Fairy Basslett

What can I do to make this photo better? The background kind of steals alittle of its thunder.

What can I do to make this photo better? The background kind of steals alittle of its thunder.

I would crop tighter...and not place fish in the midldle of the frame"rule of thirds". Also you can desaturate the background around the fish. Cool fish by the way. Maybe somthing like this?

I did a quick selection and darkened the negative space a bit and then cropped. Also cloned the hot spots out near the fish.

Thanks guys,

I think the crop along with taking out the hotspots really achieved what I wanted.

A few tips:

-find good negative space first then look for subjects on that negative space (the orange encrusting sponge to the right of the basslett for example)

-crop you images in the view finder (not at the light table)

-look at the edges of your image for distracting areas of light or dark (also, pay attension to the negative space around your subject; no light poles growing out of their heads _or_ kelp stalks, etc.)

-have compositions in mind when shooting (but be flexible)

-fill the frame with the subject

The mantra every underwater photo instructor repeats:

-get close

-get closer (there's no subsitute for less water between your lens and the subject)

-get low

-shoot up

All good advice bar maybe the last -

Shooting upwards tends to show the defects in the dynamic range of even the modern DSLR.

FWIW I have often had better success with a downward camera angle.

Paul C