Kenr
Contributor
Last April I attended a Scott Gietlers underwater photoworkshop in Anilao, Philippines. This was my first serious attempt at underwater photography. I have a compact Panasonic LX5, Nauticam housing and two Inon strobes. In spite of my lack of understanding in taking macro shots underwater I did manage to get a few shots that I liked. After the trip I thought my biggest mistake was I wasnt prepared or knew how my camera outfit really worked. Its a different ball game shooting macro with a diopter, strobes and focus light. I thought I could just set my camera to aperture priority, f8, turn the strobes on to TTL and fire away. Boy was I wrong. First I couldnt get the camera to focus and then exposure was hit or miss. Scott suggested we shoot in full manual and turn off TTL. Imagine the complexity in getting all of this to work while you are underwater dealing with currents and trying to figure out how your outfit works. Well, after 9 days and 50 + hours shooting underwater it started to make some sense. In retrospect a lot of what I went through was a waste of my valuable dive time and could have easily been avoided with better preparation.
Im going back again with Scotts group this coming April and I have started on a plan to approach it differently this time. I set up a macro photo studio in my house and am using it to figure out how everything works. Its much easier to experiment and learn at home out of the water. The following are some of the things I am working on.
1. Re-read the manuals for my camera and strobes, cover to cover and know how everything works.
2. Experiment with the different camera defaults and create a default profile to use for your dives.
3. Practice focusing on different size subjects. This is actually much more complicated then it would appear. You have to learn how close or far your camera can focus at different distances, zoom values and lenses. Top side taking a photo of a subject at 10 feet away is no problem but when you are trying to focus on a ½ inch subject (or smaller) 6 inches away you have to know how to set it up. I did learn a thing or two underwater working with my wet lenses. On one dive I couldnt get anything to focus. When I got back I discovered that all of the pictures had some very small sharp dots on them. I figured I must have gotten something;possibly some sand stuck between the port and the diopter or on the outside of the diopter. The camera may have been trying to focus on the sand. Another time I entered the water with my diopter on and all of my shots had a line running through them. There must have been some air stuck between the lenses. The lesson learned is to make sure the lenses are clean and loosen the diopter to make sure that no air is trapped between it and the port.
4. Practice shooting in manual mode. Experiment with different exposures and different strobe settings. Try dimming the lights and use your focus light. Learn how to gauge your exposure through your viewfinder or camera screen and compare what you see with your monitor. Sometimes I put on my mask to better simulate what I will see underwater.
5. Try different strobe positions and learn how to aim them. It may seem obvious aiming your strobes but its not as easy as it appears. Sometimes I think they are pointed at my subject but not always, for me it taking a little practice.
6. Read what the pros do. Scott has some excellent articles on his website. Martin Edge also has an excellent book.
7. Read and practice composition, lighting techniques, etc.
8. Take notes and bring them on your dive trip.
9. Practice and more practice.
Its going to be different once you get underwater but it should be much easier making those adjustments once you get the basics figured out. I bet I am learning 10x faster at home then in the water. This is what I am working on now preparing for my next photo dive trip.
Happy New Year
Im going back again with Scotts group this coming April and I have started on a plan to approach it differently this time. I set up a macro photo studio in my house and am using it to figure out how everything works. Its much easier to experiment and learn at home out of the water. The following are some of the things I am working on.
1. Re-read the manuals for my camera and strobes, cover to cover and know how everything works.
2. Experiment with the different camera defaults and create a default profile to use for your dives.
3. Practice focusing on different size subjects. This is actually much more complicated then it would appear. You have to learn how close or far your camera can focus at different distances, zoom values and lenses. Top side taking a photo of a subject at 10 feet away is no problem but when you are trying to focus on a ½ inch subject (or smaller) 6 inches away you have to know how to set it up. I did learn a thing or two underwater working with my wet lenses. On one dive I couldnt get anything to focus. When I got back I discovered that all of the pictures had some very small sharp dots on them. I figured I must have gotten something;possibly some sand stuck between the port and the diopter or on the outside of the diopter. The camera may have been trying to focus on the sand. Another time I entered the water with my diopter on and all of my shots had a line running through them. There must have been some air stuck between the lenses. The lesson learned is to make sure the lenses are clean and loosen the diopter to make sure that no air is trapped between it and the port.
4. Practice shooting in manual mode. Experiment with different exposures and different strobe settings. Try dimming the lights and use your focus light. Learn how to gauge your exposure through your viewfinder or camera screen and compare what you see with your monitor. Sometimes I put on my mask to better simulate what I will see underwater.
5. Try different strobe positions and learn how to aim them. It may seem obvious aiming your strobes but its not as easy as it appears. Sometimes I think they are pointed at my subject but not always, for me it taking a little practice.
6. Read what the pros do. Scott has some excellent articles on his website. Martin Edge also has an excellent book.
7. Read and practice composition, lighting techniques, etc.
8. Take notes and bring them on your dive trip.
9. Practice and more practice.
Its going to be different once you get underwater but it should be much easier making those adjustments once you get the basics figured out. I bet I am learning 10x faster at home then in the water. This is what I am working on now preparing for my next photo dive trip.
Happy New Year