Joe Liburdi’s School of U/W Photography

Wide angle imaging is what you do when you take pictures of wrecks, reefs, seascapes, large schools of fish, pelagics, divers, and so on. A wide angle image most often includes the water background and is lit all or in part by an artificial light source, an underwater strobe. Wide angle photography can be shot with a compact system or a DSLR camera. Regardless of the equipment you use, the principles and techniques for wide angle photography are universal.

Basically there are two types of wide angle imaging:

Normal wide-angle: Scenes usually taken two feet to infinity of large animals, extended reef scenes with divers, etc.
Close focus wide-angle: Small/medium size sea life within inches to two feet of the lens.

Advantages of wide-angle

Allows greater depth field.
Through the lens cropping to eliminate unwanted objects in the scene.
The reduced water column produces more detail, contrast, and color to the images.
Strobe/ambient light has less distance to travel to the subject therefore producing better color, contrast and a more definite three-dimensional photo

Disadvantages of wide-angle

Small images may appear too small if taken at to far a distance from the lens.
Dual strobes often required to produce even lighting across the entire scene.

First, you need the right lens.

Generally, any lens with a focal length less than the equivalent of a 35mm is considered wide angle. The most popular focal lengths are 10mm to 24mm. We tend to use very wide angle lenses because it allows us to get very close to a subject while still being able to include both the subject and background in the composition. And as you know, the number one rule in underwater imaging is get close! Get close to reduce the water column between lens and subject. Get close to increase color saturation and image sharpness. The wider the lens, the closer you can get.

With a compact camera you have the option of switching back and forth from wide angle to macro while underwater by using auxiliary lenses, which are mounted to the outside of the housing’s lens port. This lens will increase the angle of view of the camera’s built-in lens.

With a DSLR, you must select one lens to use before the dive, and it cannot be changed underwater. Your options are fisheye, fixed focal length, or zoom lenses. The most popular fixed lens are the Nikon 10.5mm, 16mm the Canon 15mm fisheye lenses, and Sigma 15mm. Popular zoom lens are the Nikon 12-24mm, 17-35mm or Canon 10-22mm or 16-35mm and the Tokina 10-17mm. Zoom lenses have become very popular for underwater photographers.

Fundamental!

Water is denser than air. Colors are rapidly absorbed by distance from camera to subject.
Subjects five feet from the camera must travel 10 feet through the water column to strike the sensor on the camera. Images are degraded with increased water column. Getting in close with wide-angle produces better color, sharper images and overall better resolution.

Suggestions for getting started:

Use Camera Program Mode and Strobe TTL until you get the hang and feel for wide-angle photography. Allow the camera and strobe to set the exposure.

Suggestions for the advanced:

Use Camera Manual Mode
Center-weighted metering
ISO 100
Auto white balance
Shutter speed to 1/125
Aperture usually f/5.6 to f/11 at three feet plus.

Number one mistake in wide-angle: People usually shoot too far from the central point of interest. Get in close. Shooting range is typically 8 inches to 3 feet.