STARTING OUT IN UW PHOTOGRAPHY
Following his last article on working the subject, Martyn Guess provides some tips, information and advice for novice or new underwater photographers in order, to help them on their photographic journey Photographs by Martyn Guess
I
realise that for a beginner underwater photographer, it must be very daunting looking at the amazing images that adorn the internet and magazines and wondering how they can possibly hope to take pictures of the same quality. Whether you have a real interest in capturing the underwater scenes and subjects we have the privilege to witness as scuba divers or through some form of peer pressure to buy a camera, we all must start somewhere. I have helped many budding photographers on their journey so my aim in the next few articles is to give some guidance and basic instruction to help you on your way. My view is that if you can get a few reasonable shots in the bag relatively quickly you will want to continue in your quest for knowledge. For many beginners, they have perhaps been diving for a while and now want to add another dimension to their enjoyment of the underwater world. This was definitely the case for me. Some people decide to buy an underwater camera but have no knowledge at all about photography apart from using their phone perhaps, or a compact or bigger camera in fully automatic mode. Others perhaps with a bit of an advantage are keen abovewater photographers and have at least some photographic knowledge. Whatever your knowledge or type of camera that you have access to or own, be it a compact, mirrorless or DSLR, there are some basic first principles to take on board. My advice here applies to all types of cameras and knowledge base. The first thing to accept is that you are a diver first and a photographer second, so don’t let the latter get in the way of your safety and that of your buddy! It is important to understand the controls of your camera and what the various buttons and menus do. If you don’t understand them on land, there is no hope when you get underwater. So, spend time reading the camera manual, researching online, and watching any tutorials for your camera that you can find. I am going to talk about basic
Image 1. Tom pot blenny, Swanage, UK - F22 1/320th Sec High DOF
camera controls like Automatic or Programme Aperture Priority, ISO, Aperture and Speed and Manual M. Unless you are content snapping close-up images of small critters in automatic mode and with the camera’s flash, and I mean very close, then the first lesson is to try and not be tempted to only use the automatic setting underwater. The camera’s electronics are designed for use on land, and it will struggle to take on board the complexity of lighting and deep shadows underwater, as well as the density of the particles suspended in our oceans. Some compact cameras have an underwater mode but, in my experience, they don’t work that well other than the foregoing very close-up critter shots. So, if you want to progress, please don’t use them. My preferred setting is Manual or M although as a learning
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