Underwater photography is challenging at the best of times, there are so many variables to contend with, air supply and time restraints, strong currents, ebb and flow of the water, density of the water, particles of debris obscuring the shot and lack of light just some of the issues we have to overcome. So what can be done to improve the situation? the truth is very little but all is not lost.
With macro we can do a few things to aid progress, foreign bodies in the water are easier to deal with as we can get close to our subject and reduce the body of water between our target and the lens. Lighting can accentuate debris so a simple trick here is to get close and light from the side thus not illuminating the unwanted floating bits and pieces in effect getting behind them. I will show here a example of two similar shots both are taken with the same settings but using these simple rules and the result are quite different.
Getting it right.
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Not right at all.
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In the second shot the strobes are pointing at the White eyed eel, over exposing slightly but more of a problem is all the debris is being illuminated making for a dirty looking shot. Now of course a little post production could sort some of these issues but firstly its satisfying when a photo looks good from the outset and secondly the more we play with a shot the more we loose, post production tools and filters are a great advantage of the digital age but never a perfect fix.
Taken with Canon 60mm macro lens, F/8 ISO/100 1/200th shutter speed.
So now onto wide angle shots, here there is less we can do generally wide angle requires you to be further away from your subject therefore increasing the body of water between lens and target. Because of this density of water also comes into play, this has a bluing effect on your shots and absorbs light penetration from your strobes. Again get as close as you can, I use a Tokina 10/17 fisheye usually set somewhere between 10 and 14 to avoid too much distortion. I look for natural light above or very slightly behind my subject, use a low shutter speed to help background colour come through and rely on the strobes to light the foreground. with wide angle long arms on the strobes and angling them at 45 degrees helps avoid lighting up unwanted matter.
Time to try again.
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Strobes need angle adjusted as all they are doing is lighting up debris and bubbles in the foreground also natural light is not assisting in any way, here I waited for the whale shark to change position and angled my strobes out a little more.
Much better.
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Better but still due to the density of the water even on full power the strobes are only reaching the front of the Whale shark, sometimes it is best to not try and capture the complete animal in this situation. I took a moment to wait for it to get in a better position, although the complete shark is not in frame a mixture of natural light from above has dealt with the bulk of the lighting with the strobe illuminating the fin nearest me, note how most of the backscatter is behind the shark, not a perfect shot but in challenging conditions I was happy with it.
More natural light.
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As a very amateur photographer I am learning all the time I hope in some way this may help budding under water enthusiasts, the rules down here are very different to those on dry land, one major thing I have taken on board over time is try and try again, every body of water is different and what works one day my not the next, so get playing with those settings. Of course what we all really want is crystal clear waters such as the Red sea which is a dream to take photos in, so far my best result have been here in it still waters with endless visibility, I will finish with a couple of my favorite shots from there, check out how clear the water is.
Blue spotted ray.
Giant moray eel.
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Raccoon butterfly fish.
Thanks for stopping by to have a look, until next time stay safe folks!
I guess the water really does make a difference, and I thought that was just used to sell beer, now I know better. That "Raccoon butterfly fish." is great but they should be called bumble bee fish, they don't look anything like a raccoon.
A lot of fish I struggle to understand how they were named, these I think it's because of the black across their eyes but I prefer your choice. Beer good idea I think I may have one :)
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Loved the blue spotted ray!
Lovely looking thing aren't they, they are very common in the Red sea.