Today, we will be starting a series called Six Things. This
series will come out the first Sunday of every month and deal with one specific
topic. The first Six Things post
will deal with underwater photography. In the last two months, our newsletter has
dealt with how to use your photos and videos to create presentations to share
with family and friends. The
question remains, however, how does one get those great underwater shots that
will make you the envy of other divers?
Lets examine Six Things that every underwater photographer needs to
know!
Tip #1
Buoyancy, buoyancy, buoyancy! Work on your buoyancy first without your camera. Be sure that you are comfortable
hovering in all orientations: upright, prone, upside down, sideways, on your
head, in a tube, with a paddlefish bearing down on you, etc. Remember that you need to not only
hover in close to your subject, but you have to also be able to back up! You never know when a Mantis Shrimp will
take issue with your presence. After
you have mastered those skills, add your camera. Again, practice hovering with the camera out in front of
you, while you are upside down, etc.
You will find that adding the camera may necessitate adjusting your weights
and/or weight distribution. Be
sure to do this in some spot that does not have delicate life that could be
destroyed if you make a mistake.
Have your buddy help by telling you how you are looking underwater.
Tip #2
Get close to your subject, but use patience when doing
it. Try to avoid descending on top
of them, or swimming at them head on, as these are approaches used by predators
and will likely cause your subject to flee. Take your time, breathing slowly, inching towards your
subject, making no sudden moves that will frighten them. Moreover, be sure you know you
‘prey’. Turtles, for example, will
swim with you and provide you with some great shots. But if you approach them from the front to rear, they will
spook and run away.
Tip #3
One of the best things about a coral reef is the riot
of color and you naturally want to be able to share that with your friend. However, as you learned in your open
water and advanced open water underwater photography section, water absorbs
color. To correct for this, use a
strobe, or white balance your camera.
The strobe is for deeper water and will provide a full spectrum light to
subjects within about 4 ft. If you are shallow and do not want to use a light, you
can manually white balance your camera, or use its underwater setting. Another alternative would be to use a
red filter that will help to produce more true to life colors in your photos.
 |
| Great example of use a strobe to make those colors pop! Not to mention the great upward angle! |
Tip #4
Get a good angle! Shoot at an upward angle like picture above. Again, this is in part to avoid not appearing to be prey and part to do with the fact that
an upward angle will help your subject pop out more against a blue
background. Shoot multiples,
remembering that you can take both horizontal and vertical shots. When it comes to photography, quality
is sometimes a function of quantity.
 |
| Nice vertical angle |
Tip #5
Take turns and be courteous to other photographers. Your subjects are wild and will spook
if they are crowded. Take your
pictures and move so others can do the same. Karma can be a blessing or a curse!
Tip #6
Finally, remember that no shot is worth ruining the
underwater environment. Sometimes,
you will just have to be content with the fact that some shots will only be
recorded in your mind!
Those are your Six Things for underwater photography. As always, please like us on Facebook,
subscribe to the newsletter, and share us with your friends. Leave a comment and give us some
feedback or better yet share an underwater photography story. Don’t forget to take the poll on the
right and until next time, cheers!
Team Manta
Team Manta
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