Inexperienced underwater photographers tend to believe that the more expensive their equipment is the better the pictures. That is not necessarily true, and we will take a look at the compact camera and how to use them in order to get professional-looking pictures from your dives.
First of all when you get your compact camera, make sure to read all the i
nstructions. The camera manual will guide you through the settings and functions which will give you the overview you need in the first place. However, all compact cameras today are programmed with “scene mode” that in a split second will give you the best pre-programmed setting for your shoot. When choosing a subject to shoot, you can very quickly choose a scene mode that should give you the best possible settings, and I suggest you play around with the settings for a while in order to get a feel of what your camera can do.
Internal Flash
The key to a taking great photos every time is to know your flash, when and how to use it. You always want a much natural light in your picture as possible this will always give the best effect and bring out the natural colors in the picture. This is why, when snapping wide-angle shots without any external strobe lights, you are encouraged to turn off your camera’s flash and attempt to use the sun’s natural light.
However, you should never use the internal-flash feature when shooting wide-angle because you will capture dusty backscatter and you don’t want that in your picture. Only use flash when shooting close-up because the distance between subject and lens is short and it will make less space for other things to ruin the picture.
Focus and Composition
Concerning focus and composition techniques it is very individual how you like your pictures and which techniques that fits your preferences. For your composition skills when using a compact camera, I advise you to use the “rule of thirds” which will allow you to take pictures that are pleasing to the eye. The same counts for your focus-skills, practice and figure out what works best for your shoots.
Editing
Last but not least, remember that it’s only a good shot that makes the perfect picture, the post production is just as important. A lot of photographers use Photoshop to edit their pictures, but as a newbie, Photoshop can be overwhelming and you will lose hope. Lightroom is a great alternative that will provide the most necessary tools for your editing.
With more of practicing with your compact camera, you will can take great pictures from your dives. Get ready to enjoy an no other diving experience with abyss.
