rules to play underwater photography

One of the most important elements of underwater photography is feeling comfortable in the environment. Remember that the photographer becomes a floating platform on which the camera rests. The ability to swim welland in some instances fast, to catch up with the subjectis a must have skill.

One of the advantages of shooting while scuba diving rather than snorkeling is that you can spend long periods in deeper water, closer to marine life. To be successful at shooting underwater while scuba diving, you must master flotation and have control of where you are at all times. Having said this, a lot of my most successful images were made at the surface, where the light is abundant and where most of the big guys, like whales and sharks, can be found.

To create any good picture, you must know your subject to be able to capture its essence. This concept becomes paramount when shooting in the underwater realm. What creatures should you approach? Are they dangerous or not? Understanding the behavior of fish will enable you to produce stunning imagery. Study swim patterns and other details. How is the school of fish moving and how can you get near it? What is the position of a sharks pectoral fins, and is it aggressive or not? How long will it take for the manatee to come up for air again.Color is lost the deeper you dive reds, for instance, are the the first to go. Knowing the true colors of sponges and other marine life will help you compose better and more interesting pictures. These days, most of this information can be found on the Internet, where pictures of sea creatures abound.

When choosing what gear to use, keep in mind that there are two basicand hugely differentsystems A point and shoot camera in a waterproof case and a DSLR digital single lens reflex in an underwater housing with external strobes, such as that shown here.

The first system has some advantages, including ease of use no complex set up and economy. Point and shoots are also fun for taking pictures on the surface, where theres a lot of light. One of this options major disadvantages is the inability of the photographer, in most cases, to direct light, since the strobe in these cameras is integrated into its body. Also, manual control of exposure is difficult to achieve.

Most professional photographers use DSLRs, as we have total and absolute control over the system. With a DSLR its possible to control aperture and speed depending on the situation or desired effect, e.g., movement. Its also possibe to point the strobes where theyre needed. But the system does have some disadvantages in that it can be cumbersome, hard to maintain, and expensive.

For most cases put your white balance in daylight mode, especially if you are using flash.

In the manual setting, its the right combination of aperture and speed that will yield the correct exposure. I tend to use speed as a creative toolif I want my subject to be sharp and motionless Ill go to a higher shutter speed 1 125th or 1 250th. Or if I want to convey or capture motion, e.g., fish swimming, a slower shutter speed of 1 15th or lower is the way to go.

I tend to keep my focus in automatic and in single subject, which allows me to autofocus on the subject. In this mode, as long as I keep the shutter button down, it will hold the focus even if I recompose the scene.

Flash is not always the solution; it will yield amazing pictures, but keep in mind that its not the only option. If you play your cards well, there are incredible images to be made with available light. Getting your exposure correct is very important If you want to get interesting silhouettes, try to underexpose the frame by at least 1 f stop. If you want to freeze the light rays entering the water, use a shutter speed of 1 250th or higher.

Using strobes underwater will help you explore all the creative possibilities that abound beneath the waves. The deeper you go, the less light youll have and the more important flash becomes. Flash will bring out all the wonderful colors in the fish and reef. It will also allow you to freeze or convey the movement of a subject.

Never forget that flash is just another light source, and for it to work in your favor, you must do your best to allow ambient light to do its part. Without allowing available light into the frame, the sense of place is gone. We want to see the blue in the water and the environment these creatures thrive in.

Remember to adjust the power of your strobes based on the subject. When photographing fish that are too close or highly reflective, take your strobes to 1 2 or 1 4 power. Dont point your units directly at the subject This illuminates the water between your lens and the creature, creating backscatter.

Remember that you dont dive to take pictures, you dive because you want to enjoy being immersed in an alternate universe. You dive to share and enjoy this wonderful space with its inhabitants. If you make this a priority, good pictures will emerge. Photography is a by product of the experience. Enjoy the experience, and the pictures will come.

Colour balance does present us with a bigger challenge. The colours we see are the visible portion of the spectrum of light; different colours are represented by different wave lengths. Blue has the shortest wave length with the most energy, red is at the other end of the spectrum with the longest wave length and the least energy. Light travels quite effectively through air, so the difference in energy between the colours has negligible effect on how far they will travel and the colour balance will tend to stay the same from the light source until it reaches the subject.

However, the energy is lost very quickly when it tries to penetrate water. We see this as a gradual loss of colours, starting with the reds, yellows, greens and then finally blues. At just 6 metres, a normally vivid red object will appear a rusty and dull brown. Inadvertently stray too close to a coral and cut yourself at 20 metres depth, your blood will run a rather disconcerting green. Down at 40 metres, everything will be swathed in a blue hue.