C&C - A few pics from a newb.

Hi,
I am reasonable new to diving and like most, started taking photographs to share with loved ones and friends.
Now though I have always had an interest in photography, I was never that proficient and really started to learn mostly since I found out they made a case for my camera. I got lots of help by reading this forum, so thanks to all.
Anyway, I took a few pictures this weekend and wanted your critic on what I am doing right or wrong and how I can improve. This is my 4th dive with the camera.
I will be diving the flower gardens next week, so any pointers to help will be appreciated.
I know JamDiver will chime in.


Location: Katherine Wreck, Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Viz: 40-50 ft
Depth: 45ft

Camera: Sony DSC-S60 using internal flash with diffuser supplied with Ikelite housing

Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 80
Focal Length: 7.8 mm
Flash: yes
Metering: Spot
WB: auto



Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Focal Length: 6 mm
Flash: yes
Metering: Spot
WB: auto

Nice pictures Fastmarc.

TOM

hi fastmarc, nice composition on the photos something family can easily appreciate. i noticed you had WB on auto for both photos and no strobe. you might want to set white balance to manual and calibrate with flash on. this is how i do it (i use external strobes only as well) and it helps give the foreground richer colors. check your manual for manual WB calibration.

good luck

Hi Jon,
Thanks for the comments.
I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. I will correct it to make it more clear.
I do use the internal flash with the diffuser that came with the Ikelite housing. I do not have an external strobe.
On my camera, in manual mode once the flash is used, the WB is set to auto. I can only adjust it when I do not use the flash.

Thanks Tom.
I really still feel a little lost, but hopefully with a little more advice and practice, I'll get there.

Fastmarc:

Thanks Tom.
I really still feel a little lost, but hopefully with a little more advice and practice, I'll get there.

Click to expand...

Fastmarc,

Looking at your pictures, they look really good composition wise. There are a couple of things that are probably biting you. The first is, you are probably taking a picture of something that is much further away than you can cover with the internal flash. So, the internal flash is only causing you to get backscatter which is really minimal on your two shots, but there in a few spots. Even with external strobes, you really can only light subjects up to 3' away maximum, after that, you are pretty much back to natural light.

So, one suggestion may be to use a magic filter and just turn off your internal flash all together. This will allow you to turn off auto white balance and will help restore some of the natural colors and you should get nicer results. The other suggestion for the pictures is to get REALLY close to the subjects you are trying to light. Its still may not be too possible with the internal flash, but this will hold true even for an external strobe. So you want to be close and use wide angle so you can light the close up things and it will give you that nice wide shot you are looking for.

For what you have without going external strobes, I would get the magic filter and just shoot natural light shots.

Hope this helps

Does your camera have RAW? That would help remove some of the color cast you have in the pics. Even with the original jpeg photoshop can help some. Otherwise i'd agree with the above post. For shots like this turn off the flash and set the whitebalance to get the color. Before i got my strobe i pretty much took pics within 1-2 feet with the internal flash or available light shots with no flash. But I always take in RAW so can set the white balance on the computer after the dive.

Chris

Fastmarc:

Hi,
I am reasonable new to diving and like most, started taking photographs to share with loved ones and friends.
Now though I have always had an interest in photography, I was never that proficient and really started to learn mostly since I found out they made a case for my camera. I got lots of help by reading this forum, so thanks to all.
Anyway, I took a few pictures this weekend and wanted your critic on what I am doing right or wrong and how I can improve. This is my 4th dive with the camera.
I will be diving the flower gardens next week, so any pointers to help will be appreciated.
I know JamDiver will chime in.

Location: Katherine Wreck, Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Viz: 40-50 ft
Depth: 45ft

Camera: Sony DSC-S60 using internal flash with diffuser supplied with Ikelite housing

Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 80
Focal Length: 7.8 mm
Flash: yes
Metering: Spot
WB: auto

Shutter Speed: 1/100
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Focal Length: 6 mm
Flash: yes
Metering: Spot
WB: auto

Click to expand...

Eh, wha gwaan bredrin .
Nice to see you getting out and shooting .

See that you took the pic on the Katherine's wreck, still have yet to get out there..... viz doesn't look that good on the day, must be all the rains....

