Underwater Photography Novice

[Scuba Do]

I am not much of a photographer on land, but have been blown away by everyone's awesome galleries of underwater beauty and want to get in on the fun. Here are my questions: do I need strobes and flashes, etc. for all underwater photography, or is that for deeper (how deep) dives/ caves/wrecks. If I do not use all the bulky paraphernalia, will my photos be washed out? Insights welcome. Thanks.

 

[alcina]

If you haven't already, have a look at the Pink Link in my signature - particularly posts #1, 5, 7. They will answer many initial questions that you will probably have.

The short answer is "yes" you need a strobe to get the best light possible underwater.

But there are ways to get the best out of a system without a strobe for those who don't want to add one for whatever reason. That best will simply not be the same as the best you can achieve with a strobe.

 

[Larry C]

If you are doing shallow dives (less than 40 feet) in excellent vis, with plenty of sunlight, you'll be able to take some nice pictures without a strobe. You can take some pretty good macro (close-up) pictures with just the built in flash on many cameras. You might try getting a good quality camera and housing, shooting with it for a while and then asking someone REALLY nice for a strobe for X-mas, birthday, etc. If you want to really enjoy shooting underwater, get quality eqpt. If you buy cheap, you'll buy twice. Read Alcina's pink links for good ideas on quality eqpt.

 

[stiebs]

I am not much of a photographer on land, but have been blown away by everyone's awesome galleries of underwater beauty and want to get in on the fun.

Hi Scuba Do. The info in alcina's posts are very informative, and will definately help you make some good equipment decisions. However, with all types photography you'll find that a good photographer can take great pictures with ordinary equipment, but a poor photographer still takes poor pictures with the best, most expensive equipment available.

So I suggest that as part of your research into what you want to achieve with your underwater photography, and what equipment you want to do it with, you also do what you can to get a good grasp of photography fundamentals above water. One of the best ways to do this is to read up, and then take heaps of photos, preferably with a digital cam that has as much manual control as possible. (ie, Av (aperture priority), Tv (shutter priority) and M (fully manual) modes)

 

[Fastmarc]

I'm a newb at it as well and I have found that you can get some decent photos with the internal flash on macros, but a strobe is really needed for better shots.
Looking into getting one myself.

 

[Scuba Do]

Hi Scuba Do. The info in alcina's posts are very informative, and will definately help you make some good equipment decisions. However, with all types photography you'll find that a good photographer can take great pictures with ordinary equipment, but a poor photographer still takes poor pictures with the best, most expensive equipment available.

So I suggest that as part of your research into what you want to achieve with your underwater photography, and what equipment you want to do it with, you also do what you can to get a good grasp of photography fundamentals above water. One of the best ways to do this is to read up, and then take heaps of photos, preferably with a digital cam that has as much manual control as possible. (ie, Av (aperture priority), Tv (shutter priority) and M (fully manual) modes)

Good advice. Thanks.