Photographing Your Reef

[w3ish3ng]

Composition 101

The next series of tips I would like to share will be some composition tips to create more natural looking photos of our mini reefs. (or photos in general)

1. Center is not better

One of the most basic rules in photography is the Rule of Thirds. It basically says center is not always better.

Many cameras have this function of providing gridlines on the preview screen. This actually helps you practice the rule of thirds. You can either choose your main focal point at the 4 intersection points (such as the eye of your fish), or place points of interest along the grid lines so that the photo becomes more balanced and enable viewers to interact with it more naturally. A v. good example of this by bro w3ish3ng (hope you don't mind me reproducing your photo bro!):

Tip: you can try to recreate the rule of thirds in post photography through cropping, but photo quality might deteriorate if you crop too much away.

Of course, this rule can be broken. But try mastering this grandfather of photography rules first, and see some improvement in your photos taken!

is my photo very dark? or my tv need to calibrate? just got rid of my mac and now using back pc with my tv as monitor, i dont really remember this photo was that dark.. =x

[comycus]

is my photo very dark? or my tv need to calibrate? just got rid of my mac and now using back pc with my tv as monitor, i dont really remember this photo was that dark.. =x

lol i didn't do any editing to your photo... but it looks alright to me. It looks more like playing with shadows than dark dark.

[peacemaker]

haiz, my nokia phone going bonkers on me. Light no longer working, and cannot detect memory card... looks like I need to buy a new one soon... I drop it too many times le.

Time to get yourself Sony Ericsson's Satio!

[w3ish3ng]

lol i didn't do any editing to your photo... but it looks alright to me. It looks more like playing with shadows than dark dark.

i guess its time to play with my tv setting..

[comycus]

Time to get yourself Sony Ericsson's Satio!

omg... the phone looks amazing. Prob another one of those thousand dollar phone which i can't afford. Its either I spend the money on corals or on phone... I'm sure many will prefer to spend on the former

[peacemaker]

With normal plan, its around 600+. A bit pricey at the moment for me, so I'm also waiting for the price to drop. Its a little bulky though...

[comycus]

Been a long time since I updated this thread.

Composition 101

2. Closer is better

The most common mistake is that photos are taken from too far away and that there is just too much environment that doesn’t add to the message. Filling the image with the subject underlines what the intended subject is, and removes cluttered background. It achieves simplicity. We can achieve more by zooming in rather than zooming out and taking a bigger picture.

I like my elegance. This is a wonderful shot of it in its better days.

The rock on the left is a distraction. Let's try another shot and zoom in closer. Although this means taking out some parts of the elegance, I still prefer this second shot over the first.

[teebs]

I think the first shot is actually better. You can just crop out the rock using any image editing software.

[comycus]

I think the first shot is actually better. You can just crop out the rock using any image editing software.

lol diff taste ba... maybe my photography skills still sub par tt's why...

[teebs]

Your 2nd pic is too dark...Editing in photoshop will probably make it much better.

[comycus]

Your 2nd pic is too dark...Editing in photoshop will probably make it much better.

prob wb was off... but this way the pink tips are emphasized. Like I said, diff preference ba.

Besides the point is on filling up the photo. You can choose to zoom in or crop in post process, either way works.

[sherman]

I agree with Peter first shot better.

2nd shot exposure wrong.

If you want closer shot you have to go all the way in for a macro shot.

[comycus]

I agree with Peter first shot better.

2nd shot exposure wrong.

If you want closer shot you have to go all the way in for a macro shot.

hehe I know what's wrong after looking at my pictures from my office computer le.

Need to go back and callibrate my home monitor... didn't know the second shot was so dark!!!

hmmm okok paiseh paiseh...

[Gouldian]

Hi Comycus,

I have moved your thread to our new sub-forum dedicated to photography of our beloved.

[RitchieMichael]

Hello all,

We have done a number of Indonesian dive trips with Reef Wreck and Critter; Komodo a few times and North Sulawesi including Lembeh Strait, Bangka Islands and Bunaken. The logistics of a Reef Wreck and Critter live-aboard trip run like clock-work due to Jeff and Dawn’s preparation and local knowledge (and speaking Indonesian helps). The diving is always spot on, Jeff and Dawn have dived these areas since the early 80’s, they know the dive sites, currents etc. and it’s not unusual for them to be telling the local guides where to dive. I have never had a bad dive with them.

When it comes to underwater photographic coaching I’m probably going to tell the same story as most others on here. My first session with Jeff was with a point and shoot camera many years ago and after one short session my photos improved out of sight. I’ve since gone to a DSLR and done further sessions with Jeff and it’s the same story, I just get better and better results each time. On the Reef Wreck and Critter live-aboard trips Jeff’s photographic help never stops, he is always available, always offering advise (even underwater), training Light room late into the night and often fixing gear for people. His experience in underwater photography is vast, and he shares it.

Thanks and Regards

Ritchie Michael

Birth Of a Manta Ray