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Underwater Photography help


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29 replies to this topic

#1 Scubawishes

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 01:25 PM


I would like to take a hands-on underwater photography course/vacation soon. Can anyone recommend a good SLR focused underwater photography class in a great location, like say Bonaire? I'm not interested in a 101 composition type class but rather learning the technical side of underwater photography such as understanding proper settings for apertures & shutter speed, exposure compensation, histograms etc.. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Also, I am curious...how did you learn? Thanks!

Edited by Scubawishes, 18 July 2011 - 01:27 PM.

~K

#2 Dave L

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 02:44 PM

Welcome to the club! I have found "The Underwater Photographer" by Martin Edge to be a great help. The fourth edition is the current one. Don't really know of any courses but Mr Edge's book is a great place to start.

Good luck with your pictures.

Dave

#3 scubaski

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 05:56 PM

You might consider the SD.com trip to Grand Cayman. Some trip goers have already made some inquires with Cathy Church for some UW classes.

Here's the trip link:
http://www.singlediv...-miagcm-flight/


Check out Cathy Church located at Sunset House, Grand Cayman

http://www.cathychurch.com/

or


Stephen Frink
http://www.stephenfrink.com/
MADRE FELIZ DIA MAMÁ

#4 Racer184

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 06:33 PM

Start paying attention to photo credits in magazines and then look on the internet to see if any of those names offer courses. I would call Reef Photo & Video in Fort Lauderdale 877.453.8927. Some of their staff offer one-on-one courses. And they may be able to name some people offering courses in your area or the area you want to visit.

How do many of us learn? Taking a bad picture doesn't cost anything. (Not like the days of film processing.)
Look at photos in magazines like the kind you want to take.... whether macro or wide angle.... nature or divers or wrecks.
Try to figure out what makes them good photos. You won't be able to figure everything out by just looking at the pictures, but you can learn some.

Get to know all the basic controls on your camera.
Take photos. Take more photos. Experiment. Then look at your pictures and decide which ones are worst and try to figure out why.
Sometimes it will be obvious why, sometimes not.

Then start getting to know the more complicated or advanced features and functions of your camera equipment and start experimenting with them.

Oh... and lots of diving :-)

#5 peterbj7

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 06:37 PM

You don't say what your underwater photography experience is. If you have little or none I strongly suggest you start with a reasonably good digital compact in the manufacturer's waterproof case. Quite a good idea to add a single external flash/strobe, but try diving both with and without it. And to take photographs underwater, you need very good positional and buoyancy control - you need to be a good diver.

Looking again at your post, most of what you describe as "the technical side of underwater photography" is also the "technical side" of any photography. You need to have a good grasp of what histograms mean and how to use them, what focal length and depth of field are, and manual setting of cameras before you ever venture underwater. And of course how lighting works and the effect of different lighting on a subject. All of this you can learn either by teaching yourself from your camera's own manual, or from any of the good books and internet forums there are. A good start for the latter is http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ . Then you'll be ready for the add-ons that being underwater will add.

Edited by peterbj7, 18 July 2011 - 06:45 PM.


#6 WreckWench

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Posted 18 July 2011 - 08:05 PM

Cathy Church in Grand Cayman offers one of the most amazing classes you can take ANYWHERE and she is a pioneer too! Our trip is Oct 1-8 if you want to consider that. kamala

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#7 Greg@ihpil

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Posted 19 July 2011 - 06:34 AM

As 1 of the Divers going on the Grand Cayman trip & taking the Cathy Church course.. I beleive it is also accredited to a Padi cert.
Greg
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#8 ScubaShafer

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Posted 19 July 2011 - 11:37 AM

Learning curve is steep. Like Peter said, knowing your camera above water us paramount.

Scott Gietler of Bluewater Photo and Video has some tutorials that might help you: http://www.uwphotogr...otography-guide
It's not "Hand-On" like you requested, but a good place to start.

I learned by reading and experimenting.
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#9 libra89

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Posted 19 July 2011 - 01:54 PM

If you do opt for the Grand Cayman trip, I'm the tripgoer organizing the lessons with Cathy Church. Myself and and Greg are already signed up for 10 hrs of instruction with a staffer at Cathy Church, on Sunday and Monday afternoon of the trip. This would be 2 5 hrs classes, including diving and hands on experience, with one class focused on macro and the other on wide angle. We're figuring roughly $450 each for these lessons. If you opt to join this trip and want to take lessons with us, let me know and I can try to add you to our existing schedule if you like. It will certainly be cheaper than negotiating your own by yourself. It may even reduce the price for Greg and I to add a third (or more) and re-divide the total cost!

For example, with staffers (instead of Cathy), the cost is $60/hr for one person, and $90/hr for two. I suspect adding a third would add an additional $30/hr, dropping the overall per person rate from $45/hr to $40. Its incremental, but anyway. Cathy herself is very expensive....we were quoted $125/hr for the first person, and if there were two it was $187/hr. As much as we wanted to learn directly from her, the price was a bit much for us to swallow, at nearly twice as much as a staffer. So instead of choosing to take just one class (to keep cost reasonable) we decided to go with staff for both lessons.

