blue in pictures

[fishbio101]

I am new to U/W photography and was trying to figure out how it is possible to get the blue out of pictures at deeper depths? all opinions are welcome.

 

[justin-branam]

if you have photoshop, i have a few actions that might help you:

http://www.justinunderwater.com/photoshopactions.htm

 

[Scubakevdm]

The blue happens due to the filtering of the light spectrum by water. If you want colors, you need to bring light, that's why you see these great big strobes on all of the serious shooter's riggs. An alternative is to stay shallow in clear water, or shoot very close up.

 

[H2Andy]

yeah ...

the deeper you go, the more "blue" you'll see. you need to get real close so that the flash can light your subject

the shallower you stay, the more ambient light there will be and the less "blue" you'll see

 

[Diver Dennis]

If I'm shooting wide angle I'll use the white balance tool in Photoshop. Even at shallow depths, unless you are using a Magic Filter you will need to do some color correction. I'll turn my strobes off in shallow water and just shoot in natural light. I always use strobes for macro.

Depending which camera you are using, you can set the white balance manually at depth.

 

[RikRaeder]

Manually adjusting your camera's white balance at shooting depth seems to help a lot also (if you aren't all ready).

 

[UTKnox]

Are the Magic Filters really worth the cost?

 

[Diver Dennis]

I don't use one but I know a couple of Pros who do and they really like them.

 

[Gilligan]

Are the Magic Filters really worth the cost?

The Magic Filter, like any other filter, helps to depths of about 40 feet or so depending on the amount of ambient light. The Auto Magic Filter will not allow you to use your strobe as the filter is inside the housing and you cannot compensate for it with the strobe. Photos will be red when using the strobe. The regular Magic Filter is also inside the housing and you would have to re-calibrate your white balance when switching from non-strobe to strobe shots. The Magic Filter is intended to be used without a strobe.

If you are shooting photos in the JPEG mode using "manual white balance" is the best way to go for non-strobe shots. Calibrate your white balance at varying depths and changing light/visibility conditions then post-process your photos in Photoshop or the like. Also post process the shots with a lot of blue ocean in them with a digital noise remover like Helicon Filter (free download version).

 

[Gilligan]

I am new to U/W photography and was trying to figure out how it is possible to get the blue out of pictures at deeper depths? all opinions are welcome.

Use manual white balance (if your camera has that feature) for all your non-strobe shots.

If your camera does not have manual white balance capability then a Photoshop process nicknamed the "mandrake process" will help.