We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw the latest video on Facebook. What kind of lights were used for these shots? I don't have an underwater light but maybe I should get one. What would you recommend?” “I have a question about my Olympus TG 6 camera. Would it make sense to add a Backscatter TTL mini flash? I thought it might help on cloudy days or for dark settings and maybe murky waters if close enough to the subject. I would appreciate your advice.” A lot of people think, and rightfully so, that adding a video light or an external flash to their current camera setup that it will yield photos or videos with more true-to-life colors. In the simplest of terms, they are not wrong. More light underwater does equal more color. However, light doesn't work the same way underwater as it does on land and there are quite a few variables we need to take into account for this to be true. First of all, water is significantly more dense than air is, around 840 times more to be roughly precise. What does this mean? Well, it basically means that your light, whether it's a strobe or a constant video light, just won't travel very far. Second, we need to take consider the sun's power versus the power of our light. If you walk around your garden or a park on a bright sunny day and shine a flashlight on the different flowers, you're really not going to
We regularly post photos and videos from our many different tours on our website or other social media platforms which are taken by our Snorkel Venture Snorkel Guides, and quite often this content prompts quite a few questions from our guests. The bulk of these questions centers around video lights or strobes/flashes. “I just saw
I don't feel like I'm going out on a limb here when I say that snorkelers love fish, reef fish in particular. Given the affordability of underwater cameras nowadays, we've found that our guests absolutely loooooove to take photos of reef fish while on our snorkel safari. The thing is though, as much as they love taking photos of reef fish, many times the guests just aren't satisfied with their photos. Having run numerous Snorkel Venture snorkeling safaris with our camera-happy guests and having helped many realize and avoid many of the common pitfalls guests run into while photographing reef fish, I'd like to break down some of the elements that make up a really great reef fish photo. Subject is in Focus This is arguably one of the most important elements to any photo, if it's out of focus it just doesn't work no matter what. Eye Contact Eye contact is really what draws the viewer in, it's part of what give an image “life.” Visually Interesting Subject This is not a super important thing to focus on, but it does help. Don't get bogged down at finding the most rare and flamboyant creatures to photograph because you'll no doubt many other great subjects. Subject Fills at least 1/3 of the Frame This rule can be broken if you've framed the subject right and found a complementary background, but it's a good rule to follow as a subject that's just too small in the frame is not likely to grab the attention of the viewer. Pleasing Composition There is a lot of room for artistic interpretation here, obviously, but when you're first starting out it's a good idea to start with the basics and follow the Rule of Thirds and allow for your subject to have enough “look room”
I don’t feel like I’m going out on a limb here when I say that snorkelers love fish, reef fish in particular. Given the affordability of underwater cameras nowadays, we’ve found that our guests absolutely loooooove to take photos of reef fish while on our snorkel safari. The thing is though, as much as they
Before we talk about the benefits of taking wide-angle photos, I want to quickly explain what exactly I mean by “Wide Angle.” Wide-angle generally reefers to the photographer using a lens or a lens adapter that either goes onto the camera itself or mounts on the housing and will significantly increase the field of view beyond what the human eye can see. For example, most compact cameras will have a field of view when zoomed all the way out of about 70-90 degrees, this is roughly what the human eye sees in a fixed position. Interpretation of the differences in perspectives from a 'naked' compact camera lens and a wide-angle lens A wide-angle lens or a wide-angle lens adapter will increase the field of view to anywhere from 120-180 degrees, depending on the camera lens and or adapter. So, as you can see, most compact cameras, aside from the GoPro, really don't allow you to shoot true wide-angle photos. In order to do so, you'll need to purchase an after-market wide-angle lens. For wide-angle lens info, you can check out this blog. For now, let's talk about the benefits of shooting in “wide-angle”. 1. Closer Really, the biggest benefit of using a wide-angle lens underwater is the fact that with this increased field of view, we can now get nearly twice as close to our subject without cropping our intended composition. On land, where we're shooting through air, we can more or less compose the same scene regardless of whether we're using a wide-angle lens or a telephoto lens, we just need to back up further. It doesn't work like this underwater, unfortunately, the more water we have between our camera and the subject the more clarity and color we lose in the image, especially in water with a lot
Before we talk about the benefits of taking wide-angle photos, I want to quickly explain what exactly I mean by “Wide Angle.” Wide-angle generally reefers to the photographer using a lens or a lens adapter that either goes onto the camera itself or mounts on the housing and will significantly increase the field of view
Can I access all the buttons when the camera is in the housing? If you have a camera and housing combination, it's very important to know whether or not you can access all the buttons of the camera once it's in the housing. Don't ask me why, but quite a few housing manufacturers don't make it possible to access all the different buttons on your camera. This is a good question to ask before you purchase a housing. If you already have a housing and just realized you can't access all the buttons and dials, look online for other ways of accessing that same control, sometimes there will be an option in the cameras menu system to toggle the same function without the button. What is the maximum depth my camera and or housing can be submerged to? This one is pretty self-explanatory, you don't want to be diving down deeper than your camera or housing is rated for. How do I access the white balance and or underwater shooting modes? All cameras will have a white balance function, but only a few cameras—like the Olympus TG series, will have underwater white balance and or underwater shooting modes. In order to get the best underwater color correction, it's vital that you know what white balance options your camera has and how to use them. How do I set a custom white balance underwater? Many cameras don't come with a built-in underwater white balance setting, so, in order to get great underwater images full of natural colors, it's important that you know how to properly set and store custom white balance settings. Does my camera have a macro setting or mode, if so, how do I access it? For those of you who love shooting small critters, knowing how to quickly
Can I access all the buttons when the camera is in the housing? If you have a camera and housing combination, it’s very important to know whether or not you can access all the buttons of the camera once it’s in the housing. Don’t ask me why, but quite a few housing manufacturers don’t make
Just about every camera nowadays has both a video and photo function, which provides us with a ton of opportunities for creatively capturing the underwater world. With so many options though, it can be a bit overwhelming when a unique underwater moment presents itself to you completely out of the blue. What do I do!? Should I film it or photograph it? As someone who spends a lot of time switching between video and photo, I'd like to share a few quick tips that have helped me decide whether I'm going to capture the moment with the camera's video mode or the photo mode. 1. What is your ultimate goal? If you know how to use editing software and plan to make a little highlight reel from your snorkeling adventure, then filming would be the way forward. Similarly, if your intent is to have a collection of photos to share with friends or to hang on your wall, you'd want to stick with the photo mode. This is a really important thing to think about as I know a lot of people who just film everything they see because in a lot of ways filming is easier and can be more gratifying at the moment, but then they find they don't know how to edit videos or just don't have the time to and then they end up with hours of footage just sitting on their hard drive. 2. A bit of Both A lot of the underwater encounters we have can last for a while, which means you can do a bit of filming as well as photography. Remember to prioritize which of the two mediums is more important to you at the end of the day and start with that one. 3. Video for fleeting moments I always
Just about every camera nowadays has both a video and photo function, which provides us with a ton of opportunities for creatively capturing the underwater world. With so many options though, it can be a bit overwhelming when a unique underwater moment presents itself to you completely out of the blue. What do I do!?
