Now many of us like to take our cameras and housings on dives to take photos of all the wonderful things we see. We see a variety of different systems, from little compact point and shoot cameras to large SLR systems with multiple strobes. No matter what you have, here are 5 top tips for photographers as suggested by Tree, our former in-house photographer.
Before you even touch the camera...Buoyancy
Before we're even looking at the camera, buoyancy control is the number one thing you will need to master. If your buoyancy is off, you will have a hard time getting the camera to stay where you want it to be pointing.
Solution: practice buoyancy control in shallow water with your camera e.g. taking pictures of fixed objects from various distances without touching the bottom, holding the camera as still as possible. Examine your results afterwards to see what improved and what didn't. If your buoyancy needs more work than that, we offer the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty, where you spend two dives REALLY fine-tuning your buoyancy control.
Camera Controls
If you are using anything more powerful than the most basic point and shoot, one of the first things to master is your camera controls. For different types of photo, you will undoubtedly be switching between modes on the camera - using different settings. Ideally, you should be able to switch between the modes that you use blindfolded. Why? Imagine this: you have just been taking a macro shot of a very small pederson cleaner shrimp, when you back away from the reef and turn around, you are faced with a spotted eagle ray cruising by...Better be quick on those settings!
Understanding Exposure: White Balance and strobes
Colour at depth. You may remember the colour comparison exercise from your PADI Advanced Open Water deep dive - you lose colour with depth. That's why many people's underwater photos have that blue/green cast…White balance is your solution! The other way to overcome this problem is of course to use strobes, but that isn't always an option (depending on your camera/luggage allowance/budget). At the very least, having the option to set custom white balance on your camera is a MUST if you're intending to capture the best of our reef.
Understanding Exposure: Depth of Field and ISO
Having a basic understanding of some photographic principles will help you get the most out of your shots, rather than just leaving your camera fully automatic. The PADI Digital Underwater Photographer course that we offer teaches you some of the theory behind some of these concepts. When you understand those, you will start to take photos on different settings - and you will start to get results. Digital cameras actually record all this information (EXIF data) so you can actually check what settings you used to take the photo. Essential for knowing what works and what doesn't
And finally...Practice!
Take photos, take more photos and take more photos again! Keep taking photos, and you will start getting some serious results!!
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Half Moon Bay Weather Report
Hot and humid, with a hint of a breeze.
Recent Sightings
Seahorse @ Dixies
Leopard Flatworm @ El Aquario (Deep)
Pea (Post-larval trunkfish) @ Overheat Reef (and various other places)
4 Spotted Eagle Rays together!!! @ Seaquest (Deep)
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