I have never tried to use custom white balance on my camera before (canon ixus 85is) and was just wondering when you would set the custom balance? At the start of the dive? during the dive? I have been doing a bit of reading on setting up the WB and apparently using a slate is a good way of adjusting it when underwater?
I will be getting in the water in a couple of days to have a play around with the settings and im just hoping i come out with at least some pictures that are viewable!
(Yes i'm a newbie so please be kind!!!) haha
Cheers
Get close, get closer, shoot up then open your photos in the Adobe RAW converter (I am assuming you are shooting jpeg) and adjust the white balence on the computer. And make sure your next camera shoots in RAW.
You are too far away from the Moorish Idol. The strobe is not having an effect. It is only making spots. Get close, get closer, shoot up. Set your shutter speed to the color of water you want. Sneak up on that puppy from below him till he fills at least 1/2 the frame and he is framed against a background that is not busy like a reef.
Regards.
That was one taken while snorkeling, but i dont have a strobe setup at the moment. Im thinking i will wait until i have my SLR setup going before i play with strobes. Unless i can get a cheapish strobe setup that you know of for an ixus??
To answer your question, you should WB when required, depending on the turbidity of the water and how strong the sun is as well as the position of it will determine how 'blue' your images will come out.
If you're snorkelling, try WB on a bit of sand, be aware that this will change if the sun comes in and out though. When you dive you should WB every time you change depth by a few metres.
The WB isn't too bad on this image, certainly something you could have tidied up in post. You will have gained better results simply by having the sun behind you. Built-in flashes are pretty naff and sometimes it's better to have no flash at all and use available light.
Don't zoom towards telephoto! Get close, then get closer. Shooting a digicam in telephoto, through distances of 6 feet it too far.
So try to stay wide open, no more than half zoomed, and do the framing with positioning.
As for inexpensive strobes, the ikelite a35 is the most well known one. It has an optical pickup and follows the preflash and flash on your camera.
My suggestion, don't bother with custom white balances on the camera. Shoot Raw and set white balance in your post processing. BTW the normal aluminum scuba cylinder is pretty darn close to 18% grey. I use them all the time to set custom white levels in post processing.
