zak1227
Registered
Can somebody point me in the right direction.
Thanks
Thanks
Looking for a general guide for strobe aiming..
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cardog
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diver 85
Contributor
In particular, here's a couple of links.....
Video tutorials on underwater photography|Underwater Photography Guide
Welcome to DigitalDiver.net!
then read this site..
Underwater Photography Guide: Getting Started with Underwater Photography
Video tutorials on underwater photography|Underwater Photography Guide
Welcome to DigitalDiver.net!
then read this site..
Underwater Photography Guide: Getting Started with Underwater Photography
Digital diver's setup is pointed the right direction, but oddly is missing some very important information (intentional?)
First off, how far away you are shooting is important, because the setup for one distance is not the setup for another (the beam gets wider as it gets farther from the camera.
Second, it starts with where the strobes are in relation to the camera.
Third, it makes a big difference if you are using one or two strobes.
Fourth, background is really important
And lastly, one has to set the strobe up for the particular strobe one is using as not all have the same field of view.
In the gulf, the majority of the images I take are between 1.5 and 2.5 feet away. I do some a lot closer, and some a lot farther away, but I start with this setup.
I use two strobes, so they can be wider apart than a single strobe, you want to be a bit less than 45 degrees, so at 1.5 ft, that means something over a foot, but less than 1.5 to the side of the camera.
Next turn the camera on and one strobe on and position the strobe close to straight out and take a picture of something solid and fairly flat from say between 1.5 and 2 feet. look at the image... is it uniformly lit? Hopefully you missed and can tell how far the strobe needs to be moved. Do the other side the same way (anymore I just do one side and set the other side up the same.)
Note: make sure to use the widest angle you plan on using, as different widths take different strobe settings.. I use 50 to 90 mm, so use 50 at the startup.
If done correctly, you will only get backscatter at and behind the object. There is nothing you can do to prevent all of it. If the background is light, well the even in terrible vis it will be difficult to see.
So you see this lovely macro item....well, the strobes come in, and you have to redo, but the closer one gets the less there is to be concerned with. Remember, as you move closer to the camera, the strobe has to turn out more. But the bean is getting narrower....so it may take some practice.
So a strobe stops working, or you only have one. Well, then move the strobe in about 1/3 (more on line with the object) and do the setup test (after a while it can become second nature.
Really, really bad vis....well two strobes are not your friend, so get close, and use one strobe.
This was taken with one strobe in 90ft of water, in about 5 ft of vis...I took some real junk that day, but this one shows what you can get, if you set the image up correctly. The coral blocks a lot of the light, so the backscatter cannot be seen.
There is an exception to this, when taking images of soft bodied animals, there, you are using backscatter to make the animal show up.
The following image is as shot, after about 4 hours of photo shop work, I had a great jelly image...but here it is with all the back scatter:
Well that is the short version... good luck and have fun.
First off, how far away you are shooting is important, because the setup for one distance is not the setup for another (the beam gets wider as it gets farther from the camera.
Second, it starts with where the strobes are in relation to the camera.
Third, it makes a big difference if you are using one or two strobes.
Fourth, background is really important
And lastly, one has to set the strobe up for the particular strobe one is using as not all have the same field of view.
In the gulf, the majority of the images I take are between 1.5 and 2.5 feet away. I do some a lot closer, and some a lot farther away, but I start with this setup.
I use two strobes, so they can be wider apart than a single strobe, you want to be a bit less than 45 degrees, so at 1.5 ft, that means something over a foot, but less than 1.5 to the side of the camera.
Next turn the camera on and one strobe on and position the strobe close to straight out and take a picture of something solid and fairly flat from say between 1.5 and 2 feet. look at the image... is it uniformly lit? Hopefully you missed and can tell how far the strobe needs to be moved. Do the other side the same way (anymore I just do one side and set the other side up the same.)
Note: make sure to use the widest angle you plan on using, as different widths take different strobe settings.. I use 50 to 90 mm, so use 50 at the startup.
If done correctly, you will only get backscatter at and behind the object. There is nothing you can do to prevent all of it. If the background is light, well the even in terrible vis it will be difficult to see.
So you see this lovely macro item....well, the strobes come in, and you have to redo, but the closer one gets the less there is to be concerned with. Remember, as you move closer to the camera, the strobe has to turn out more. But the bean is getting narrower....so it may take some practice.
So a strobe stops working, or you only have one. Well, then move the strobe in about 1/3 (more on line with the object) and do the setup test (after a while it can become second nature.
Really, really bad vis....well two strobes are not your friend, so get close, and use one strobe.
This was taken with one strobe in 90ft of water, in about 5 ft of vis...I took some real junk that day, but this one shows what you can get, if you set the image up correctly. The coral blocks a lot of the light, so the backscatter cannot be seen.
There is an exception to this, when taking images of soft bodied animals, there, you are using backscatter to make the animal show up.
The following image is as shot, after about 4 hours of photo shop work, I had a great jelly image...but here it is with all the back scatter:
Well that is the short version... good luck and have fun.
OP
zak1227
Registered
Thanks for the links, and thank you Puffer Fish for the short lesson and sample pictures. I'm starting off with a single strobe (YS-01) attached to an PEN- E-PL1 and 14-42 kit lens w/flat port. I have so much to sort out before my trip to Roatan and first outing with my "first" u/w camera rig. Unfortunately for me, my new camera rig is in the states, and I'm in the Middle East. I will have 1 day at best to get familiar with it prior to leaving for Honduras. I wish like anything I could test and practice some of what I'm learning about, but this will have to wait.
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Those websites are great.
If you want a book you can learn all that and more, I highly recommend Martin Edge's book, The Underwater Photographer. I thought I knew quite a bit, but this book kept teaching me new things that really help. If you are wondering about strobes, you'll probably find all the answers and then some, for questions you had not even thought of yet.
Amazon.com: The Underwater Photographer, Fourth Edition (9780240521640): MARTIN EDGE: Books
If you want a book you can learn all that and more, I highly recommend Martin Edge's book, The Underwater Photographer. I thought I knew quite a bit, but this book kept teaching me new things that really help. If you are wondering about strobes, you'll probably find all the answers and then some, for questions you had not even thought of yet.
Amazon.com: The Underwater Photographer, Fourth Edition (9780240521640): MARTIN EDGE: Books
bvanant
Contributor
I second both the UWPhotoguide and Martin's book. There is quite a bit in Martin's book about strobe positioning particularly with one strobe.
BVA
BVA
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zak1227
Registered
The book is on it's way, thanks for the recomendation Slowhands...
Slowhands, wanted to thank you for that suggestion. I had not read his book, and you are correct, it does a great job of covering all of the technical issues.
He gets to dive in clear water with lots of lovely things, using hugely expensive gear... I so hate him. I used to use the methods he prefers in the book, but as with a lot of things, different water requires different methods.
Oddly, I don't actually like most of his images, they are, in general, over stobed and over processed, but I suspect that his over the top view of everything being a technical setup, ends up producing a very technical image. But he does a very nice book.
Note: I am missing the "art" gene also, so I know what I am talking about.
When I think back about the differences in the few great photographers I have met, it strikes me that one can either be a great technician or a great artist. Technicians write books and arts make art...
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