Peter's Sipadan adventures and photo articles

SIPADAN:
UNDERWATER SHOOTING TIPS

Let's say you're a diver, or perhaps just a very enthusiastic snorkeler. You may never before even have contemplated taking pictures underwater because of the huge costs associated with underwater housings, strobe arms and strobes, and the steep learning curve associated with acquiring the level of knowledge required to shoot successfully.

When I was last in active dive instructing (and that was before we left South Africa to immigrate to Canada), that certainly was the case. Only the most avid photo enthusiasts contemplated spending the large sums of money required to put together a competent set-up.

But now, digital has changed everything. On my current visit to Sipadan, what has struck me forcefully is that virtually every diver now has a small point and shoot housed camera, and is happily snapping away underwater.

Set aside the fact that virtually all of them seem to be climbing over each other to try and take advantage of the photo-ops that the divemasters are pointing out. Also, that most of the photos they take are blurred, under or over exposed, and often don't include the actual intended subject. The fact is, the digital revolution has now made it possible for a diver to own (for example) a simple point and shoot like the Canon G6 or G7, and purchase a housing from Canon (or many other manufacturers), for just a few hundred dollars.

It is true that this does NOT apply to digital SLRs. One can still typically expect to pay the proverbial "arm and a leg" for a high-quality SLR housing. You need then to add to that two strobe arms and attachment mechanism, and follow that with a pair of competent underwater strobes (flash) units. And that all makes for a very significant financial investment.

However, my observation was that probably 90% of divers that I dived with, were simply using small point and shoot cameras in a simple housing, with no additional external strobes - content to use the internal flash from the camera. If you have read the earlier article I posted on the performance of the Olympus 770SW you will note that I got quite excited about the fact that the camera actually worked as advertised WITHOUT the need for a housing (if you were prepared to dive shallower than 10 metres).

This article, however, is not focused on the equipment side of things, but rather about the techniques and strategies that should be used with any camera when shooting underwater. While not exhaustive, the list that follows is a summary of the most important techniques that you need to pay attention to. We will shortly be running a new course in the school entitled "Principles of Underwater Photography" and for those of you who are seriously interested, I suggest you contact us and put your name on the list to be notified once it is up and running.

Pictures that are scattered throughout this article were in fact taken using the Olympus camera mentioned above.

Bring your lighting with you

There is no factor more critical underwater than the issue of lighting. It is important to understand that even in shallow water, the colour of the light available to the diver changes dramatically. The blue rays penetrate deep, and are therefore very prevalent in most underwater photos. The vital colour red is very quickly absorbed as the diver descends, and even within the first 10 feet, it is either totally absent, or very much depleted. What this means, is that without the aid of a flash, your pictures will have a heavily blue colour cast that is not easily eliminated in Photoshop. The deeper you are, the more serious the problem becomes.

Now, it is not only the colour of the light that causes the underwater photographer difficulties, but also the intensity of the light. So, as the light drops, so does the camera's shutter speed. And, given the brisk, darting behaviour of most reef fishes, this virtually guarantees you pictures in which the fish all exhibit strong evidence of motion blur. Wasted pictures!

The simple solution of course is to use a flash. Now, in housed point and shoot cameras, the flash is inside the housing, and therefore is uni-directional. If your subject is close to the substrate, you may notice a shadow behind the subject. Note this effect in the accompanying photograph to the left.

Nevertheless, given the choice of a slight shadow behind the fish, or a blurred picture if no flash is used, the choice is obvious. Of course in a Digital SLR / housing setup, the use of not one, but two external strobes on adjustable arms gives the u/w photographer the ability to have the light illuminate the subject from both sides, at a more or less 45 degree angle. If in addition, the strobes have diffusion filters, then the light is softened and diffused to completely eliminate any shadow effect.
Avoid the "Snowstorm" effect

One of the most annoying "effects" that destroys our photos underwater has to do with the presence of particles or suspension in the water which dramatically reduce visibility, or worse, when you have the flash active, cause the "snowstorm" effect. This happens when the light bounces off the particles and reflects back into the camera. Generally, because the lightspots are out of focus, they also "flare" and look bigger than they actually are. Of course, the real problem is that they severely obstruct the main subject of your composition and the picture is very difficult to repair - even in Photoshop. So, what can be done about it? Wherever possible, don't use the flash (if you are shallow enough, or the ambient light is very bright); if you need the flash, try and get as close to your subject as possible to minimize the amount of particulate matter between you and the subject. Of course, if you have external strobes and can angle them at around 45 degrees, you may even avoid altogether the appearance of this "snowstorm" effect.
Choose an appropriate ISO setting

Many people never actively use their ISO (Sensitivity) settings preferring to let the camera select it automatically. This is a mistake. Manually adjusting it can give you much greater control and real positive benefits, especially in underwater photography. As with film, higher ISO settings (eg 400, 800 etc) DO lead to increased "graininess" (called digital noise), BUT, they also dramatically increase the camera's shutter speed. So, if you are shooting without flash (because of suspension in the water, or you simply don't have a good flash), then you NEED to get the highest shutter speed possible to avoid blurred results. You can always deal with the unwanted noise in your editing software but at least you will have a sharp picture. However, if you ARE using flash, then you will want to ensure that your ISO is set at the very lowest setting so that your photo will be as "clean', and the colours as well saturated as possible.
Go for maximum depth of field

