Shooting Macro for the first time

Hi all,

i have planned a short weekend liveaboard trip next weekend and would like to have the option of shooting macro if the visibility is bad.

I ll be shooting my Sony RX100 mk4 in a Nauticam housing with a CMC2 macro lens that i just got and never tried before.

I ll have two Keldan 4x and 2 Sea Life Sea dragon 2500 with me.

Few of my questions are:

-Should i shoot 1080 which allows me more advanced camera stabilization or 4k that gives more in post for cropping?

-Shutter speed is mostly dictated by the frame rate but how about aperture?

-Light position? Short light arms or long?

-Any framing and technique advices?

Any advice for a first time shooter is highly appreciated!

On the subject of lighting, video is similar to stills, so you'll find lots of help here:

http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-techniques/category/macro-underwater-photography/

https://www.opticaloceansales.com/handbooks-basics-of-better-uw-photos-en.html

I would shoot 4k. Hopefully, once you're framed and shooting, the camera will be settled on something, preferably some sort of tripod, and still.

"Somewhere in the middle" of the range usually works best for aperture. Don't go too very small or you'll get diffraction and the image will go soft. Better get the lights closer than go very wide, unless you specifically want a shallow depth of field.

Longer light arms give more options including backlighting. But if it's your first time then try one from the front and one from the side, or just a single light from one side or directly above before getting too fancy with backlighting.

For me, the Keldan 4x are too wide for macro. More backscatter gets lit up and it's difficult not to light the background as well as the subject. I 3D printed shades for mine but then eventually changed to narrower FIX lights.

Framing.... Try to get at least one wide establishing shot. Often you can do this after getting your tight shots as it's usually easier and faster to get. Also try to get low down so you can see more distant background to give shots depth.