Jeff's Underwater Photo Basics

These pictures were taken with a Fujifilm F30, and Fuji underwater housing. All shots taken without flash - except the one drumfish shot (which is pretty lousy - but I love these little guys).

Please find below a quick run-down of the basics of underwater photography, so that you may avoid the easy mistakes and get a lot more "keepers". Please note that I'm not a photo pro. But ... I've made all the basic mistakes, have gotten some good advice and am trying to "give back".

So, with that said, here are "the basics of underwater photography". Please note that this framework of observations is designed for those with a decent compact camera and manufacturer's (inexpensive) housing. Also, shots will be taken for the most part between 10'- 65', and under relatively calm open water conditions. In other words ... if you are diving on Punta Sur in Cozumel at 110' and flying along in a 2-4 knot current this page isn't for you :-)

1. Use a LOW ISO. Regardless of how really nice your camera works on land, the rules are different underwater. 100 or less is preferred. Some digital compacts can be set to 50, 64 or 80 - as well as 100. Well as they say - if you've got it FLAUNT it! Use the lowest ISO you can. I only use 200 now if my shutter won't get fast enough to avoid blur. If I can't use 200 or better then I just skip the shot.

Lucky1.jpg is one of my earlier mistakes that is still a nice shot. But ... take a look at it full size at you will definately see the artifacts and grain.

So, for this one most critical setting, instead of having a great shot and something that gets blown up to 8x10 or 11x14 must instead stay inside my PC.

But at least you won't have to learn the hard way. Here's another example of why high ISO is bad for uw photos . This was taken on ISO 800:

2. Use manual white balance (also known as custom white balance). This will help your shots come out with nice colors, even at depth, without a strobe or light or flash. Otherwise, your pics will be tinted green, blue or green/blue. Ok - sure - you could do post-processing on all of them afterward but that's a fair bit of work since "one size" doesn't fit all. :-)

Hopefully your camera supports manual WB. Even if it does, it may not be possible to set inside a housing - some Sony's are like this (big lcd but must use stylus to access various features).

If you are thinking about buying a new compact setup, consider Fuji, Canon, Nikon, or Olympus . They all have manufacturer-made (reasonably-priced uw housings). Most of these can also accept the Inon attachable lenses, strobes etc, so that you can upgrade when you need. When I get a chance, I'll put up a new page w/ a table of recommended inexpensive digicams for uw use.

Ok ... so here's why you will want to use white balance:

Ok, sure, I used a post-processing filter via picasa (free great program) to illustrate my point. But ... the effect is the same as if I had used custom white balance to start. This is the only shot on my site that has been modified in the slightest way (other than to resize/crop).

2a. Ok, Jeff - so now that I'm sold ... HOW do I use custom white balance?

Get yourself a nice underwater photo slate, and keep it clipped to your BC, preferably with some kind of extender so that you have easy access and can't lose it. Technically, you could use any bright clean white plastic slate and get good results though. But if you do - do NOT write on the side that you use it for wb. I happen to use the PADI photo slate - it fits in my bc pocket and has a clip on it for my extenders.

Note: the PADI slate is white on one side and grey on the back. Apparently, it's possible to use this grey instead of white for custom wb. However, I have never tried this.

Tell your camera to "set manual white balance". Consult your manual for how to do this. On the Fuji it takes a few button pushes. Now, the camera will want you to depress the shutter to set it. Per the following illustration, hold your camera roughly horizontal and position the slate so that it just barely fills your lcd (your lcd should look all white, with no fingers poking into the "shot").

Ok - now hit your shutter button. If you have a decent exposure, you should get a message from your camera like "white balance set", or "ok" etc. This means that you are set for manual wb for the approximate depth that you are currently at.

So - let's talk about that now a bit. Generally, it will be to your advantage to keep diving around a certain depth (+/- say 5 feet), so that your white balance setting is pretty close for shot after shot. If you are constantly varying your depth, then either you'll need to keep resetting your wb - or your shots will vary in their quality of color. If I'm going to err in one direction though - I'd rather have a wb that was taken a bit deeper than where I am now than the reverse. The result will be a photo that is somewhat too vivid. To me, this is better than having muted colors and trying to add them back in (if at all).

