Intova Shooting Tips – Part 4 – Blue or Green Photos

Courtesy of Intova  www.intova.net

Underwater photography is much different than land photography. Light and color loss, water clarity, currents and housing condensation are all elements that affect underwater photography. The large Dive Certification organizations have complete classes dedicated to Digital Underwater photography. Digital cameras are complex and need to be understood and set properly to obtain best results.

BLUE OR GREEN PHOTOS: In addition to white balance control, there are several ways to improve color underwater. The simplest is a red filter. The red filter helps add the red spectrum back into photos. DO NOT use a red filter in shallow water or with a flash: this will cause excessive reds in pictures. An external strobe is another solution. A strobe will add light to provide clear illumination of subject and proper coloration. Do not use a red filter and strobe at the same time or a red filter in less than 20 feet of water. Setting White Balance to fluorescent helps. Fluorescent is blue light similar to underwater and the camera will adjust for this. Setting White Balance to low light can also improve results. Do not use a red filter and strobe at the same time or a red filter in less than 20 feet of water.

NEXT WEEK’S SHOOTING TIP: BLURRY PICTURES