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I first saw this at the Digital Photography School and I found it so beautifully simple and yet important that I had to share it with my readers.
Thomas Hawk shares 10+1 basic tips for all those starting with dSLR photography.
Hats off for Thomas.
Any other simple and yet effective tips you usually apply on your daily photography? Share them bellow.
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I’m feeling a bit weird writing about underwater photography knowing that it’s freezing cold outside. Nevertheless, there are so many places where, by this time of the year, it’s warm and the water is inviting for a dive.
For those of you lucky enough to live in such a place, or as many do, spend the holidays near a water paradise, and want to record those moments not only above water but also bellow it, here are a few basic tips for underwater photography.
While some more advanced underwater photos (and of course better ones) will require specific and often expensive equipment, not to mention time spent on diving courses and all the equipment required for it, there is no reason not to try it with a more budget-friendly approach and, with time, go for the gold. But for now, let’s keep above the 10 meters (33 feet) level.
Just keep in this in mind: any beach is a highly hazardous environment for your camera. High amounts of sand, dust and moisture can quickly turn a good camera into a piece of expensive junk. Although there are available “sealing kits” that supposedly wrap your camera on a protective housing and protect it from dust and moisture, and some even allow you to take your camera underwater to low depths, personally I’ve never tried them. There is something about taking my camera underwater that puts me off. So what are the alternatives? Go for cheap and dirty: try a disposable underwater camera.
Disposable underwater cameras are simple cameras pre-loaded with film, protected inside an acrylic case. You can use them around and underwater up to a certain depth. Don’t expect “National Geographic” quality photos, but for beginners they are the best choice.
And now I’m imagining you thinking: “I’m already on the digital age, I have my workflow set, I’m used to digital processing, why would I go back to film and above all on a… ugh… disposable?”. Well, it’s your camera and it will be surrounded by water with increasing pressure as you go down. If you don’t have the money for a custom case that you’ll probably use once a year for a few shots, why not?
As with any other field in photography, there is a multitude of options available. The good news? As it is disposable, it will be cheap and the most you’ll loose if everything goes wrong is the camera and developing costs. From my personal experience, I never had a situation in which everything got ruined.
Before choosing which camera to take, there are several variables that you need to consider:
Water works as a massive light filter. The further you go from the surface, the less light you will have available and importantly, the less red light you’ll have. If you stay above the 10 meter (33 feet) level, this is not a major issue (although it’s noticeable), but if you want to go deeper you simply need to provide your own red light source. This is why photos taken with this kind of equipment tend to be blue all over. Bellow 10 meters, a camera with flash is a must, even in clear waters. This poses another problem: If there are particles in the water, the flash light will reflect on them and overexpose your photos. So, try to choose your camera based on what you want to shoot and the conditions you’ll have in the water.
This might sound too simple if you think that you are used to be worried with apertures, shutter speeds, depth of field, etc., and now you won’t have to. But realize that underwater you have many other things to be worried about: try staying still at 5 meters to correctly frame your photos in a water with just slight current and you’ll see what I mean.
As a guideline, try looking at the specs of three well-known underwater disposable cameras: Kodak Ultra Aquatic, Agfa LeBox Ocean, Fuji QuickSnap Marine.
As I mentioned above, when underwater you don’t have the luxury of time to correctly frame a shot, or choose the best angle, specially if you intend to shoot wildlife. First, as as you’ll notice very very quickly, unless you take a bottle with you, you need to surface on a regular basis (yes, breathing is essential) and the cute little fish won’t stay there waiting for you. Also, looking through the camera with a diving mask on your face is much harder than it sounds. The fact that you won’t have a zoom on this camera will also require that you get as close as possible to your subject while keeping you and the subject safe.
As a good advice, if you have the time, try shooting your camera of choice on an open-air swimming pool just to get the feeling of it.
If possible, try shooting between 11 AM and 2 PM to make use of the higher levels of light penetration on the water. The angle at which light enters the water earlier or later in the day will reduce the depths at which you can shoot.
While the films inside these cameras have nothing special about them, you can improve the end result by taking it to a shop that specializes in underwater film processing. They are not so easy to find but the difference between the special processing and the regular film processing can have dramatic effects on the prints, making them much more vibrant and reducing the blue cast they will have otherwise.
Although this article is not extensive, I hope I managed to provide a few tips to spark your curiosity about underwater photography next time you go to the beach and improve your experience and results.
Have you tried underwater photography on a basic level? What other tips and experiences can you share with us? Leave them on the comments right bellow.
A Marques
How to
It’s a full moon today. So, here are a few tips to take great photos of the moon. Grab your camera and go out there.
The moon has always been a scene that attracts many amateurs and professional photographers. It’s without question the brightest spot in the night sky and maybe due to the lunar mystic or simply due to its beauty a magnet for cameras.
But photographing the moon is not as linear as it seems. The moon is very bright (more than you probably think) and getting the right exposure that avoids the flat look can be tricky.
300mm; ISO 100; 1/250s; f/11
One of the most common mistakes photographers make when first attempting to get lunar shots is underestimating the brightness of the moon. The first shots will almost undoubtedly come out overexposed with an ugly bright circle where the moon should have been.
Many photographers claim that since the moon is directly illuminated by the sun, setting your camera for a “daylight photo” can be a solution. Some also recommend following the sunny 16 rule (f/16 at 1/ISO) or the loony 11 rule (f/11 at 1/ISO). If you take a look at the photo above and the settings I used, none of these actually applied but probably due to the fact that the Earth’s atmosphere absorbs a huge amount of the light and this value varies according to the angle of the moon above the horizon. Using a “fixed” value does not work and you should experiment to find the best results. I tried the following the loony 11 but gave an overexposed moon with some detail loss in the brightest areas.
Start with the following settings:
Now set your autofocus to point, aim at the moon, focus and turn the autofocus off. Don’t touch that ring anymore.
For good measure bracket your EV 1 or 2 units (if your camera allows you can get a few sequential shots with different EV values).
And that is it. Moon photos galore.
Now that you have your moon, it’s time to work on it in silico.
The photo above was only cropped. No other processing. So, you can see that is possible to get average moon photos just out of your camera. If you want to make it even better, try playing a bit with the curves on Photoshop. You’ll probably manage to give more texture to your photo by increasing the contrast between midtones and highlights. Somehow I liked the result as it is (albeit flat) and decided not to touch it anymore.
If you want a more natural texture with more shadows, giving the lunar landscape a more tri-dimensional feeling, try shooting the different moon phases and not only full moon. The different angles at which the sun illuminates the lunar surface can create astonishing effects.
Now, this photo was taken back in the end of April, but for what I can see, today is full moon or very close to it. So, why not go outside and be creative? Let’s hope there are no clouds wherever you are.
Got any more tips for good lunar photography? Share them with us…
