First underwater shooting experience!

[Fish in a Barrel]

I did my first ocean dive today, and I took my SD940 along in a housing.

See some of my photos here

I got some decent shots, but I'm disappointed by how washed out they look. Theoretically, I know all about color loss. In practice, I was expecting some of the vibrant colors I was seeing with my own eyes to show up more in the photos.

Does it look like I'm making any rookie mistakes here, or is this just as good as it's going to get with my gear?

 

[Lee Taylor]

If you like you can use a free online photo editing program to "add in" the color "red" and it will make the photos look nicer.

It is what some people do prior to purchasing a strobe. Its not as good as having and using a strobe but it helps bring out the color in your photos.

When you are diving and taking photos, the water filters out the color "red". By adding it back in, it enhances the photos considerably

Try it if you like!

 

[herman]

I would bet a quick run through Photoshop would do wonders for them. I was going to do one but can't figure out how to import one. Post one here as a jpeg and let me see what happens.

 

[JCAT]

Quick and dirty mandrake method in photoshop. I could have spent more time with it, but have not had 2nd coffee yet.



I'm assuming that your camera is a Canon SD940?

If that is the case, another route you may wish to study is CHDK. The 940 appears to be the same as the SD780, in which case there is a CHDK build that will work. This will enable you to shoot in RAW format, as well as .jpg and DNG. RAW is superior to jpg, especially when post processing.

You'll need to study the CHDK wiki pages in-depth. CHDK Wiki

Eventually you'll want to add a strobe to your camera as well.

The photography section on Scuba Board is a great source for information, as well as many accomplished photographers posting daily.

I'll warn you now, underwater photography is as addictive as crack. It will be all you talk about, think about, and you'll be looking for your next hit constantly.

 

[pjhansman]

Another 30 second PS effort.....



How To: Editing Underwater photos with Adobe Photoshop - Divester

 

[Insta-Gator]

Nice pics. But diving in something you can stand on just seems wrong :bonk:

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

Part of it is that fact that you loose red underwater, part of it is rookie mistakes. Take a look at the Beginner's guide to underwater photography, especially the parts about custom white balance and shooting with ambient light, that should help.

All natural light shots will need some photoshop adjustments afterwards also, like the others have mentioned. Good luck!

Scott

 

[Lars_N]

When I started out with aunderwater photography I used a Canon IXUS 870 IS which has an "Underwater" program as one of the settings in "Scene". I found that a good starting point and can see that the SD940 has that as well; maybe worth a try?

Otherwise I can advise to get closer to the subject. I know from experience that this is a real challenge with fish but get as close as you can get! The colour will dissappear both due to depths but also due to the water column between the camera and the subject. Your eye can adapt to the changes in colours but your camera cannot. Another way forward is to use your a flash. If you get very close you can use the internal flash; in this case remember a diffusor. Next step will be an external flash which will make a big difference.

I agree with Scott that you can get good advice in the Beginner's guide to underwater photography.

And of course there are programs that can save and improve pictures but this should be your plan B.

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

Thanks for all the responses, guys. Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I was having some trouble posting from Cozumel.

I'm going to read the links provided and try color correcting in Photoshop right now.

I did try the underwater mode, and it does help.

 

[friendlyfish]

I agree with most of the suggestions so far, especially Lars' comments about using an external flash, and most of all, to minimize the amount of water between lens and subject. Even a powerful external strobe won't help if you are more than 6 ft. from the subject; best is to be 3 ft. or less. That's why the quality is typically so good with macro; often the subject is only inches from the lens. Shooting close means there's minimal quality loss due to refraction, suspended particles, and the water's filtering effect on warm colors. Photoshop can certainly improve your images, but the first priority should always be to get the best possible quality to begin with. Hope that helps!

Mark