![]() ![]() So keep the strobes up above the centerline of the lens, and remember that if you switch to a vertical shot move the strobe that is dangling on the bottom up to avoid a spookily lit bad photo. I’ve never seen a great underwater picture with light coming from below, and I’ve never seen someone intentionally do it as part of a creative photo. The same thing is true for a fish face or a reef. The shadows on the face, when lit from below, are odd and disturbing. This is why it is spooky to tell scary stories with a dive light under your chin. It is not natural for light to come from underneath something. This is because the sun is above us, and the sun is natural. Get the Strobes Up Natural light comes from above. Move the strobes back behind the handles to get them safely out of the frame. Sometimes you’ll see a glow in the upper corners of the image if the strobes are too far forward. This also means that if the strobes are too far forward they will actually show up in the image. This lets the photographer get super close to the subject and preserve as much clarity, contrast, and detail as possible. Keep the Strobes Behind the Handles for Wide Angle A fisheye lens is the most common lens to use when shooting wide angle because of the extremely wide field of view. Three feet is usually my maximum working distance to a subject, but in most shots, I’m probably within 6 inches to 2 feet. The closer I am the more light from the strobes reaches the subject. I can get close to the foreground subject while maintaining a wide field of view. This is why I use a fisheye lens for most of my wide angle photography. No amount of strobe power or camera setting can overcome this. ![]() This is why a photo shot from a long-distance underwater looks like it lacks contrast, color, and clarity. Get Close to the Subject You Want to Light We all remember from our basic scuba class that water filters out light quite effectively, in the order of the rainbow, ROY G BIV. Picking a foreground subject and deciding where it will be placed in the frame is the first decision photographers need to make before figuring out where to put their strobes. Strobes are to highlight and draw interest to a foreground subject and make it stand out from the surrounding elements and the background. It can’t be done, only the sun can do that. Strobes Are for Foreground Subjects This might sound obvious, but I’ve seen plenty of people trying to light the entire ocean with a pair of strobes. Here’s a list of guidelines on what to do with your strobes and why. Some rules are meant to be broken, but only after you understand why the rule exists in the first place. Sony a7R III | Laowa Probe Lens | 1/80 | ISO 1000 | ƒ22A Few Guidelines for Lighting With Strobes As with anything, there are rules to follow when it comes to strobe lighting. All of these elements were a conscious decision in the composition of this photo. The diver’s light looks like it is hitting the snake eel and the diver has “discovered” this critter in the sand. The diver is a secondary subject that is purposely out of focus, in the background, and not lit by the strobe. The strobe only lights the subject and not the sand. In this image, the snake eel is the primary subject by being placed in the foreground and being lit by the strobe. For this article, we’ll concentrate on the strobe lighting aspect of composition, how to highlight subjects and draw attention to them, and of course where to put your strobes. It is about where subjects are placed in the frame, how those subjects are lit, and where the focus point is set. Composition is not just about cutting Uncle Joe’s head off while he’s blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Knowing what you want to have as a foreground subject means knowing what you want your composition to be. Knowing what to light means knowing what you want to have as a foreground subject. Knowing where to put your strobes requires knowing what you want to light. Which brings us to some fundamental truths about where to put your strobes: 1. My simple Zen master answer to the student is always, “What do you want to light?” Aim the strobes at the thing you want to light! If you don’t know what you want to light, you will never know where to put your strobes. By far the number 1 question I am asked is “Where do I put my strobes?” as if there is one magic position to put their strobes. Over the years I have taught thousands of people how to shoot underwater. WHERE THE DO I PUT MY STROBES?By Jim DeckerWatch our video to get started on your path to becoming a strobe placement master. ![]()
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