While on the subject of settings, if you have the ability to manually adjust those all-important shutter speed and aperture settings, you will definitely want to go for as high an F number as possible (obviously given the amount of available light). If you have a good flash, then you can choose one of the highest F numbers (eg F8, F11, F16 etc) to ensure the greatest depth of field for your subjects. This becomes especially important when shooting macro (close-up) subjects. Of course there are exceptions, but generally, you want to see most of your subject/s in good clear focus, and a higher F number (smaller aperture) helps you achieve this. Of course, if you are not using flash, and if there is not a lot of ambient (surrounding) light, you will have to do the opposite - use the lowest F number to give you the maximum shutter speed.
Keeping steady in an unsteady environment

On land, it is just so easy! Set up your tripod, attach camera, trigger your remote and you will get the sharpest, most "jitter-free" results. Underwater - not so much! Not only are your subjects likely to be moving, but so are you. If there is surge, or worse, continuous current, you are always having to content with the fact that staying still is a challenging and sometimes impossible condition. However, you can make things easier for yourself. If surge is a factor always remember that surge pulls back, then forward, then back again, and you should shoot at the END of a push/pull cycle when you are (temporarily) stationary. It also helps if you can (carefully) anchor yourself with one hand or with your body wedged against something that is not moving with the surge. However, don't go damaging corals, or worse, resting your hand on a stone fish or fire coral. Of course, if the current is continuous, you will be doing a drift dive, and will have to shoot most of your subjects "on the move". Typically this means shooting fish that are moving with you in the current rather than subjects that are anchored to the reef or rocks.
Use neutral buoyancy to protect the reef (and yourself!)

If you are scuba diving, this is a critical part of the equation. If you are too heavy (too many weights on your belt) you will constantly be scraping yourself on the reef and corals and will risk both damaging the reef and yourself. Don't forget to inflate your BCD just enough so that you hang motionless in the water, and control your up/down movements through breathing patterns. Of course, if you are merely snorkeling along the surface, and shooting down onto your subjects, then you will naturally want to remain positively buoyant at all times to stay on top.
The closer the better - in most cases

When shooting smaller subjects - in other words, what might be described as macro photography - the closer you get to your subject the better. This is true for a number of reasons. First, you will get less "scatter" in using a flash in particulate-laden water. Second, shooting up close allows your photograph to actually put the attention on the specific subject you are trying to highlight, not just on a large area of uninteresting reef. Lastly, if using a flash, the further away you get, the weaker and less effective the flash becomes. Underwater, the difference of just a foot or two away can mean the difference between a decent well-lit shot, and one that is totally underexposed. Of course, getting closer can also be challenging if your subjects are "skittish" - for example, gobies, blennies, or some of the "shy" creatures like cuttlefish, pipefish, and other "crevice-dwellers".
Pick "camera-friendly" subjects

The wonderful thing about a reef environment is that there are so many interesting, colourful, and striking creatures that are anchored to the reef, and are going to sit stationary while you set up and take your photos: corals, fans, sponges, shells, anemones, clownfish living in the anemones, starfish, nudibranchs - all of these will sit "patiently" while you get yourself into position, and take as many shots as you like. Additionally, there are a lot of fish that do the same thing. For example, clownfish living in the anemone are not going anywhere. Scorpionfish, leaf-fish, and many others will sit very still using their camouflage to escape detection, affording you a great opportunity to take your time for the best shot. However, on the other hand, many fish are in constant motion and are almost impossible to get close to. Goldies, butterfly and angel fish, triggers, surgeons - the list is numerous. Now, if your equipment is "up to it" - powerful strobes, manual controls - and the water is clear, then you should have not trouble in getting good pictures of these fast-moving species. Naturally, the calmer and smoother your movements, and the more controlled your breathing, the more likely it is that you will good some good, close, interesting pictures of the reef's faster-moving inhabitants.
Shoot against the sun for some cool silhouette effects

Since the sun is above you, and you are below the surface (at least, you are if scuba diving), you would be able to get some pretty quick shutter speeds without the need for a flash, if you were to point your camera upwards and shoot towards the sun. Why would you want to do this? Well, there are many examples of extremely dramatic photos taken in this way. For example, you could shoot upwards to get photos of the profiles other divers, turtles, dolphins, whales, schools of barracuda, hammerhead sharks, even large sea-fans and fan corals which would all have a very striking silhouette type of effect against the deep blue colour of the water above you. And, because of the intensity of the light from above, you will probably not get any blurring (unless the movement of the creatures is very fast). And best of all, since you are not using the flash, you get very natural-looking photos that are evenly lit from edge to edge.
Leaky housings - the "kiss of death"

Finally - and this seems like such an obvious instruction - before going down with your camera, take the time and care to inspect (carefully) the "O"-ring seals that protect your precious camera from the completely unforgiving ocean around you. Even a tiny grain of sand, of it breaks the seal, can result in a flooded housing, and I have in my long career as a diving instructor, seen altogether too many of this type of accident. Don't over-lube your O ring - the best seal is formed with a very clean, dry O ring against a very clean, unscratched surface (be it polycarbonate or aluminium). So take the time to ensure that all is well - testing it if possible first - and inspecting it carefully for any evidence that water has entered the camera housing. After all, it is the one accident that will permanently bring an end to your photographic activities.

So that's it! Yes, easier said than done, but after all, nothing good comes without effort, and you will have such fun practicing, that even less-than-perfect results will give you great pleasure, and your continuing efforts will definitely be rewarded with better and better photos over time.

I am happy to have your feedback at plevey@shaw.ca if you have comments or questions.