Shooting into light coloured sand

[PatW]

I generally shoot low iso, point the strobes so they just hit the fringe and/or dial down the strobe’s power.

 

[KeithG]

This image provides an example of shooting with your lights down on the sand

Sand

• KeithG
• Feb 14, 2018

 

[MMM]

Good memory. EM5II. Yes, for macro on sand. I have a single YS01 so less power than yours, yes?

And yes, by blow-out, I'm referring to exposure and not white balance. I got a pretty good macro shot today on my first attempt by turning my strobe upwards. That worked faster than trying a bunch of different power settings.

It isn't that these things are necessarily moving quickly...it's that the current is and everyone else in the group is halfway to Cuba by the time I get done fiddling with settings! I'll post a couple of shots from today into the sand that seemed to come out much better...once my camera comes out of the rinse bucket.

Are you using Olympus EM5? I recall maybe you were.

Is this for Macro on sand or maybe the 12-50mm further away?

For macro I must turn down the strobe power and I use diffusers. I also try to shoot as horizontal as possible and not down. And am using auto white balance.

Moving the strobes out and away to catch the light edge may help but I generally adjust shutter speed, f-stop and strobe power. My default strobe power on Sea and Sea YS02s are half power and are always manual. I may go to quarter power for macro on sand or if very shallow on bright sand, I may just turn the strobes completely away for no strobe light and use shutter speed and f-stop changes. I don't like turning on and off devices underwater too much.

I generally close down the aperature a couple of f-stops. If I have time I will change fstop to f16 or f22 (and depends on what you want depth of field to be) and maybe a fast shutter speed to get a dark shot then start backing off. If you are using Oly then I assume you are using the live boost on the display that comes on when you depress the shutter button half way so you can see the subject. I have decent macro shots at f11 but depends on light and subject.

I have the display set to show the shot for a few seconds. Then start bracketing. If what I am shooting does not move much then I might use shutter speed changes instead of f-stop so depth of field doesn't change as much.

I don't change ISO settings much but if you have it set high maybe back off a bit.

If you are more shallow then moving clouds can make a huge difference on sand. One more thing to pay attention to.

I am assuming by blow out that this is exposure and not just white balance. I have not been carrying a card/slate for this but if the problem is white balance and if you are using the Oly then you can manually change white balance. It will be shot by shot in manual and you will have to keep doing it the entire time until you go back to auto. I assume you use auto white balance now.

 

[ibj40]

Another simple tactic I've used in the past is just to put a finger or two over the strobe lens to block some of the light. Simple, fast, and no equipment needed.

I've struggled with this for a while. My DC1400 gets blown out if I point the strobe at anything more reflective than black rocks at night....

I have the same problem with mine. Went through every setting possible, added the diffuser, then started just turning the strobe off when shooting into sand.

 

[KeithG]

I have the same problem with mine. Went through every setting possible, added the diffuser, then started just turning the strobe off when shooting into sand.

Shooting into white sand using strobe lighting seems to be a TTL challenge for many cameras. I am unsure of the exact reason but I assume it is due to the extreme brightness contrast between the bright sand and the small darker subject. Maybe some one else knows why?

My first camera had a 100% TTL failure rate in these conditions. Otherwise it was pretty good - over 90% TTL success. It worked great in sand when I used manual since I could control the camera exposure and strobe power.

My suggestions to manually turn down the strobe power are all based upon using a manual setting on the camera. Is the DC1400 capable of manual control? If not, then it is probably incapable of taking this type of picture using strobes.

 

[MMM]

From today. Much better but still room for improvement.

 

[ColoDale]

Good memory. EM5II. Yes, for macro on sand. I have a single YS01 so less power than yours, yes?

And yes, by blow-out, I'm referring to exposure and not white balance. I got a pretty good macro shot today on my first attempt by turning my strobe upwards. That worked faster than trying a bunch of different power settings.

It isn't that these things are necessarily moving quickly...it's that the current is and everyone else in the group is halfway to Cuba by the time I get done fiddling with settings! I'll post a couple of shots from today into the sand that seemed to come out much better...once my camera comes out of the rinse bucket.

The YS01 and YS02 are basically the same strobe. The YS01 has TTL capability. I did not compare all functions but the color temps are the same with or without diffuser (5600K and 5250K with diffuser). Your strobe I think has 10 strobe settings which you might be able to control manually via settings and not on the back of the strobe (don't know as I haven't seen the back of it).

I assume you are using the 60mm 4/3 Oly lens. The photo you have is a bit bright in the upper right quarter. Still a good photo.

So I would go down an f stop - maybe two and play with the shutter speed (so say f11 to f16 or f22). You might get a bit more depth of field too. Lettuce slugs are not that fast so shutter speed won't blur him too much. Make sure to check your ISO settings and bring it down- like 400 or less if it's really high. I usually stick at 200-400. Maybe you have ISO auto set if that is an option in the settings.

I use two strobes and I generally have them to the sides or below the camera line unless I need to move them on top. Or I get fancy with one below and one high but you don't have that option with one strobe.

So in the photo of the lettuce sea slug, did you use the strobe? What fstop and shutter speed? I do see a shadow under it but could be shallow. It was sunny today. If the strobe was used you could try to move it down so the light is even with the camera or below but then that may force you to shoot down more as the strobe would be close to the sand and in the way of a horizontal shot. There will still be a shadow but would be behind it not under.

If no strobe and natural light, I will sometimes swing around and block the sun with my body and use strobes, fstop and shutter speed changes.

And of course there is always post editing (purists will call you names).

You will get your base settings and strobe in your head after awhile and it will be easy to quickly change them.

(very strange in your SB post that only the first line of your comments shows but in the reply there are two more paragraphs. Got the blow-out and separation parts here.)

 

[T.C.]

My suggestions to manually turn down the strobe power are all based upon using a manual setting on the camera. Is the DC1400 capable of manual control? If not, then it is probably incapable of taking this type of picture using strobes.

I'm sure that MMM has tried turning down the power. She's also not using a DC1400- which is capable of shooting good photos into the sand, it just takes adjustment.

 

[Diver Dave1]

Looking at the slug photo, you do not want less light on the slug, just less on the sand.
This situation is one reason why snoots were invented. Lighting the subject and avoiding less desired areas. Often, you can make your own snoot with PVC piping/fitting parts from the hardware store. Fiber optic snoots can work as well. Many people try making their own. A search here and at Wetpixel for DIY snoots should give some results.

 

[bvanant]

Snoots are one good idea. The other is to try inward lighting. See Martin Edge's book (4th ed. p 264 or so). Aim your strobe inward towards the lens. Only light the subject, nothing in the background.
Cheers
Bill