New to Underwater Photography

[FMB]

Hi, I’m a land photographer currently and I think underwater photography would be a pretty fun hobby for me to transfer to. I currently shoot on a Nikon 7100 with a 35mm lens, however I want to keep that as my family camera vs buying housing to take it underwater.

Wondering what the best beginner tips/advice are for shooting underwater since a lot of “for fun” photos I see are murky or very blue. Is this taken out during editing or is it subjective to gear/settings? Also wondering what the best starter gear is.

 

[Nemrod]

Technically, you are not new to something until you have done the something. Until then you are contemplating the something.

The reason the photos are often blue and murky is they were shot too far away without a strobe(s) with an inexpensive camera and no wide angle lens. Unless the inexpensive alternative to your more expensive "family" camera has a fairly large sensor and shoots in RAW and can use wide angle or macro lenses and unless you invest in some strobes, your photos will also often be murky and blue.

The Olympus TG6 can do most of these things and is popular and has housings from several companies available. It does macro very well, WA less so. It has a teeny, tiny, bitsy little sensor the size of a gnats eye, limited dynamic range, has no manual controls and only two f stops (f2.0 and f2.8) and an internal ND filter to give (fake) two more but can do RAW files. But, people get satisfying shots with it when equipped with strobes. So that might be a starting point, especially to explore macro.

If serious about UW photography, purchase strobes that can move forward from the lower end camera when you realize it cannot do what you want to do (possibly). Like Inon D200 or Z330 or S2000 or YSD2 etc.

James

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

Technically, you are not new to something until you have done the something. Until then you are contemplating the something.

The reason the photos are often blue and murky is they were shot too far away without a strobe(s) with an inexpensive camera and no wide angle lens. Unless the inexpensive alternative to your more expensive "family" camera has a fairly large sensor and shoots in RAW and can use wide angle or macro lenses and unless you invest in some strobes, your photos will also often be murky and blue.

The Olympus TG6 can do most of these things and is popular and has housings from several companies available. It does macro very well, WA less so. It has a teeny, tiny, bitsy little sensor the size of a gnats eye, limited dynamic range, has no manual controls and only two f stops (f2.0 and f2.8) and an internal ND filter to give (fake) two more but can do RAW files. But, people get satisfying shots with it when equipped with strobes. So that might be a starting point, especially to explore macro.

If serious about UW photography, purchase strobes that can move forward from the lower end camera when you realize it cannot do what you want to do (possibly). Like Inon D200 or Z330 or S2000 or YSD2 etc.

James

Agreed. One avenue to consider is to buy a used obsolete compact camera and housing to "learn on". Mentally write off the cost immediately and consider the camera disposable once you have gained enough knowledge and experience.

Use it to discover what "type" of underwater photography you want to do.

 

[Skeptic14]

Wondering what the best beginner tips/advice are for shooting underwater since a lot of “for fun” photos I see are murky or very blue. Is this taken out during editing or is it subjective to gear/settings? Also wondering what the best starter gear is.

Probably the most fundamental aspect of UW photography that has to become second nature is getting close... extremely close.

Photos are murky/blue because the subject was too far away... like handful of feet away, which is just too far, especially in water that isn't extremely clear.

I still find myself underestimating the necessary proximity a bit on my first dive days after a decent layoff.

Therefore, unless you're shooting macro or very small subjects a WAL is very handy, my best photos almost invariably were taken from within a foot of the subject.

Strobes to add light (and color... well all 3 Cs really) are highly recommended too.

You can do some correction in post starting with a RAW (white balance, temp and tint) but that should probably be considered just a fine tuning step.

Starter gear is hard to say, it really depends on what you think your progression will be, however probably the best general advice is to start with strobes that you can grow with, similar for arms and other accessories.

TG6 are a great way to be introduced to UW photography I think particularly if you haven't done photography in general, but since you have you may find it limiting quickly.

 

[PatW]

Underwater photography is ….. challenging. As pointed out above, to get good shots, you will need one or two strobes (and they ain’t cheap) and a decent camera capable of doing RAW for color correction. I went through essentially 3 cameras. A basic underwater camera that was not very useful but I did learn with it. I then went to a high end point and shoot (RAW capable) with a housing and strobe. It worked pretty well but taking photos of anything that was not pretty stationary was a crap shoot because of the focus and shutter lag. I had to take shot after shot after shot and every now and then I got lucky.

Then I transitioned to a DSLR system and my success rate with shots improved from 1/25 photos to 2/3 photos. On a dive I used to take 100s of photos and now I rarely break 50 and that includes shots just figuring the light and stuff (I shoot full manual so it takes a few ranging shots). My current camera I call BoatAnchor 2.0 (for its size but it is easy to handle underwater and the housing gives great control and the controls are very well placed. With my BoatAnchor I have entered some photography contests and won some. Not big stuff but it is satisfying and the photos are used for things like calendars.

A friend of mine has a nice mirror less system and it does very well. A good mirrorless system can give very high quality shots and has the advantage of being far more compact than a DSLR system. That really comes in handy on macro shots where you need to get into a tight area something that is. …. Challenging in a far larger DSLR system.

You might want to look at the web sites of some of the major dedicated underwater photography stores like Bluewater Photo and Video, Backscatter or Reef Photo. And Video. You can look at the systems offered and it will give you some ideas.

