How to great photographs with your waterproof camera

How to great photographs with your waterproof camera

A picture can tell many words and history has both been made and preserved, through the art of photography. Anybody can contribute to this great legacy of photography. It just takes a good eye and a few bits of knowledge to make it all come together. However, unlike traditional photography, underwater photography requires you to follow additional rules (if you would) in order to get the type of pictures you see on the front cover of Glossy magazines. Pay attention to the tips in this article and you should find something that benefits you.

Get Really Close:

The number one rule in underwater photography is to get as close to your subject as humanly possible. By close we mean less than a metre away from whatever it is you are trying to shoot.

This is not possible all the time but the close you can get the better. This is because light behaves different underwater than it does on land which makes it difficult for the human eye and the camera to capture clear images. Even the water in your local swimming pool which is filtered has lots of particles which shortens your visibility.

Use as much Lighting as possible:

As you may already know, water absorbs light in a different way to air so you have to adjust to compensate for this when taking pictures with your waterproof camera below the surface.
Basically water absorbs light much faster so you will need much more light under the water to illuminate your subject or scene than you would need on land.

This is another reason why you need to get as close to your subject as possible. Even if you are using a powerful flash, if you are not close to your subject the light from the flash wont reach its target as it gets absorbed by the water.

It is a good rule of thumb to always use a flash or strobe light with you. When you reach an area that you want to take pictures in, make lots of practice shots to get used to the lighting. Always play around or adjust the exposure and ISO levels until you find the settings that are right for you.
Most decent DSLR and compact waterproof cameras will have manual settings that you can adjust.

Remember that water absorbs light in the red spectrum over short distances, followed by green and then colours within the blue spectrum of light. Even in apparently good light conditions your pictures can come out looking dull and grey, lifeless and devoid of colour.

For this reason it?s a good idea to use a strobe or flash to replace the light that has been absorbed.

Composition:

The rules of composition underwater are the same as they are above water, however there are some additional things you have to take into consideration as the two environments are not the same.

As well as adjusting your waterproof digital camera to the unusual light conditions you have to consider the fact that in most cases there will not be much background scenery to play with. As any good photographer knows, the background should be used to draw attention to the subject to bring the picture to life and give it context. Underwater the background is most likely to be just a large blue mass, and it can be hard to identify the ground and the sky.

Lets Get Low:

Always try to get beneath your subject or failing that get as low as you can and be at least level. When you see a photograph of a fish from above it looks very dull and lifeless and lacks zest. This is because some marine animals tend to blend in with the sea floor so its hard to see them. Also a picture of the back of a fish is hardly a compelling picture. Always aim to take a picture of the animal or subject from the front (within context) at an upwards angle.

This way you may be able to contrast the subject against the deep blue background which always looks stunning (if you do it correctly that is).

About the Author

If you are looking for advice on underwater photography and the latest Waterproof Camera Reviews, then check this out.

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