So, if I'm planing on following the reef along and staying between 40-50', then I'll probably set my wb around 45-47'. This wb is also appropriate if I'm at say 35-40 but shooting into deeper water. If I'll be diving between 35-45 then I'll do my wb around 40-45.

Sometimes, your camera (just like mine) won't accept the wb when you try to set it. This happens to me more often in dimmer afternoon light and at greater depth. You can just try it again once or twice. If that still doesn't work, then try changing your exposure to +2 and try it. Or - you can up your ISO to say 400 or 800 and then try it. The latter usually works for me. Just remember to set your ISO back to 100 afterwards or your shots will be grainy and have lots of artifacts. At relatively shallow depths, say down to 35', custom wb should take easily.

2c. Again - custom WB is so very important for getting accurate colors underwater - especially if you wish to avoid any post processing work. The only post processing that I am interested in doing is really generic - reduce size, rotate and crop. This is pretty easy, and can be done with bulk operations instead of one at a time. Multiple Image Resizer is very useful for this and is free. Picasa is also free and well worth looking at.

3. Avoid using flash - suppress that flash! If you have a good WB then the shots will have a lot of really nice color in them. This will also prevent the backscatter effect of particles in the water. Note: if you have manual wb set and use flash also then the shots will be WAY too vivid. Always set your WB to auto when using flash.

3a. Please note that the "don't use flash" advice is for folks like me - who have a nice little uw compact setup - NOT for you folks with your housed SLR and big strobe setups. You folks don't need this page (and know lots more than I).

4. Use Full manual mode This really is pretty simple - the camera does all the heavy lifting. Now some folks like using Aperture Priority (AP) , and some folks like using Shutter Priority (SP) . Ok ... so what do I recommend? What should YOU do? Well ... it depends.

4a. If the conditions are nice and calm and the light is good, then my preference is to use AP, set my F-Stop to f5 or f5.6 and let the camera choose my shutter speed. But ...

4b. If there's a little bit of surge or current, then SP can be the way to go - set to 1/125 and your shots will usually be in focus. This can also be good if you're trying to freeze action with fast moving fish - you may need to go faster - 1/250 or perhaps even quicker.

4c. But ... what do I really do? I like to take a shot of macro shots and like to vary my F-stop, play around a lot with depth of field and composition. So, even when the conditions aren't the best I usually use just AP.

5. Keep your lens zoomed-out all the way Don't zoom in unless you can't get closer to your subject.

5a. If possible, disable digital zoom entirely . If you can't disable it then simply do not use it. Digital zoom quality is terrible. Ok ... on that zoom rule - sometimes it's not a bad thing to zoom in just a little bit but initially I'd recommend the following instead:

6. Get closer to your subject! You are probably not as close as you think you are!

7. Take LOTS of shots of anything that you want to get. Many times a shot will look great on your camera's lcd and then later look pretty bad on the laptop. So long as my subject is willing I try to take at LEAST 5 shots of anything that looks interesting. Change up your angles and compositions. Many times I'll take 7-10 shots to get one that I really like. This really doesn't take much time but then you'll get a much higher percentage of "keepers".

7. Pre Lock Focus (when useful) . Many subjects underwater are skittish by nature and most divers are pretty scary - except me but I've got a really uber-cool mask w/ black silicone. So, it's useful to pre-focus your camera on something with a halfway depression of your shutter - like that piece of coral over there. Now, keep holding the shutter halfway to keep the focus locked, and compose your intended shot with the fast mover(s) with the bright colors, then depress the shutter to completion.

8. Macro is your friend! Macro photography underwater is very rewarding. You will be able to take a much higher percentage of very keepable shots. It's also great when the water isn't so clear ... like when Hurricane Dean decides to swing by and really stir things up.

8a. All decent compact digicams have a single "enable macro mode" button. When you want to take a great close-up, hit this, then shoot away.

