All Categories

How to: Blue Water backgrounds in you photos

8/20/2015

A photographer, who has been shooting for a while, recently asked, “How do you get those deep blue backgrounds in your images?” What a great question! There is so much that goes into capturing an image that the background is often the last thing on a photographers mind until they get to post editing and realize their background is not what they had envisioned! If chasing the perfect blue background has left you frustrated with washed out images and odd greens and blues, this article should help combat your struggles. Getting a nice blue water background is fairly easy; however, it does require some thought. While composing your image, you should consider it in two parts: the background and the subject. Each requires their own light source in order to achieve the proper exposure. Ambient light or sunlight will light the water column giving the water that deep blue background. Your artificial light, or strobe(s), will light your subject.

Once you have established the background and the subject, you’ll need to take your camera out of AUTO mode. AUTO mode DOES NOT work well when trying to achieve brilliant blues underwater! AUTO mode will attempt to properly expose the entire image by only accounting for one light source and often gets confused in the evaluation process. I highly recommend shooting in manual mode for this reason. Manual mode unlocks the full potential of your camera system and will put complete creative control back in your hands. If you’re shooting a point-n-shoot digicam that doesn’t allow manual mode, choose either Shutter Priority or Program mode as opposed to AUTO. These modes will allow you to use Exposure Compensation and adjust the exposure as outlined below.

Second, you’ll need to be able to understand your camera’s light meter: how it works and what it is telling you. If you are not familiar with this, please see your camera’s manual. Once you have this general knowledge, you can begin effectively using the light meter. We will use the light meter (otherwise known as the EV meter) to take an exposure reading off the blue water (background) within the image. Whenever I want to make an adjustment to my blue water background, it is achieved by adjusting the shutter speed. In fact, I like to call the shutter speed dial the “blue water dial”. When the sun is straight above me or to my back, I generally set the exposure so the meter reads -1/3 to -1/2 stop underexposed using the shutter speed dial when shooting in manual mode. If shooting in Shutter Priority, set the shutter speed to 1/125 or 1/160 with the exposure compensation (+/- button) at -1/3 to -1/2 stop underexposed. In Program mode, you will only be able to set the exposure compensation. No matter the mode, aim past your subject into the blue water and adjust your settings as stated above. By doing this, you will have set your camera to let the ambient light underexpose the blue water background slightly. This slight underexposure will deepen the blue water without making it too dark, which in turn eliminates the washed out look that AUTO mode tends to render. Now if you aim at your subject and take a test picture, your background should have a nice deep blue color but your foreground will be dull and underexposed.

Your next step is to properly light the forefront of your image. This is where your strobe(s) come into play. The reason we need the strobe is to separate the foreground from the background in the image. To do this, you will need a good quality high-powered strobe. There are a number of popular choices on the market that will work well. Any of the INON strobes, especially the Z-240, the Ikelite DS-161, and the Sea & Sea YS-D1 work exceptionally well.

As you compose your image and adjust your strobe’s output for the desired subject exposure, you should have the result you’re looking for: a well balanced image. Your strobe will properly illuminate the subject and the ambient light will give you that blue background you so desire.

As you dive deeper into perfecting your photos, it is important to learn your camera and strobe setup. Once you know your tools, breaking an image down into two parts will ensure your exposure is correct throughout. Yes, it takes time and patience to become familiar with your shutter speed and strobe output results, but trust me, it is worth it! Before long those elusive deep blue backgrounds will be beckoning all those topside admirers! Keep shooting! There’s more to this art than a simple click-and-go. With practice and perseverance, you may even amaze yourself with what you can do!

Image taken in AUTO mode with strobe fill

Image taken in Manual mode, -1/3 stop underexposed with strobe fill

0 Comments

Custom White Balance & Underwater Photography

7/27/2015

2 Comments

Custom white balance can be intimidating or confusing to an underwater photographer, but it is an essential element for capturing great ambient-light images and videos (shooting ambient-light refers to using the available sunlight with no strobes or video lights). Many point-n-shoot and all current DSLR cameras have the ability to set a custom or manual white balance. It is a fairly simple process and should become “second nature” for underwater photographers. What is white balance? Why should I use it? How do I set it? When do I need it? This article simplifies it all and breaks it down for you!

