Newbie question

[Xizang]

Hi everyone I'm very very very new to underwater photography and to photography in general. I have a very simple question.

I recently took some underwater shots for the first time and noticed that the pictures were greenish. What causes this? Is this just adjustment settings on the camera or do I need strobes or filters? btw, took the picture using a canon powershot s500

 

[Chris Bangs]

A flash or better yet a Strobe will bring out the color in the foreground!

regarding the green cast, what color is the water? if it is Blue and you are getting green results check your white balance! I set mine to cloudy! works well, but I also shoot in raw mode!

no need for a filter with digital, that correction can be done much better with image editing software, like Photoshop or many others

 

[Xizang]

A flash or better yet a Strobe will bring out the color in the foreground!

regarding the green cast, what color is the water? if it is Blue and you are getting green results check your white balance! I set mine to cloudy! works well, but I also shoot in raw mode!

no need for a filter with digital, that correction can be done much better with image editing software, like Photoshop or many others

I think the water was blue. thanks for the reply!

 

[PapaBob]

Axua:

Chris is giving you good advice. When I started in UW photography I quickly tired of the results in ambient light, even in shallow depths. Blah blue or blue green. Once you get a good strobe, you will start to like the subject and foreground that is properly exposed.

I live in South Florida and mainly dive off the coast here. There is a lot of organic material in the water because of the nutrients supplied by land runoff. My film pictures (regardless of film selection) regularly have a greenish cast in the background where the strobe does not reach. It is amazing how your brain does underwater color corrections on what you see. The camera sometimes gives you the true picture.

I do not shoot digital below water (only for landlubber photos) but many digital gurus suggest bringing a white slate and doing a custom white balance underwater. Chris' method sounds easier if it will work with your camera.

You also should learn photo manipulation with Photoshop or similar program (if you dont do this already). If your camera supports a RAW format, as Chris suggests, you can correct color in the plug in as you import the file to your photo software. Otherwise, Photoshop has a lot of nifty tools for correcting color. I am glad I did not throw my old negatives away!!

Welcome to Scubaboard. You will find a lot of helpful advice here.

---Bob

 

[LChan]

scubabobuba-

that's a cool idea with using the white slate for custom white balancing.

But since the color will change as you change depth, will you need to keep adjusting?
I guess this could be a rough estimate.

thanks

 

[Chris Bangs]

scubabobuba-

that's a cool idea with using the white slate for custom white balancing.

But since the color will change as you change depth, will you need to keep adjusting?
I guess this could be a rough estimate.

thanks

that is correct. But doing it very deep may produce some funky results.

Simple Chris, uses RAW and cloudy!