Florida Keys Scuba Diving with Sail Fish Scuba

Diving Key Largo, Florida Keys

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Photo Tips While Key Largo Underwater Diving

While scuba diving Key Largo at All Dive Sites divers get to see how Sail Fish Scuba guides take great photos.

Sail Fish Scuba Underwater Photography

Sail Fish Scuba always puts a guide in the water with you, but another service we offer is free photos! Each of our guides takes an underwater camera with them to capture the moments for your family and the underwater critters as you explore the reefs. But have you ever wondered what exactly we’re doing and how we’re capturing those awesome photos for you? We have a fleet of Nikon Coolpix cameras that utilize an Ikelite underwater housing to make snorkeling and diving photos possible!
If ever there was a camera setup that made it easy for point and shoot this would be it.
With a built-in setting to allow you to white balance it’s an underwater photographer’s best friend.

Water depth and color loss

Have you ever taken a camera with you underwater for photos, only to realize that your photos looked weirdly blue/blue-green afterwards? The reason why everything tends to look blue and green underwater is because sunlight carries a full spectrum of colors. When entering the water the red and orange wavelengths of light are absorbed by the water much more quickly.
Most of the red colors underwater have already been absorbed at just a few feet in depth and by 30+ feet, nearly of the red colors have been absorbed.

Because shorter wavelengths of light like the colors blue and green can penetrate the water to deeper levels, the farther below the surface you go, the more everything begins to take on a bluish-green tint.
Even when you’re trying to take pictures in a pool, the closer to the bottom you are, the less colorful things look.

White Balance

The way to fight this is with one of two things. Either add back in the wavelengths with strobes or lights, or adjust the camera to compensate for the loss of red using “white balance” or a filter.

Our Nikon cameras have a white balance setting that allows us to tell the camera what “white” (full spectrum of all wavelengths) is.
Using this setting on the camera and a plastic slate underwater it can then adjust accordingly to make the photos appear to have more colors.
This truly makes the biggest difference in underwater images.

Tip: Maintenance

Taking care of your camera housing and camera is critical to ensure the life of your set up. A fresh water rinse after each water session is the best preventative maintenance you can do. In fresh water work all of the buttons and controls to help get rid of salt water in the mechanisms and flush them out. Dry the housing gently and store in a cool, dry, place. It is also advisable to treat the o-ring on the housing. The o-ring is what creates the water seal, so you could say it’s kind of important! Take the o-ring out, clean the groove, and re-grease the o-ring with a light layer of silicone grease.

Macro Underwater Photography

Macro photography is the art of shooting small subjects which would normally be difficult to capture.
Think large photos of nudibranchs, sea horses, blennys, jawfish, corals, and anything that lives up close and personal on the reef.
There are some major considerations when shooting macro-focus and light. You need to get as close as you can to the subject without touching and light to help the camera focus.
Our Nikon cameras have a built-in macro mode and most cameras now a days do too. You can distinguish this mode generally by a symbol that looks like a flower.

Wide Angle Underwater Photography

Wide angle shots are the money shots many people think of when you think underwater photography.
Think sharks, rays, turtles, wrecks, and all the “big stuff” filling the frame.
It’s known to have that “wow” factor but can be deceptively difficult.
Some of the best underwater shots are surprisingly simple.
Contrasting colorful depictions of fish and reef, panoramas.
Start with good lighting and good subject matter. Try to get a good angle of something close with an interesting background.

We are an Ikelite dealer and can help you get started with underwater photography. Give us a call or drop by to discuss more about underwater photography and how we can help you!

Where to go for Lunch/Dinner after your tour:

Check out these coupons for local restaurants. Show the virtual coupon upon your arrival at each restaurant to get the great discounts. If you visit any other restaurant in Key Largo, show them these coupons & ask if they will match it for you and suggest to them to contact Jen Kerr owner of Sail Fish Scuba to have their restaurant added to this great tourist savings page for FREE! – https://sailfishscuba.com/key-largo-information/coupons/