Shot with a Sony a6700 and Tamron 28-75mm G2 in a Nauticam housing with a single Inon D200 strobe. I may have had a SubSea +5 diopter on, but I don't remember at what point I took it on/off during my shooting. All three photos were shot at the same 69mm, f/16, 1/160sec, ISO 200.

Any constructive feedback about any would be appreciated.

On this shot I can't get the lighting balanced quite right, it feels too bright/white overall to me, but especially around the edges. I tried playing with the Vignette in Lightroom (see the second version), but I'm not super happy with that one either. Any thoughts folks might have there would be appreciated as well.

Nice work!

A couple of thoughts. It’s one of those images where it’s hard to separate the subject from a similar coloured and complex background. For me, the key then is to try and create separation and an element of neutral space so that the subject can stand out more. This is especially true with the distinctive shape of a seahorse.

I’d suggest shooting up, trying to position to shoot against the blue, a wider aperture to create less depth of field, and/or using a snoot. These are counsels of perfection of course (!) and none maybe easy. I know the location and it may well not have been possible but this is what I’d have been tempted to try.

Back when I first started in underwater photography (1980s), I had a single strobe on a fixed arm. The advice I received was to try hand holding the strobe (disconnect the arm from the camera) to try different positions and angles. Looking back, that advice was the biggest single change in my photography and it didn't cost a penny on new equipment.

These days everyone has multi-jointed flexible arms, but the same applies. Move the arm/strobe about relative to the camera and subject to experiment with different lighting.

11 hours ago, Craine said:

Shot with a Sony a6700 and Tamron 28-75mm G2 in a Nauticam housing with a single Inon D200 strobe. I may have had a SubSea +5 diopter on, but I don’that remember at what point I took it on/off during my shooting. All three photos were shot at the same 69mm, f/16, 1/160sec, ISO 200.

Any constructive feedback about any would be appreciated.

On this shot I can't get the lighting balanced quite right, it feels too bright/white overall to me, but especially around the edges. I tried playing with the Vignette in Lightroom (see the second version), but I'm not super happy with that one either. Any thoughts folks might have there would be appreciated as well.

That’s a cool find! I didn’t see one the one time I was in Bonaire. That last frame looks best to me. With the strobe on the left pointing right, maybe even aiming at the housing, you can keep the light off the background. One strobe can do a lot. That’s assuming you can’t change angles to get a cleaner background.

Another thing to try is overexpose the whole scene so contrast can be controlled in post between light and dark areas. Also, don’t forget snoots. And larger apertures can help with distracting in-focus backgrounds, too. All in all, quite a few ways to handle that situation.

19 hours ago, TimG said:

I know the location and it may well not have been possible but this is what I’d have been tempted to try.

Thanks @TimG! This location was tough, since I was shooting upslope, and there was a moderately large coral head right behind the soft coral it was hanging off of, which ended up filling the background no matter how I tried framing. It was also pretty far down on the branch of the sponge, making it hard to get low enough while staying off the bottom.

19 hours ago, TimG said:

a wider aperture to create less depth of field, and/or using a snoot.

10 hours ago, humu9679 said:

And larger apertures can help with distracting in-focus backgrounds, too.

You both bring up a good point. I've been leaning towards smaller apertures when shooting macro (and macro-ish), because I too often found myself coming away with photos where only a slice of the face was in focus. I think I may have swung too small though, and could have done f/11 or maybe even f/8.

10 hours ago, humu9679 said:

Also, don’t forget snoots.

I actually have one for the second strobe, but have not mastered it yet. It's the Inon snoot set, so I have a choice of "snoot apertures" and I've not been happy with the wider of the two, but haven't been able to accurately point the smaller of them.

More practice is definitely needed.

6 hours ago, Craine said:

actually have one for the second strobe, but have not mastered it yet. It's the Inon snoot set, so I have a choice of "snoot apertures" and I've not been happy with the wider of the two, but haven't been able to accurately point the smaller of them.

More practice is definitely needed.

Yep, snoots take a good deal of practice especially if the aiming light in your strobe is not in a central position in the strobe. It’s a bit hit and miss and frustrating. I found a snoot to be such a key element of macro photography that I sold my Inon strobes to get Retras which are brilliant for shooting when combined with their LSD snoot.