how to fix green photos

[nardaquino]

hi!

Im a newbie with taking photos underwater I'm currently using an olympus C-5000 and i recently got a new PT-019 UW case from ebay. I tried to use it on my last dive an all the pictures that i took were all color green or had a green tone to it, I've read in some threads that the discoloration is caused by the refraction of light under water... or something like that Can anybody help me on how do i adjust the settings in the camera so that i can get the right color tone of the photos under water without using my computer (photoshop/picasa)

thanks so much

 

[kapula]

Take a white slate with you or use sandy bottom to manually adjust your white balance. It makes all the difference. So if you have a slate with you (any white plastic will do) just put it in front of your camera and set w/b. I usually reach out in front of the camera with slate in my hand and try to get it in 90 degrees angle with sun. That way I figure light would be closest to natural and w/b aswell. I've tied that slate to my bcd with a rubber band and keep it in bcd pocket. You could use internal strobe aswell but it's not powerfull enough and in murky waters it mostly illuminates backsatter.

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Seawater will absorb red and yellow wavelengths of light sooner than blue and green: hence light traveling any distance in water has a blue cast and your reds and yellows etc disappear.

Manual white balance works well

Getting a decent flash and getting close works better

For shallow water and good vis their are some filters that may remove some of the tint: depends on water depth and water colour (search for 'magic filters')

Using Photoshop to adjust the levels works ok. There are plug ins for photoshop that also automatically remove the blue/green cast but I like to tweak them manually. Most photos taking underwater will need some minor adjustments (search for 'Photoshop')

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[utnapistim]

Here's my 2c on white balance:

As you go deeper, the light coming from above becomes bluer/greener. As such, unless the water is unusually clear (visibility > 20m), you will have to readjust the white balance as you change depth:

If you set your WB at (say) 20m and take some shots that come out ok, then ascent to 5m, all the shots you will take at 5m will come out red monochrome, unless you adjust again.

 

[kapula]

I adjust w/b every 3 metres or so or every time light changes. After a while it becomes a reflex and you do it without thinking. If you don't see anything to shoot adjust w/b so it's ready when opportunity opens. If you want to get nice blues you might not want to touch w/b. That is if you want to have a silhouette of something, sun and blue water.

 

[Storker]

I only shoot raw, so WB is a non-issue for me until post-processing. Makes for one less item on the task loading list when I'm photographing

That said, there's only so much you can fix if the light just isn't there. As Tassie_Rohan says, red and yellow light disappears pretty fast underwater, and at some depth you just won't have any red left. That can't be fixed, neither with WB settings or post-processing adjustments, and that's when you need a flash to bring out the reds and yellows in the picture.