Practicing fall-off top side

[M DeM]

hi folks

I don’t get to shoot underwater as much as I want and what’s toughest for me is to gauge (by eye/muscle memory) is flash fall off.

I want to be able to look at something underwater and gauge “I should be this much closer” or “I should open up/compensate this much” without having to take 5 test shots first.

Big white walls in my apartment so definitely no good. ND filters aren’t going to simulate underwater... anyone have tips?

 

[bvanant]

Do you have a pool that is accessible? No amount of practice (for most people) will get you comfortable since the relationship between GN in air and in water is not typically linear and depends enormously on water clarity.
Bill

 

[2ndjetty]

Like Bill said, it really is something to be learned in-water. I'd suggest studying your camera settings from different shots, and even make notes on strobe positioning after each dive. This way you can study your settings/lighting for each image at home in between dive trips. It's not very exciting, but the 'classroom' time will help truly understand the relationship of the exposure triangle and variables contributed by the artificial light source.

You could also look towards affordable studio lighting classes and online tutorials. After all, lighting principals are all the same (key light, fill light, etc.).

 

[bvanant]

One useful way to practice if you have a second happy snappy camera is to take a picture of your rig when you shoot a certain way. When I was starting out I took a notebook with me and shot a thousand setups in our local pool with notes on strobe position with a tape measure (used for Reef Check transits) to position a subject say 2 meters away and played that way.
Bill

 

[M DeM]

Do you have a pool that is accessible? No amount of practice (for most people) will get you comfortable since the relationship between GN in air and in water is not typically linear and depends enormously on water clarity.
Bill

Not really. I've got Dutch Springs in NY with vis of about... oh... a foot. Okay, exagerating there, but you get the idea.

Oh wait! I do! It's a pool at the college where I teach so I'm not sure how they'd feel about me dragging a camera in there, but it's an idea....thanks!

 

[M DeM]

Like Bill said, it really is something to be learned in-water. I'd suggest studying your camera settings from different shots, and even make notes on strobe positioning after each dive. This way you can study your settings/lighting for each image at home in between dive trips. It's not very exciting, but the 'classroom' time will help truly understand the relationship of the exposure triangle and variables contributed by the artificial light source.

You could also look towards affordable studio lighting classes and online tutorials. After all, lighting principals are all the same (key light, fill light, etc.).

I noticed I haven't heard a lot about fill lighting or lighting ratios underwater! I was wondering about that. I mean, I actually *teach* cinematography, but that's what I've spent my life learning - continuous light. I know jack s**t about these damned strobes.

I'm definitely going to start writing down strobe positions.... that's a great suggestion.

 

[M DeM]

One useful way to practice if you have a second happy snappy camera is to take a picture of your rig when you shoot a certain way. When I was starting out I took a notebook with me and shot a thousand setups in our local pool with notes on strobe position with a tape measure (used for Reef Check transits) to position a subject say 2 meters away and played that way.
Bill

That is really interesting.... the pool settings translated pretty fairly into the ocean?

 

[bvanant]

Pool settings do indeed transfer relatively easily to the ocean (at least when the ocean is relatively clear). Get Martin Edge's book on Underwater Photography (4th Edition) and read Chapter 6 (all about lighting). UW you will not have the luxury that you have in the studio or on the set, for the most part your strobes will be attached to your camera so getting strobe backlighting, rim lighting and the equivalent of hair lighting is definitely trickier than on land. that being said, you can do a lot with continuous lighting UW if you have patience and are willing to shoot at relatively high ISO. In any case, good luck and have fun
Bill

 

[Steve_C]

Note that there are different ways the water cannot be clear. There is hazy. There is you can see quite a ways but there is large particulate floating around, or maybe the particulate is small. It varies a lot at least where I dive.