What is white balance?

White balance is a concept of color temperature. Color temperature is a way of measuring the ratio of blue light and red light within an image. A light with higher color temperature (more blue) will have a higher Kelvin value, while light with a lower color temperature (more red) will have a lower Kelvin value . A color temperature of 5500 – 6500 K is average daylight. White balance is a camera setting that adjusts for the current lighting conditions in order to make white objects appear white in photos & videos.

Why should I custom white balance?

Custom white balance is used to achieve the most accurate coloring in an image as possible. To the human eye, a white object looks white regardless of the type of lighting. However, digital cameras can get confused with white resulting in unnatural looking colors (especially underwater). When we set a custom white balance, we are essentially telling the camera what “white” is. By doing this, the camera re-calibrates the spectrum of colors based on the white we imported. This renders the proper colors as we expect to see them.

Digital cameras offer a menu of different white balance options. Some of these options include: auto, tungsten, daylight, cloudy, flash, fluorescent, shade, underwater, or custom. Avoid using the ‘auto’ white balance setting (for ambient light images & videos). Auto does a decent job when shooting with strobes or video lights but it has a hard time accurately evaluating the color white in ambient light underwater. Therefore, your best choice is to use the ‘custom’ white balance setting and import the data manually. If custom white balance is not available on your camera, then choose either the underwater (if available) or cloudy settings.

How do I custom white balance?

White balance can be set a couple different ways. If shooting still RAW files (recommended if available), a custom white balance can be done in post editing (Photoshop, Lightroom, your camera’s software, etc.). However, if you’re shooting JPEG or HD video, these highly compressed file types should be shot as accurately as possible. Some color adjustments can be made during post editing, but adjusting white balance in post is not as accurate as adjusting the white balance “on the fly” (while shooting).

Setting the white balance “on the fly” is easy to do. Many point-n-shoot and mirrorless cameras have “one touch” white balance. Basically, set your camera to the custom WB icon, point the camera at something white (slate, sand, white fins, your hand, etc.) then press either “function”, “menu”, “shutter”, or whichever button your camera requires. Each camera has its own way of setting a custom white balance so refer to your manual for the proper procedure.

For DSLR cameras the process may involve a few steps for setting a custom white balance. Generally, you have to take an image of something white (slate, fins, sand, hand), import that image as the custom white balance data then select the custom WB icon. Again, refer to your camera’s manual for the exact procedure.

When do I custom white balance?

It is important to white balance under the lighting condition you are shooting in! Therefore, since light conditions can change every 10′-15′, so should your white balance settings. A new custom white balance should be imported every 10’-15’ because different colors are absorbed at different depths (remember your Open Water class?). This means accurate white color will change as your depth changes and its up to you to let your camera know what white is!

Here are some basic steps to set a custom white balance:

Turn off all strobes & lights (remember: custom white balance is used when shooting in ambient light conditions)
Put your camera in any auto mode (this will ensure proper exposure and an accurate white balance) or properly set exposure using your EV meter, if in manual mode.
Take an image of something white using a slate, fins, sand, etc.
Import that image as your white balance data (refer to your camera’s manual for precise steps)
Re-white balance every 10’-15’ of depth change

Tips and reminders when shooting ambient light images:

Have something to white balance off of (slate, fins, etc)
Re-white balance every 10′-15′
Keep the sun to your back
Point your camera at a slightly downward angle (this takes full advantage of the available sunlight)
Remember to switch back to AUTO white balance when using strobes or video lights (if you don’t you’ll get a lovely and unnatural red image)

Get the most out of your photography by knowing how and when to set a custom white balance for any lighting scenario. Your ambient light images and videos will and dazzle your family and friends! Guaranteed.

2 Comments

Blog

How to: Blue Water backgrounds in you photos

Custom White Balance & Underwater Photography

Author

Archives

Categories