Angelic
Underwater photo
Underwater photo
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my backyard pool. Most of my underwater photos are taken in 3 ft of water. The ironic thing about water photography for me is that I don't swim very well at all. I create my own backdrops sometimes to offset the blue that comes from the liner of the pool reflected by the sun. Let me say this somewhere...I do not think of myself as a skilled photographer. It is probably apparent to those who are. I just have a overwhelming desire to create and photography and photoshop are amazing tools for me.Time
This photo was taken one sunny/cloudy mid afternoon.Lighting
The lighting in my backyard situation can be difficult and at the same time create artistic surprises. Since I shoot in shallow water, there can be too much harsh light and it is hard to control that without a cover or shade over the top of the pool. I have no underwater lighting with me. Cloudy days are good and I have experimented with floating things on top to block out light. I think the particular lighting on this day was sunny with clouds.Equipment
I have recently seen photos in magazines and other articles of other photographers under the water with all of this special equipment, large cameras with housing, underwater lighting, and 3 or 4 assistants and I think to myself... Wow!, what I could do with that! Drown probably! Haha! I feel a bit jealous though. When I started playing with this, I went out and bought my little Canon Powershot D10 because they said it could go in the water and I thought how cool. I put on my swimming mask, used volunteers as models and asked someone else to be in the pool to stand on my back and went to shooting. Now can you visualize that in a magazine?! .. too funny.Inspiration
After randomly finding an underwater photo on the internet taken by a photographer named Sara Wall from Hawaii, I wanted to try it. This particular model of mine, Haley, was amazing to work with. It's harder than you think to pose under the water. I got good at explaining to these girls how they would have to look as though they were above ground when they posed and this beautiful girl, nailed it almost every shot. Every underwater session inspires me to do another. It is really fun and the results can be unpredictable. (like the ugly faces we get to laugh about as we shoot.)Editing
The out of the camera shot on this one was really pretty nice and did not take much enhancing. I did however add the extra sparkle you see in those round circles of light in the photo. I like the color version as well without them. In a lot of the photos you'll end up having to remove bubbles from eyes, noses etc.In my camera bag
I think I have a great arsenal of equipment out of the water. A new Canon 5D II that I am getting used to after backing over my 7D with my car. Another story. An older 40 D as a back up and beautiful lenses. A 50mm, 85mm, 70-200mm, 35mm, and 24-70mm. Sounds like I'm bragging now. Honestly I have way too much equip. for the lack skill I have. I think I have more heart and desire than skill. I am still teaching myself and only hope to improve. I didn't start this journey as a photographer, but more of an artist. It's just that I love how they go hand in hand. Don't get me wrong, I love an exquisite photograph of any subject but for myself I have always loved using photoshop along with photography to make art. Getting better at shooting along the way is a bonus.Feedback
I am kind of happy to say that I created this image without the suba tank, the expensive camera and housing, the lighting and the 3-4 assistants. I bought this small underwater camera got in my pool with family, friends, etc and although I was limited I still created something I think nice. I am not saying that having all those others things would not be Fab-u-lous and that my photo is better but I guess what I am saying is something cool can be made with less. It just takes the desire and some time to experiment, and believe me.. it's been fun! I recommend giving it a try with whatever you have.