As Greg mentions, you can also opt to get your PADI Level 1 or Level 2 UW Photographer certification by taking these two lessons. There is an additional $40 fee to process the paperwork, but no additional instruction or payment beyond what you are already going to pay for the lessons + $40 is needed. Cool little bonus. Greg and I are probably doing that too.

Tina

edit to add some clarity: Please note that in order to be in the same lessons as Greg and I, you'd need to be working with a compact camera with manual control (as opposed to a DSLR). I shoot a Canon S90 in a Fix housing, for example. Cathy keeps these two types of cameras segregated in her classes because the approach and usage is different. It helps to keep each type of user getting the info they need. If you are shooting DSLR you'll need to be in your own classes.

Edited by libra89, 19 July 2011 - 01:57 PM.


#10 peterbj7

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Posted 19 July 2011 - 06:27 PM

Just to repeat, I strongly recommend that you start your underwater photography with a compact, NOT a DSLR. And I strongly recommend you get VERY familiar with that camera and post-processing its images above water before you ever consider taking it under.

#11 DiveGeek

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Posted 19 July 2011 - 09:29 PM

I'm amused by the fact that no one has yet to mention any diving skills. Before you can even think about taking a camera on a dive your buoyancy needs to be dead on. A good yardstick to use to determine if you're ready to start shooting underwater: have you stopped using your hands for propulsion? If so, go get a Canon Powershot G-series camera and matching housing and have at it. If not, spend more time in the water until you don't need your hands to get around the water.

Just my 2 psi.

Mark
"When you shoot underwater, you have limited time, subject matter that rarely sits still, let alone cooperates, and exposure that changes moment to moment. It's a place where you have to constantly wrangle light, composition, subject and depth, and then find a way to be creative." - Eric Cheng

#12 shibad

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Posted 20 July 2011 - 06:38 AM


Cathy Church in Grand Cayman held her first weeklong Underwater Fest during May this year. We had 3 boats for approx 30 divers and dove boat dives every morning for 3 hrs equally diving the week into macro and wide angle with the latter diving walls. There was also a night dive and an dove Sting Ray City plus unlimited shore diving. Cathy was on our boat 2 times during the week and each boat had 2 staff pros. We got excellent instruction daily including 4 hrs of critic time daily on land and daily lectures from
Cathy. At the end of the week, there was a show of photos and videos taken during the week including prizes. Cost approx $1600 for the week including round trip transport to the airport and breakfast daily and several dinners.
Next year's date is May 12-19th.


I would like to take a hands-on underwater photography course/vacation soon. Can anyone recommend a good SLR focused underwater photography class in a great location, like say Bonaire? I'm not interested in a 101 composition type class but rather learning the technical side of underwater photography such as understanding proper settings for apertures & shutter speed, exposure compensation, histograms etc.. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Also, I am curious...how did you learn? Thanks!

[/quote]

#13 peterbj7

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Posted 20 July 2011 - 10:09 AM

I'm amused by the fact that no one has yet to mention any diving skills. Before you can even think about taking a camera on a dive your buoyancy needs to be dead on. A good yardstick to use to determine if you're ready to start shooting underwater: have you stopped using your hands for propulsion? If so, go get a Canon Powershot G-series camera and matching housing and have at it. If not, spend more time in the water until you don't need your hands to get around the water.

Just my 2 psi.

Mark


I'm amused by the fact that you haven't read this thread. I believe I said in my first post " And to take photographs underwater, you need very good positional and buoyancy control - you need to be a good diver.".

#14 DiveGeek

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Posted 20 July 2011 - 03:06 PM

I'm amused by the fact that no one has yet to mention any diving skills. Before you can even think about taking a camera on a dive your buoyancy needs to be dead on. A good yardstick to use to determine if you're ready to start shooting underwater: have you stopped using your hands for propulsion? If so, go get a Canon Powershot G-series camera and matching housing and have at it. If not, spend more time in the water until you don't need your hands to get around the water.

Just my 2 psi.

Mark


I'm amused by the fact that you haven't read this thread. I believe I said in my first post " And to take photographs underwater, you need very good positional and buoyancy control - you need to be a good diver.".


I stand corrected.
"When you shoot underwater, you have limited time, subject matter that rarely sits still, let alone cooperates, and exposure that changes moment to moment. It's a place where you have to constantly wrangle light, composition, subject and depth, and then find a way to be creative." - Eric Cheng

#15 Scubawishes

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Posted 25 July 2011 - 08:19 AM

Welcome to the club! I have found "The Underwater Photographer" by Martin Edge to be a great help. The fourth edition is the current one. Don't really know of any courses but Mr Edge's book is a great place to start.

Good luck with your pictures.

Dave


Thank you for the welcome! I've been in the club for awhile just not very active. I have gone on a few SD trips & they were awesome, unfortunately most of my vacations don't coincide with Sd trips. Thanks for the book tip!
~K




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