Tips & Technique Guide
Great Pictures Made Easy
I. Tips for Great Pictures
4. Great Effects
Dendrogyra Cylindrus with homo sapiens, San Salvador, Bahamas
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Everything about seeing and taking pictures is about light. Pay attention to light and shade, colors and contrasts, don’t just get mesmerized by that big fish. Your best colors and effects will be where the sun still penetrates the water: Dive or snorkel at a vertical sun from 10 am to 2 PM in a depth not greater than 25 ft. / 8 m. Each depth and light condition has its own attraction. Experiment and capture different effects at different depths and scenes.
In crystal clear tropical waters you will get great turquoise water colors to a depth of 20 ft. / 7 m, then an intense blue, and a wonderful deep blue beyond 40 ft. / 12 m. The SeaLife®“Coral Flash” will intensify red and yellow colors of close objects (4 ft. to 6 ft. / 1.2 m to 1.8 m) and leave the blue background untouched. The color corrected close-up lens will intensify the warm colors (red and yellow) even more and moderate the built-in flash.
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Queen Angel Fish. Adirondack Wreck, Man O'War, Abaco, Bahamas: 45 ft
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Look for rich color contrasts. You may use the Sealife External Flash to add color and brightness. To really illuminate coral or any area further than 6 ft., you cannot just increase the power of your flash, but you must direct a light or secondary flash at an angle of 45 degrees from your camera at the object. If the water is not as clear as you may wish, choose closer objects. The MACRO 3X Close-Up lens can be used for distances of 2 ft. to 4 ft. / 60 cm to 1.2 m, the MACRO 8X lens for 14” to 16”/35cm to 40cm.
Even shots without any color, just a black silhouette against the bright water surface can make dramatic shots.
A “halo” effect can be created by the sun or a light source behind a person or a sea creature.
In bright conditions on land or in snorkeling use ASA 100 print film or ASA 64 for slides. A secondary strobe can be used to reduce “marine snow”, caused by the flash hitting microscopically small particles like algae or plankton. The primary flash of the camera must be covered with a flash reflector which reflects the light towards the external flash sensor and not directly towards the target. The SeaLife® Close-Up Lenses also help to reduce marine snow.
For pictures partially above and under water, coat the lens with a touch of detergent to let drops run off. This can take many shots until the water surface is exactly on the center of the lens.
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