Six Things That Are More Difficult About Taking Pictures Underwater
If you go from standard photography to underwater photography, you're going to have to get used to grappling with a whole new set of challenges. Underwater photography requires you to learn how to use equipment with which you might not yet be familiar. It also requires you to develop many new skills.
The following are six things that are more difficult when it comes to taking pictures underwater.
Ensuring that objects are properly lit
Lighting is especially challenging underwater. You cannot always easily set up lighting fixtures below water as you can above.
You can only rely on natural light if you're relatively close to the surface of the water. If you use flash underwater, you need to learn how to balance flash and natural light through adjustments in manual or aperture priority mode.
Dealing with the buoyancy factor
One of the most difficult things to master when photographers start shooting underwater is buoyancy. Your buoyancy is going to make it hard to keep the camera still while you're shooting.
Controlling buoyancy isn't just important for photo quality. You also need to be control buoyancy so that you don't bump into coral and other ocean wildlife because doing so can be damaging to the environment
It's important to learn how to manipulate ballast weight to control your buoyancy. This will take practice and time, but eventually dealing with buoyancy and ballast weight will become second nature to you.
Choosing the right filter
Another piece of equipment you'll want to use underwater that you might not yet be familiar with is a color-correcting filter. In deep water, there tends to be an overabundance of cyan and blues. Using a color-correcting filter can adjust for this and lead to higher quality images.
Being able to get close enough to the subject
You're going to need to get closer to the subject while shooting underwater for a quality photo. At the same time, approaching underwater subjects is often more difficult than approaching subjects above water.
While you may be able to use zoom features on your underwater camera to a certain extent, achieving the highest quality photos requires you to approach your subject as much as possible.
Mastering the art of diving
To successfully photograph underwater, you're going to need to learn how to dive. This is especially true if your goal is to photograph underwater wildlife. You're going to want to undergo diver certification to get an introduction to diving and begin honing your diving skills.
Being patient
Patience is always important in photography, but it's especially important in underwater photography. It's much more difficult to wait underwater for that perfect shot than it is to wait up on land.
However, you need to get used to and learn to enjoy being in the water if you really want to excel at underwater photography.
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