9. If possible, try to shoot horizontal or slightly upwards, not downward if you can reasonably help it - use that extra ambient light

10. Review and Adjust Perhaps the best part of digital photography. When time permits, please try to offload your shots to a laptop etc and review your shots regularly. This way, you can see what worked out really well, and where you need to make adjustments for next time. But, hey - it's a vacation - so don't kill yourself just to review your pics mid-day. Enjoy your diving, take a nap, eat, dive, and review your pics after dinner w/ a beer in hand. :-)

11. Turn your camera off when you are not actively using it. This is to keep the case from fogging up in front of your lens. If you just leave your camera on the whole time it WILL fog up - almost without a doubt. Just in case - I keep my auto-off timer on 2 min, and this seems to be a good setting for me in case I get distracted and forget.

12. More on anti-fogging. Some people advocate keeping a silca gel packet inside the camera case while diving. Silica gel are those strange little white packets that come with electronic stuff, shoes, purses, etc. Essentially they are a type of clear clay that absorbs moisture, and the wrapper is usually tyvek.

Silica gel has only so much capacity (20-40% of its weight), and eventually can't absorb any more. Please note - if these are left out in a hot moist tropical climate they will reach capacity VERY rapidly and will be useless. I keep quite a few with me - all of them inside a plastic zip-lock, inside a second zip lock.

Anyway, use of these inside the camera case while diving can be good. However, you need to be VERY careful! If the slightest bit of the wrapper gets caught against your o-ring, it will wick water right in (and goodbye camera). So, if you are going to use these inside your camera case then make darn sure that it is tucked away deep down away from your o-ring.

Even if you do use silica gel - this is not an excuse to keep your camera on the whole time :-)

I only occassionally use them while diving. However, I DO use them extensively between dives. After the morning dive(s), I'll open up the case, remove the camera, and quickly throw 1-2 packets inside then shut it again. Then I'll download the pictures off the camera (this is preferably done in an AC environment), open the uw case, remove the packets and seal the camera back in. If needed, I change the battery then also. If you are diving in the tropics try to minimize the amount of time your camera is exposed to the humid outdoor salty air.

Sometimes at night, I'll place the camera alone in its own plastic bag with a few packets, and leave the battery panel wide open. In theory, I'm doing this to get all the moisture out of the camera itself, that might have snuck in when downloading shots out of it (Honduras is very humid). Perhaps it's not necessary but it can't hurt and only takes a minute. I feel better doing this.

Technically, you can "recharge" silica packets - heat them in an oven to over 220F, for about 3 hours. But be careful as the tyvek wrapper will be damaged at 250 F and above. I don't recharge mine - I just get them for free from the local department or shoe stores - they are happy to let me take them.

13. Spare Battery. Get one off eBay, etc. Enough said

14. Spare Memory Card. Get one off eBay, etc. I recommend at least 1 GB. 2 GB is even better. The last thing that you need while on a dive is to waste time making room for more shots.

15. Optional Gear. I don't have any of this stuff yet but was exposed to it on my last trip (Roatan - Aug 2007), and will absolutely add some next year. Inon makes a wonderful variety of add-on gear that can be used with many compact cameras. In particular, their standard wide-angle lenses are AWESOME. Depending on your camera and uw case you will either be able to screw them directly onto the outside of your uw case (the Olympus cases are usually good for these). Or for most other cameras, you can get an AD mounting bracket and use their other lenses.

Bottom line, your compact digital uw setup can now have much more flexibility, and for a reasonable cost that you can add-to over time. It is also possible to RENT much of this if you like, which can be very useful for a $350 fisheye that can only be used underwater.

The photo pros at my resort in August used Olympus compact digitals w/ Olympus uw case, and the Inon UWL-105AD Wide Conversion Lens. I have to say that their shots were among the best I have ever seen, and simply put mine to shame. Please note that the 105 can also be used on land - so your $250 is really well spent and you get a true WA lens that can be used year round, not merely on dive vacations. Needless to say the 105 is on my list for next year!

If you want to see what's possible to accomplish with this stuff, from truly talented people, please visit The Inon Artists Pages .

Regards,

Jeff

jkling@nac.net