SAA Policies & Guides
Photography: Building Pictures.
An approach to creating good underwater photographs
In this wide-angle close up
the front of my housing
dome port is 15cm away
from this large anemone
and clownfish.
In my previous article I described the range of lenses suitable for wide-angle underwater photography and the problems that accompany them. In this article I’m going to outline a step-by-step guide to using wide-angle lenses to photograph most subjects.
The most popular wide-angle photograph must be the scenic shot. It’s the one that answers the question ‘what does it look like underwater?’ For seascapes you will need exceptionally good vis. and as wide a lens as possible, (preferably a 15mm amphibious lens or housed 16mm lens). Not all scenic shots need to cover such vast areas though; Small sections of the underwater environment can provide good images and you can get away with less than ideal vis for these.
To capture images of divers, large marine animals and shoals of fish lenses greater than 28mm have to be used. This allows you to reduce the degrading effect of water between the camera and subject without cutting the subject in half. By being close to your subject (less than 2m) you can light it with artificial light to produce sharp brightly coloured shots.
Since many wide-angle lenses focus down to only a few centimetres in front of the port it is possible to use these lenses to take wide-angle close-ups. By setting your aperture to above f11 you can take advantage of the excellent depth of field (of the lens) so that all of your shot will be in focus.
The most beautiful and effective underwater photographs tend to be those that combine two (or three) of the above elements. For many years now underwater photographers have been combining the vivid colours of wide-angle close-up shots with the expansiveness of scenic shots to produce what are known as Close focus wide-angle (CFWA) photographs.
Amphibious lenses of greater than 20mm and housed lenses of over 24mm are best to use because of their short focal distance.
This shot of a group of Sweet lips
is a good example of a Close
focus wide-angle (CFWA) photograph.
The technique for taking these breathtaking CFWA shots is first to obtain an exposure reading for the scenic background. This will determine which f-stop (or selection of f-stops) can be used. The f-stop will then govern the distance between your flashgun and the foreground subject as well as the depth of field of the shot. To achieve a good depth of field you will need an f-stop of f11 or above; this can be achieved either by using a slow shutter speed or by pointing the camera up toward the surface (or combining both). When you angle your camera upwards, be careful you don’t let the sun dominate your background exposure reading.
When lighting the shot, remember your flashgun only lights the foreground. This is a small section of the picture so you don’t need a flash with the same angle of coverage as the lens; it can be a lot less. To help create a natural looking shot, the light from the flash should come from the same direction as the sun whenever possible.
A step-by-step guide to taking Underwater Wide-angle Shots.
This shot of a group of Sweet lips
is a good example of a Close
focus wide-angle (CFWA) photograph.
1. Find a subject. As different lenses do different jobs pick a subject that fits your lens e.g. Wrecks and seascapes will need very wide-angle lenses whilst divers and marine animals of the same size can be taken with lenses around 20mm.
2. Consider the Lighting of the Shot. It will be provided either by the Sun or a Flashgun, or the combination of both. Expose for the most dominant light source.
3. Compose the shot. Move around the subject if at all possible, trying various camera angles viewed through the viewfinder. If you are using an amphibious camera, less than one meter from the subject, remember to allow for parallax error (the viewfinder not showing what the camera is focusing on). When taking shots of divers rehearse on land first; your buddy will be very surprised how close they are required to be. Let them have a go peering through the camera (it’s easier to do this on land or in the swimming pool). Then, your buddy will be more appreciative of what you’re attempting to achieve.
This shot of a group of Sweet lips
is a good example of a Close
focus wide-angle (CFWA) photograph.
As a general rule an upward shot that includes the water column and the sun (or sun rays) compliments most subjects and "places the shot underwater". Those taken at a downward angle will generally be darker and lack colour.
4. Check the Background. You should not let the background overpower your subject; it should compliment the scene. When taking wide-angle photographs it is easy to concentrate on the main subject and allow clutter (such as divers’ arms and legs or air bubbles) to creep into the background. To prevent this from happening check all four corners of the viewfinder before pressing the shutter.
5. Bracket your shots. Unlike close-up photography there are many variables that can occur with wide-angle work. To ensure that at least one of your shots comes out well-exposed and composed take a few frames using different apertures and flash-to-subject distances.
This shot of a group of Sweet lips
is a good example of a Close
focus wide-angle (CFWA) photograph.
Taking wide-angle photographs is much harder than close-up work but once mastered gives a great deal of pleasure both to those who view your work and to yourself. Be prepared to use a lot of film to capture the shot you are after. Remember, film is cheap compared to the price of the effort involved in underwater photography! You can also learn a lot by analysing those shots that did not work by considering them as a learning tool.
Look at other underwater photographers’ work for inspiration; take what you like from them and recreate it in your own individual way. There is a lot of scope for individual style in wide-angle photography.
| First clicks | Shooting small 01 | Shooting small 02 | Getting the Big Picture |
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| Building Pictures | Lighting the underwater world | Colouring the Ocean | Balanced Light photography |
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