LA Galaxy, and even adventures abroad to a choice of destinations like Japan, the Galapagos Islands, and Namibia, with who else but National Geographic.

All of this culminates with the students finalizing their work and putting it up for display in the Pixels Gallery, where it can be purchased, with all funds going directly to the photographer who created it.

Occupying the former site of famed seascape oil painter Violet Parkhurst’s main West Coast gallery, and situated just 2 blocks from the school itself, the Pixels gallery serves not only as a place to display students’ work for sale but also as a popular hangout spot during the First Thursday Art Walk, a San Pedro institution. Visitors are welcome to browse the gallery, listen to frequent live music, have souvenir portraits taken, and chow down on some complimentary bites to eat.

Photography teacher Erick Miseroy explains that the program is designed not only to provide a creative outlet for students but also to set them up for success in other areas of their lives. “Students need a spark- something to keep them motivated for school and success. Kids want to feel special, and creating images and having the ability to defend their work creates a level of self-confidence that otherwise wouldn’t happen.”

And it seems to be working. During my visit, I was fortunate enough to speak with Elizabeth Ozaeta, a senior at POLAHS who had been selected for a trip to Thailand and whose work was on display at Pixels.

After going through the selection process, which involves writing a short personal statement, assembling a small selection of photos to highlight their photographic style and personality, and an in-person interview, she chose to visit Thailand because it was the destination she was most unfamiliar with. “One of the things I mentioned [in the selection process] was how I wanted to introduce my community to Thai culture. I wasn’t really familiar with Thai culture myself, and so I thought that bringing [back] these smaller stories can have a huge impact on a community like this”, she says. Recounting her trip to Thailand, Elizabeth tells me that she was actually embedded with a group of anthropology students, giving her an excellent opportunity to document and bring back pieces of Thai culture to her community in San Pedro.

Among the dozens of photos of Buddhist temples, roads lined with Tuk-Tuks, and lush greenery, she points out two in particular that stood out to her as favorites. One, a portrait of a woman from a community of Karen tribespeople in the north of Thailand, and another, a photo of a family of elephants living in a sanctuary.

I could tell that hearing the story behind the former meant a great deal to Elizabeth, who explains that the groups of Karen peoples are often displaced as a result of armed conflict in the region, and those that migrated from Myanmar to Thailand derive much of their livelihood from tourism and the sale of handmade goods like traditional clothing and household products. As you can imagine, they were profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Elizabeth’s excursion group was among the first foreign visitors after the worst of the outbreak had passed. She was struck by how integral family and community were to everyone she met, and vividly remembers that though their knowledge of English was limited and much of their interaction was aided by an interpreter, the elderly woman depicted in the portrait repeatedly pointed at a young child nearby and referred to them as “baby”.

As for the latter, the group visited the Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary to live and learn among a herd of Asian elephants. Unfortunately, many of these animals had been exploited in the logging and tourism industries, with several being subjects of abusive confinement at the hands of their previous owners. Thankfully, they were given a new lease on life, and Elizabeth was lucky enough to encounter Junior, the first elephant born in the sanctuary itself, along with his family. She was particularly inspired by the mahouts, or caretakers, who dedicate their entire lives to the care and keeping of their elephants, saying “I’ve never really been that close to an elephant…but being able to have that deeper story, and connecting with these elephants by knowing their name, their history, and about all of these people that care for them…it’s really eye-opening.”

Hearing her tell it, having access to such a program is an invaluable resource not only for herself but for other students. “One of the awesome things about Pixels is that it allows students to display their artwork in a space where it’s comfortable. It’s a way for them to express themselves and show their community what they see, through their eyes. Not all students are able to express themselves in more exterior spaces – having a place like this is really important for them to be able to progress and succeed.”

As if to put an exclamation point on her words, a gallery visitor purchased one of her pieces just moments after they left her mouth.

With every new thing I learned about the photography program at POLAHS, I was, of course, thrilled. At the same time though, I couldn’t help but feel that it was, unfortunately, a perfect juxtaposition of the experiences and resources many students have (or rather, don’t have) access to. Whether this is an issue of a systemic lack of funding for STEAM education in many schools around the US or simply that there aren’t enough people sufficiently invested to make it work, I am nevertheless grateful for those who do get to have these once-in-a-lifetime chances to teach us as much as we try to teach them.

Thankfully, the school administration at POLAHS seems to be fully invested in the future of the photography program and the Pixels gallery. Interim Principal Tim Dikdan tells me that the gallery holds profound importance, not only for the students participating in the photography program but for the school and the greater San Pedro area as well. ”Serving as a showcase for the artistic endeavors of the school’s budding photographers, the gallery not only amplifies the talents and achievements of the students but also cultivates a sense of pride and accomplishment within the entire school community…Through the lens of the photography gallery, the school community witnesses the transformative power of artistic expression, serving as a source of inspiration and a testament to the boundless potential residing within each student.”

Sounds like quite a ringing endorsement to me.

Image credits: Photographs by John Bilbao