Re your pics, composition wise as otherwise stated they're not bad.
Before I get into comments on your photo, just would like to mention some important things to remember when taking u/w photos.

• Get close, the closer you are to the subject the better it is.
• Zoom with your fins not the camera zoom, the less water you have between you and your subject the better as water absorbs whatever light is produced by your flash.
• Shoot upwards if possible, getting below or more or less level with your subject can make them look more impressive and produce a more interesting background (the blue) as opposed to the sand or whatnot.

I see that you used the flash in your shots.

Generally the internal flash will give best results when the subject is within a few feet of you (arms length) beyond that distance you'll just get backscatter and spots in the pic (I notice that in your first photo).

Manual White balance would probably work best for the first photo as it seems that you're going for a shot of the wreck and would give you reasonably accurate colours.

2nd shot is a bit strange to me, the info that you posted stated that you used the flash, yet I can barely see its effect on the picture (I notice a tiny bit of red on the sponge) but that's about it.
I think next time get even closer with whatever subject you're shooting filling the frame (photo) for a more interesting photo.

The most important thing which you have is an interest in photography, keep diving and practicing and believe me your photos will get better over time.

I found that getting a solid understanding of my camera's settings by taking lots of photos on land.
Looking at u/w pics that I liked and trying to emulate them/figure out what the photographer did to create that shot and reading widely helped to accelerate (no pun intended ) my rate of learning.

Scubahound - Good resource on the basics of exposure and how shutter speed, aperture and ISO all effect it.
Check out the tips and techniques section here
Alcina has a very nice thorough write up on u/w photography here (check it out!)
2 other great underwater photography oriented messageboards, Digital diver
Wetpixel

Hope this helps and have fun in the flower gardens .
It's also important to note that an important part of bringing out the best in your photos comes down to post-processing (Photoshop and other image editing programs).
But for now I think the most important thing is nailing composition.

Rome wasn't built in a day and it'll be a gradual process in terms of learning u/w photography...

Great to see you out there and shooting!

You've already gotten some good advice, so I'll just add a couple of things.

1 - you are too far away...move in closer. This will change your composition, of course, but it will make your images sharper and your internal flash will be able to light the parts you want it to light.

The second photo looks like you should have been close enough but no light from your flash fell on the subject - double check the power setting of your flash if it can be changed. Perhaps it's been knocked down too low accidentally. And then try...

2 - flip your camera upside down. This will direct the light to the subject and not out into the blue water. It should help reduce backscatter and it will mean that you are lighting the part of the frame you want lit. Do a little practice with this as it's incredibly helpful in a wide variety of situations. When you shoot verticals make sure your flash is on the side you want the light to come from.

3 - in the first photo there is no real subject. Find a main subject in your mind's eye/camera view finder and complete composition around that.

4 - and most importantly, get out there and shoot shoot shoot & have fun

Hi everyone,
Thanks very much for the replys. You have all given me a lot to consider and go through and I am sure in time it will help.

Rich, the idea behind the first shot was just to get a shot that would kinda 'show' the wreck. I did try a shot without the flash and with the WB set to 'Cloudy' (it has Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent), but I used a shutter speed of 1/40 with a ISO 100 as I though it looked a bit dark on LCD screen when viewing the subject before taking the shot. Not sure what you would think. See picture below. Looking at it, I suspect I might be able to try a faster shutter speed.

Shutter Speed: 1/40
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Focal Length: 7.8 mm
Flash: no
Metering: Spot
WB: Cloudy

I did try a few shots that were closer before. See example below. This shot was actually taken on a night dive.

Shutter Speed: 1/80
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure Mode: Manual
ISO Speed Rating: 80
Focal Length: 6 mm
Flash: yes
Metering: Spot
WB: Auto

I have no idea what a 'magic filter' is.:huh:

Chris, unfortunately my camera does not have RAW. It seems it is a fairly simple camera, but I figure it should be ok to grasp the basics then maybe I'll be more able to move up to something better.
I only just got photoshop this week and I am totally lost. I have been trying some, but it is just so much adjustments with very little instructions. I'll continue to work at it.

Jam, thanks for all those pointers and links (thanks also Alcina).
I'm not sure why the flash isn't more pronounced. It is currently set at 'normal', but maybe I'm just still a little too far away in these photos?

Again, thanks for all the input.

Marc