Water In Photographs

[2Beers]

I just wanted to ask others opinions as to the practice of photographing running water at slow shutter speeds to give the effect of a milky patch on the image. I see this advocated in a lot of the magazines.
I myself prefer to see the water flowing over rocks etc looking natural rather than every shot that I see having the water blurred.

I prefer to do my own thing rather than follow the flock.

What do other forum readers think, I look forward to reading your opinions


Alex

[silversnapper1]

I must admit that I like both sides of this argument and try both.

[donoreo]

Right now the "milky" water thing is trendy. There are cases for both. I agree with SS above, I like both sides.

[dan123]

I like Both, if it big Crashing waves then a faster speed implies movement, where as a small stream looks nice with a small amout of blur to imply movement, Fast shutter speeds ot tme look static where as slower ones imply movement,
Milky Seas.... Look nice if the subjects right, and its nice to imply the sense of calmness and peace in photos, Particulary on the sea i like this, with such power its nice to see it calm and tranquil Esp coupled with the Harsh rocks of the coastline... Peachy

[DigiDiva]

Depends what kind of photo you want...tranquil = milky water and a slow shutter speed, action or drama = sharp water and a fast shutter speed. I would say its like lighting..you choose the lighting to set the mood, the same I would say goes for water and shutter speed, use what suits the mood you are after from the shot.

[OldBoy]

Like the OP I prefer water shots to look natural rather than the milky effect of slow shutter speed.

[MattUK]

Each to their own really - many people like both types of shooting, and I think both have their merits

[Markulous]

I'd have to say I prefer motion blur but I dislike the over-the-top 'silky milky' where every last vestige of detail is whited out to a blob! So I use a blend of (usually) 3 images, each at a different shutter, so as to maximise the motion blur whilst retaining maximum detail. Different areas/textures of water deserve different treatment.

Same with the sky, I will happily take a long exposure of a sky which suits a long shutter but I dislike skies that are just a fuzzy blur