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!?
The over-under or split shot, where in a single image the photographer has managed to photograph something underwater while also capturing what's happening above the water, is a real crowd pleaser. These types of photos look incredibly difficult to do, but actually they are quite simple if you follow a few simple steps. 5. Large Dome Port In order to capture what's going on above and below the water we not only need a wide angle lens, but also a larger dome port to provide maximum surface area were we can really get that division of land and underwater. If you are using a smaller compact camera where the lens surface areas is about an inch in diameter the chances of capturing a split shot are not very good. However, if are using a camera housing that allows for a larger dome port than you just need to follow the next steps. 4. Shallow subject The best results will be when you have a subject in shallow shallow water, anywhere from a few inches in depth to a couple feet. Anything deeper than four feet or so makes it difficult to capture the subject in nice natural light, but also makes it challenging to include both the topside and underwater subject in the same frame. 3. Balancing the Natural Light Light is key for this type of photo as we rapidly run short of light underwater, even in just a few feet. If we want to have balanced light throughout the photo, where the topside and underwater subject share a similar exposure, we need a nice sunny day and also to remember to keep the sun behind us. If we start facing into the sun or shooting too early in the day or too late in the afternoon where the
The over-under or split shot, where in a single image the photographer has managed to photograph something underwater while also capturing what’s happening above the water, is a real crowd pleaser. These types of photos look incredibly difficult to do, but actually they are quite simple if you follow a few simple steps. 5. Large
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