Coronados Garibaldi

Looking for tips or comments to improve my underwater photography

skills. Anything appreciated! Thanks :)

Hello Kristy

 

there is one advice that i can give you. Look to other photographers pictures and learn. You saw the picture from the Garibaldi that Brett shot, that is a good example.

 

Greetings Richard

 

You are so right too! I am studying everyone's photos, especially the u/w ones, to gain some additional insight since I'm such a newbie at this. With that said, I wish more of our u/w folks would share more details in their technical information: exposure, shutter speed, aperture, single strobe or duals, etc., because there are some gorgeous shots out there including yours! Thanks again Richard! :)

To answer a few of the questions with some general guidelines.

2 strobes a typically better than 1. You can get great shots with just one.

 

For wide angle. Start our with F8 and 1/120. Adjust the exposure to control the ambient water color (use this histogram). Adjust the strobe to get the close objects exposed right.

 

Macro. Start out with F22 and 1/120. Adjust strobes to get good historgram and fire away.

I definitely appeciate the tech comments, that's exactly what I'm looking for here in this website! I will definitely give it a try with your advice and see how it goes. Thanks again! :)

Kristy, It's time for your UW shots to be strobed. I suspect a couple of yours have been, but even they are too far back. I have painfully gleaned the following through many mistakes: Forget about a second strobe for now. Learn to use one first. Learn to use manual settings. TTL is no substitute for understanding the characteristics of underwater lighting. Light doesnt travel far underwater from a strobe: get close! Then get closer, and then even closer. Your C8080 will take you a long way. Experiment by moving the flash forward and backward toward the subject; a small adjustment will produce astonishing results. At first you won't need a strobe arm more than a foot long. You will pick up a lot just messing with a few basic techniques. Always have a learning plan when you go under, some technique you want to improve on, but also shoot everything that interests you. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, I got carried away. Regards, Bernie