Wide angle underwater photography demands attention to both foreground and background and balancing both to get the best results remains a challenge. Due to the tricks involved, not many photographers pursue u/w wide angle photography. Some of the tips that might prove to be useful to the enthusiasts are listed below.
1. Getting close to the subject remains the most important point to be considered while shooting wide angle. Choosing wider lens will help you in getting close to the subjects and thus reduce the amount of water between the lens and the subject.
2. Wide angle photography should be shot in manual mode rather than using TTL.
TTL works best while shooting macro but with wide-angle, it is not advised as it overexposes the foreground or even burns it sometimes.
3. The same object can be shot both vertically and horizontally to derive the desired orientation, keeping the rules of composition in mind.
4. Contrast should be created to ensure that the image stands out on a distinctly colored background and doesn’t merge into the background. This should be done well to avoid cluttering of the images.
5. Shooting at an upward angle helps in bringing about the contrast effectively.
6. While shooting animals in motion, higher shutter speed and lower f-stop gives better results. Presetting the f-stop, shutter speed and focus will be useful while capturing animals that move fast.
7. For highly reflective surfaces, it is better to under strobe the subject slightly for better results.
8. If you intend to shoot sunbeams, a shutter speed of 1/250 is advised. An accurate blend of aperture and shutter speed will give the best results.
9. To make the subject pop, creating contrast between the background and the subject is essential. Contrasting backgrounds can be created by shooting with a small aperture and fast shutter speed.
10. Shooting can be made effective by following the rule of thirds. Every image should be considered in a grid with two vertical and horizontal lines each. The points where these lines intersect are known as “crash points” and placing the subject at one of these points will yield a powerful image. Asymmetrical positioning works best and makes the image more interesting.