Help : Underwater photographer needs help!

I have just started to attempt underwater photography with a Nikon Coolpix 4300 in a Fantasea CP4-Pro housing. Can anyone please advise me of the best settings to use and any other tips for beginners. I would be grateful.

Thanks

Well, I can't say I've heard of that housing, and without me knowing about your strobe usage (I'll assume you don't have any), here's what I can say:

1) Learn to shoot in manual exposure mode, assuming your housing allows it. You need to force yourself to do this - you'll never really be happy with anything from a program mode - it'll be washed out and the blues will be overexposed and messy. But if you do use program exposure for a bit to learn the basics, try setting the exposure value to -2/3 f-stop (see your manual on how to do that). This will partially fix the funky blues.

But on to manual - for larger fish portraits - try starting at 1/125 sec and adjust f-stops based on what you see in the LCD after the shot. For macro, try starting at 1/500 sec or 1/1000 sec, and follow the same drill for the f-stops. For ISO, start by using the lowest possible. For WB, start with auto until you have the time to take test shots on a non-moving subject like a sponge (preferably a slow sponge). You'll probably always end up using auto anyway. Practice everything on subjects topside in the housing - you can practice simulating the reef horizon and the blue background by shooting your friends/family, and practicing getting the blue sky in the background to be the proper blue- very little difference in concepts u/w there. Master the macro setting by shooting a penny until you can get it consistantly filling the frame- then you'll be set for the secretary blenny. Why do all the trial & error u/w when you can practice all the same techniques topside?

And no matter what camera you have, get down low, get very very very very close, don't shoot fish butts, practice on non-moving things, and NEVER stop shooting a good subject until you absolutely HAVE TO. And by far and above the most important thing to remember now and later - u/w photographers are the #1 smashers of the reef - learn 0-impact photography, and help teach others the same thing! No touching, no harassing, and watch that bouyancy!

Now shouldn't you be practicing instead of reading/posting? Shouldn't we all be?

ChristopherGug, I really liked what you wrote here.

Really the best words you can say to someone that start to shoot U/W

Hey Christopher. That was very nice.

My wife and I will be on the TCA II the week of 10/23-10/30. Hopefully, we will meet you then, assuming it's not your week off.