Obviously, n00b photo tips :)

Hey, I'm Adam

New to both diving and photography!

Have a Canon G11 and going to the Poor Knights in my home New Zealand in a month, then Fiji and soon after that central America, South and on from there

Lots of help is appreciated! Nothing beats a good photo

Hey guys,

Will be doing a few dives soon and was wondering if there are any great *free* sites online that can teach me how to understand UW photography and how to get the best shots!

As far as I know, you want to :

1. Shoot as close as you can to the subject.

2. Shoot between 12 and 2pm.

3. Use a strobe/light from a different angle if you need to.

4. Filters don't work that well because of the deeper blues or something at deeper depths?

5. Can't remember much else.

Can anyone build on this? I was hoping to have to buy a strobe as they are expensive as are the housings - Someone said you can just attach an HID light to your mask or something?

Cheers guys

Check out the folliwing link to underwaterphotography giude. It should answer most of the questions and more that you have asked.

This is a great place to start with information such as basic shooting tips, beginner info, strobes, best lens. wide anlge and macro tips, housings, settings, etc. This is one to bookmark and several times over.

http://www.uwphotographyguide.com

Welcome to the UW club.

DiverPam

yah, that's a big general question. check the guide. shooting only b/w 12-2 is silly, but it refers to the best natural light UW. When the sun is highest in the sky it penetrates the water best and helps for shallow ambient light photography with a filter. of course, this doesn't take account for, say, a low sun in the winter.

my primary recommendation is start with macro. get a single strobe (this really is key, no HID lights on your mask) place it above the lens, and try to avoid shooting fish against distracting backgrounds.

if you wanna try wide angle, get a Magic Filter and shoot in shallow water when the ambient light is good, without a strobe. the g11 however doesn't really go wide enough for UW use (remember, get close, get closer) as most wide angle is shot with lenses seeing 90-180 degrees. the g11 only sees about 74 degrees topside, and behind a compact housing's flat port sees about 25% less.

do a bunch of reading on these forums, check out UW Photography Guide and have fun at the Poor Knights, i'm jealous. Cheers,

Chris