Now if you are a good photographer and know your system even a modest setup can give really impressive photos. I have not been on the Canon board here for some time but Gillighan used to do really nice macro shots with a modest Canon point and shoot and a strobe. It was impressive what he could do with that equipment.

Another thing, do not try underwater photography unless most diving has become pretty automatic. Photography gets you task loaded and forgetting things like how much air you have, how deep you are or how close you are to deco can be really serious. I have a routine that I follow after a shot sequence where I check certain things like: DECO, AIR, Depth, Where am I? And Where is everyone else? And if I am taking a series of shots, I have to take a break for the checklist. Also, something that is really important in photography is buoyancy. For my looking at a critter, where I am is not that important. For taking a shot, I have to be in exactly the right place and that takes control.

It can be rewarding but it tends to be all consuming. So it might be something you do not really want to mess with.

 

[FMB]

Thanks guys. I’m pretty familiar with shooting strictly RAW and making corrections afterwards. Just wasn’t sure if there was equipment that would limit the amount of processing I would have to do.

I definitely plan to work on buoyancy and just refreshing skills in general before adding a camera. I also don’t mind getting close, just wondering if anyone has experienced any of the sea life becoming defensive for being in their space? Are there signs to watch out for?

I also don’t mind maybe even using my current DSLR or getting a new one, just don’t want to chance anything going wrong in the learning process and not having a backup since I capture memories of my kids still. I will look up these suggestions and bookmark them.

 

[Nemrod]

The housing for mirrorless and dSLRs of good quality cost more than the camera. Since you are investing in a system, many purchase two (identical) cameras.

It is not just buoyancy that needs to be spot on. You must be able to maneuver, go up, down, back up/reverse, spin around, go forward and do so without the use of your hands. You must be able to use your fins ONLY 100% of the time and ramming into the reef is a sin. A finger now and then to push off is forgiven. So I am told.

N

 

[Pipehorse]

Hi, I’m a land photographer currently and I think underwater photography would be a pretty fun hobby for me to transfer to. I currently shoot on a Nikon 7100 with a 35mm lens, however I want to keep that as my family camera vs buying housing to take it underwater.

Wondering what the best beginner tips/advice are for shooting underwater since a lot of “for fun” photos I see are murky or very blue. Is this taken out during editing or is it subjective to gear/settings? Also wondering what the best starter gear is.

I have a Subal housing for a D70, Ikelite Housing for D300, and another Ikelite for D800. With associated strobes, arms, housing ports the cost of the cameras etc, its got be more than $20k wrapped up in this equipment. Probably taken well over 100k exposures, however I have become somewhat tired of carrying those rigs underwater. I am currently using a $300 Sealife Sportdiver Housing for my iphone pro 12, and love it. Its compact, takes awesome video, and excellent images, it can be set up to shoot raw if you like. Sealife also makes the Sportdiver for android phones. A base for lighting and the light can be purchased separately or together for a few hundred dollars more. Before going and buying one of those very expensive housing for a Nikon 7100 you might want to check it out. I am not a Sealife salesman or affiliated in anyway, just think it is a fantastic product for the price.

 

[Skeptic14]

I also don’t mind getting close, just wondering if anyone has experienced any of the sea life becoming defensive for being in their space? Are there signs to watch out for?

I also don’t mind maybe even using my current DSLR or getting a new one, just don’t want to chance anything going wrong in the learning process and not having a backup since I capture memories of my kids still. I will look up these suggestions and bookmark them.

In my experience, typically if marine life doesn't appreciate your proximity they can and will create the desired separation easily and quickly. Becoming adept at approaching your subjects so you can get close enough without spooking them is another skill that most be honed.


Being new to both UW photography (and what makes it different from on land) and diving my advice would be not to start with your dslr housed. If you were an experienced diver maybe jumping straight to a dslr rig would be fine, but that's just based on my experience starting with a simple system and building it up as I progressed. That worked for me...probably not the most monetarily efficient route (although as mentioned with the strobes buy once) but I also had no photography experience on land to start with.

 

[scubadada]

I have a Subal housing for a D70, Ikelite Housing for D300, and another Ikelite for D800. With associated strobes, arms, housing ports the cost of the cameras etc, its got be more than $20k wrapped up in this equipment. Probably taken well over 100k exposures, however I have become somewhat tired of carrying those rigs underwater. I am currently using a $300 Sealife Sportdiver Housing for my iphone pro 12, and love it. Its compact, takes awesome video, and excellent images, it can be set up to shoot raw if you like. Sealife also makes the Sportdiver for android phones. A base for lighting and the light can be purchased separately or together for a few hundred dollars more. Before going and buying one of those very expensive housing for a Nikon 7100 you might want to check it out. I am not a Sealife salesman or affiliated in anyway, just think it is a fantastic product for the price.

Yes, it depends on what you want, and how money and work you are willing to spend to get it. I'm a duffer, my photos are mostly for me, my friends and family, and to post in reviews. I shoot in JPEG and with the exception of cropping, do little to my photos. I shoot an old Canon G7X in a Nauticam housing with vacuum check. The vacuum check saved me from one flood when a fiber was caught in the closure. The main advantage to my system is the one push shortcut to white level balance. I use a small grey card to use this. Subsequent models of the G7X abandoned this shortcut, go figure. Here are are few examples of what I get, not great, but not terrible, many of these were under pretty challenging conditions Trip Report - The Magic of Malpelo, July 9-18, 2021 on the Ferox