Long distance shots

[caledfwlch]

I cant really figure out the term. But if I wanna be taking shots that arent macro, or self pics in the water, say i just wanna take a pic down a canyon, or.... underwater landscape in general, should I be firing my flash?

I'm only using an IXUS 806 IS, and the canon housing. I do not have a strobe, yet. Rather new to this.

 

[vladimir]

You are limited--to varying degrees--by light's ability to penetrate the water you are diving in. You can't light that canyon with your strobe; it will be lit by the available ambient light. If there are elements of interest in the foreground, however (and your pictures will be better for having something interesting in the foreground, generally) you may want to light those with your strobes. Firing your strobes when you don't need them just invites backscatter. My rule of thumb is to use strobes to light elements within a meter of the lens.

The hammerhead is lit with ambient light, which is aided by the upward angle; the red fish in the foreground are lit with strobe light:

(I'm not holding this up as a great picture, just a good example of what I'm talking about.)

 

[caledfwlch]

meaning i should use my camera flash?

 

[vladimir]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with your camera, or point-and-shoots in general. If possible, turn all flashes off.

 

[Puffer Fish]

Vladimir has it right. This is where white balance becomes important. If your camera shoots raw (which I don't think it does), then don't worry about it until you are dry, but if it doesn't, then you should do a manual white balance.. which can be difficult when trying to take a long distance shot (there is nothing white to point at.

Note: don't forget to put it back when done if you use any strobe... you will not like the results.

Also, odds are that you will be using a slow shutter speed, so try to be as stable as possible and take several images.