Shooting under water beckons more than one hundred photographers from around the world with its unknown and stunningly beautiful underwater world. Dynamic cities, ancient architecture, green valleys, mountains, people – all this is interesting and beautiful, but incomparable with unknown depths of the seas with their bizarre corals, flocks of multi -colored fish, sunken, algae and a lot of all that we can observe on bright Pictures of magazines and in cinema. Of course, what you see in professional underwater photography may not work out quickly, but you need to try.
How to photograph underwater
To begin with, you need to understand what photo equipment you need, what lens will be the best solution for this type of shooting, some artistic moments, and also know what features of the lighting are in wait for you under water, and what is most worthwhile to pay attention to. But first things first.
Choice of camera and lens
The choice of equipment is of great importance in this type of shooting, and you should not believe an advertisement at all that promises breathtaking results from a cheap camera for underwater shooting. The fact is that the lenses of such inexpensive technology are not as wide as required for photographing landscapes under water. They are also not able to provide an acceptable macro mode to capture fish and other residents of sea depths. The flash built into such cameras will not help you at all, since with underwater shooting you will rather need an external flash. Therefore, a good full -frame chamber will become optimal, it will cost a higher order, but the results will be, much better.
How to photograph underwater
After choosing a camera, you need to pack it. It can be underwater hard boxes that are produced for specific models or the so -called underwater package. Hard boxing is not a cheap pleasure, its cost ranges from 1-2 thousand dollars, which you agree, not everyone can afford. The underwater package, which is a bag with a detachment for a lens and a strap, costs about $ 300 and will be a good solution for a start.
How to photograph underwater
As for the lens, only 2 types will be acceptable here. A macro lens, with which you can focus on the smallest distances and remove small objects. Super -hopal lens, with which you will wake up reefs, large fish and animals, as well as underwater landscapes.
The composition of the underwater photo
Like photography in any other place, shooting under water needs to build the right composition. Do not forget about the rule of one third and have an object, such as coral or interesting algae, not in the middle, but a little to the side. Remember that often when shooting the inhabitants of the sea, you will have to photograph the movement: floating flocks of fish or other inhabitants. In this case, leave more space in your frame in the direction of movement, this will give photos a sense of harmony. Try different angles of shooting, although this is not just under water, however, it is better to have a few photos, then to choose the most successful from them.
Features of lighting under water
A feature of photographing under water is that there is water between the photographer and the removed object, and it has the ability to absorb the colors of warm tones, such as yellow, red or orange. The intensity of the absorption depends directly on the distance to the itself, that is, the farther the item, the less warm colors will be until they disappear at all.
How to photograph underwater
Natural light allows you to remove only at a depth of up to a maximum of 3 meters, in other cases you need an external flash, which you simply can not do without.