How Water Really Moves Over Rock

Shutter speed changes the water

The same waterfall can look like silk or like a wall of spray. The difference is the camera's shutter speed. A long exposure blurs moving water into smooth streaks. A fast shutter freezes every droplet. Neither is "correct", but your painting or render should choose one look and stay with it.

The Icelandic Waterfalls pack by TLopez shows both: many waterfalls across Iceland, shot with slow shutter speeds for silky water and fast ones for the heavy falls. For water in motion, the Mountain Stream pack (186 photos, New Zealand) adds 6 short videos. 2 of them focus on narrow passages where the water swirls and forms tiny falls, which is ideal for animators and VFX artists.

Height and scale

Tall waterfalls behave differently from small ones. The water spreads, breaks into spray and often turns to mist before it lands.

• Single-Drop Epic Waterfall: 296 photos of a 268-metre drop in Queensland, from the ground and by drone. You can study the basin at the bottom, where rocks carried over the edge have piled up.
• Waterfall Drop: 175 camera and drone photos of a 120-metre drop, with its cliff faces, boulders and pools.
• Tropical Waterfall Cascades: 319 photos at Iguazu, with mist-filled cliffs, rainforest and powerful streams.

For the rock walls themselves, see cliff and canyon reference.

The color of the water

River water is rarely just blue. What it carries decides its color, and that is a quick way to make a scene feel specific.

• Milky Cyan River: 206 photos of an alpine river colored light blue by glacier sediment, with black volcanic sand between the rocks.
• Turquoise Stream: 278 photos of a very clear glacial spring and the cliff rocks it has smoothed over decades.
• Red Creek Archs and Caves: 256 photos and 5 video clips of a stream colored red by tannins from decomposed plants. The stream has cut a 37-metre arch and a small cave with cream-colored limestone.

Stone that water builds

Water does not only carve rock. Where it carries dissolved limestone, it can build stone. The Travertine Terrace Jungle Waterfall (180 photos, Thailand) shows stepped terraces, shallow turquoise pools, twisted trees and roots. Terraces like these are more often seen at hot springs, which makes this tropical forest version unusual. The smaller Dried Overgrown Terrace Waterfall (48 photos, $3.99) shows the same kind of terrace dried out, broken and taken over by roots.

When the water is gone

A dry riverbed tells you how the river behaves when it floods. The Root Entangled Dry Creek pack (322 photos, Queensland) shows a creek bed of fine granite sand, a few remaining pools and the exposed roots of the trees along its banks. The Dry River Bed pack (367 photos, New Zealand) covers a wide floodplain of pebbles and grass.

Frequently asked questions

Do any packs include video of moving water?

Yes. Mountain Stream has 6 video clips and Red Creek Archs and Caves has 5. Video helps you study rhythm and timing, which a single photo cannot show. For splashes, smoke and other effects, see our VFX elements page.

I paint landscapes. Which packs suit painting studies?

Packs with clear color and simple shapes work best: the Milky Cyan River for glacial color, the Turquoise Stream for clear water over stone and the Icelandic Waterfalls for strong compositions. More painting-focused packs are on our landscape painting reference page.

Is there a free waterfall pack I can try first?

Yes. Alpine Waterfalls has 46 photos of waterfalls fed by melting glaciers on New Zealand's West Coast, and it costs nothing. It is a good way to check the file quality before you buy. See all free reference photo packs.