Tobywan 0 Posted December 27, 2022 Hi, Does anyone have tips for practicing macro photography in a pool? I'm a beginning macro photographer with a TG-6, YS-D3 strobes and a Backscatter Mini Flash. I tried practicing in my backyard saltwater pool on a kidnapped hermit crab (I live near the beach) but had my butt kicked at Little Cayman putting my training to use. Trying to focus/light the subject without touching the reef and in a variety of positions on the reef was a real challenge. Is there any way to duplicate these challenges in a pool? Cheers, Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted December 27, 2022 Yep. Build yourself a small construction with Lego and attach some weights. Infinitely variable, you can create scenes that allow you to test out depth of field variations and.... tons of fun! Relatively inexpensive too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kraken de Mabini 178 Posted December 27, 2022 (edited) To photo reef subjects, I use a housed Olympus TG4 with a single light mounted on a simple tray, and get nice photos. To answer your question about being stable in the pool, allow me to suggest: a, shoot a lot of macro with your TG6 while on dry land, b, simplify your camera tray to a single strobe or light to make it easier to handle, c, work on your buoyancy so that in the water you are just about perfectly neutral, to allow you to concentrate on composing and taking photos, d, shoot a lot while under water, and e. to share and enjoy your photos and those of others, it is great to join a local underwater photo club. Edited December 28, 2022 by Kraken de Mabini Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phxazcraig 116 Posted December 28, 2022 My tips, which will seem obvious to you with your recent experience. 1. Nothing - nothing - will improve your photos better than having perfect buoyancy. I find most macro to be done while attempting to hover just above the subject. You WILL need to be able to do this, including in current. 2. Sometimes a 'muck stick' can help. (Get one at least 18 inches in length). With a sandy bottom, you can sometimes jam the stick into the sand to help hold still with the left hand while shooting with the right. (Which points out a problem with muck sticks - you often need to shoot one-handed.) More often (for me) I just use it when getting into awkward head-down positions where I use it to shove off from a rock to back up. Also useful to point with, or bang on a tank for attention, and the stick I have even has a centimeter scale marked on it that can be useful for measuring, like the following example: In a pool, one thing you don't have is current. Not sure there is a good way to simulate that. But I like the idea of building a small set of both subjects and obstructions around them so you can practice getting the camera into ... awkward positions. I would also add highly reflective objects next to highly absorptive objects so you can get an idea of how to handle the dynamic range of such a situation in post processing. (And flash power). Finally, if you have a Whibal (or similar) white balance card, it might be useful to try a series of shots at different ranges to see how your color balance changes as the flash range increases. May give you some idea what color temp is about right in post-processing too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tobywan 0 Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) phxazcraig, Wow! Thanks so much. I hadn't thought of using a WB card or putting reflective objects next to absorptive ones. I'm pretty good at buoyancy control but learning to handle the current was a chore, so I'll try your muck stick suggestion. Cheers, Jim Edited December 30, 2022 by Tobywan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tobywan 0 Posted December 30, 2022 TimG, Thanks! Great idea on lego. I must have fifty boxes of it in the attic. Might be able to construct a whole reef . . . Im Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tobywan 0 Posted December 30, 2022 On 12/27/2022 at 5:26 PM, Kraken de Mabini said: To photo reef subjects, I use a housed Olympus TG4 with a single light mounted on a simple tray, and get nice photos. To answer your question about being stable in the pool, allow me to suggest: a, shoot a lot of macro with your TG6 while on dry land, b, simplify your camera tray to a single strobe or light to make it easier to handle, c, work on your buoyancy so that in the water you are just about perfectly neutral, to allow you to concentrate on composing and taking photos, d, shoot a lot while under water, and e. to share and enjoy your photos and those of others, it is great to join a local underwater photo club. Thanks Kraken - funny you should mention shooting macro above water. I'm starting to enjoy that almost as much as UW macro! Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted December 30, 2022 22 minutes ago, Tobywan said: TimG, Thanks! Great idea on lego. I must have fifty boxes of it in the attic. Might be able to construct a whole reef . . . Im LOL, brilliant! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dann-Oh 40 Posted January 3 On 12/27/2022 at 12:07 PM, TimG said: Yep. Build yourself a small construction with Lego and attach some weights. Infinitely variable, you can create scenes that allow you to test out depth of field variations and.... tons of fun! Relatively inexpensive too. No honey, THESE Legos are defiantly for the kid(s). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted January 3 40 minutes ago, Dann-Oh said: No honey, THESE Legos are defiantly for the kid(s). Gave up on that one Dann-Oh. I bought Lego Technics to keep myself amused on those dark Amsterdam nights..... The Land Rover Defender is fabulous! Not tried it underwater. Yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dann-Oh 40 Posted January 4 On 1/3/2023 at 7:55 AM, TimG said: Gave up on that one Dann-Oh. I bought Lego Technics to keep myself amused on those dark Amsterdam nights..... The Land Rover Defender is fabulous! Not tried it underwater. Yet. I bought the below kit near the beginning of covid to practice underwater photography. Welp, I still haven't used it as I spent most of my dive working as a DM and not really using my camera. I'm really looking forward to this year of getting some fun dives in for personal enjoyment and skills development. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimG 62 Posted January 4 24 minutes ago, Dann-Oh said: I bought the below kit near the beginning of covid to practice underwater photography Brilliant! Good one Dann-Oh! Not too hard to make a little diver cage too.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tinman 31 Posted January 6 Aquarium figures like Bruce and Ariel often assist me when I'm doing macro workshops in swimming pools. The aquarium figures are placed at different depths in the pool using weighted tripods and/or rocks to challenge workshop participants. While definitely not as fun as building underwater subjects with Legos, aquarium figures do have the advantage of being cheap. (LOL) -Tinman 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
