Just making sure I'm "normal"

[ktb]

I'm new to UW photography, so I'm just wondering . . . please tell me I'm not the only newbie that takes a TON of pics during a dive only to discover that maybe 1-3 turn out the way I want. However, the ones that do turn out seem to be pretty good. Now if I could just remember *exactly* what I did to get them . . . and I haven't even started trying to frame the shot in an interesting way so they aren't all landscape and such. Sigh.

So here's a couple from the past 2 days. The first two I didn't do a thing to fiddle with the color.

This one I tried to fiddle with the color a tad.

Thoughts? Comments? Any feedback is appreciated.

[Tom Nic]

Normal? Hmmm....

As with quite a few other divers on the board I subsribe to the "take a bazillion pics, throw them up against the wall, and the odds are that a couple will turn out."

One of the good things about doing that is that you begin to go from "yuck, that's a crappy picture", to "Yuck, that's a crappy picture, here's why it didn't turn out, and this is how I might change the shot in the future to make it better".

In the meantime, you aren't normal. Your x-ray eyes allow you to see the pics in this thread, and I can't see them!

[ktb]

In the meantime, you aren't normal. Your x-ray eyes allow you to see the pics in this thread, and I can't see them!

I know, I know. I hit submit when I meant to add the files. Sorry--they are there now.

[Dashrynn]

I also takes a billion pictures but I'm getting to the point where I only take 4 per subject. When I buy another strobe I will prob go back to taking 15 pictures of one subject because my experience level is zero in a dual strobe

[H20doctor]

Your normal .. If I shoot 15 pics only 3 will turn out .. Taking Underwater pictures is a very slow learning Curve..

[defied]

Nice try, using a photography question for validation, but you are NOT normal. Good couple of pics though.

D(B)

[ArcticDiver]

Never have taken a picture underwater; that will come next month when I go to Hawaii. But, on the surface I even got paid once in awhile for my images (helped pay for the hobby). In an uncontrolled environment like wildlife or sports photography it was not unusual to shoot a 36 exposure roll to get 2 or 3 good images. Now in a studio it was pretty much 1 for 1. That was pretty much the norm for most everyone I knew.

So, I think you may be ahead of the curve. Besides, in the digital age who cares how many images you shoot as long as you get what you want and don't run out of battery?

Edited: Oops, guess I took the question seriously. I'll defer to someone who knows you better :biggrin:

[nice-diver]

someone famous along time ago said 'your first 10,000 pictures don't count' so you have time to get a good one
the first three are nice

[dphershman]

My regular dive buddy has a great quote-- 'even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile!'

But my take on it is this-- closer is always better!

[Marc]

No you aren't normal. No one that dives is.

However, as to the amount of pictures you take; I took over 100 shots tonight and these are the ones I thought were ok.

[ktb]

Thank you everyone! It's nice to know that it's a big club with free membership . . . so to speak.

And Defied, I may not be normal, but since you're my friend, what does that say about you?!?

[defied]

Thank you everyone! It's nice to know that it's a big club with free membership . . . so to speak.

And Defied, I may not be normal, but since you're my friend, what does that say about you?!?

Friend....Zookeeper....same thing....

D(B)

[ktb]

Thank you everyone! It's nice to know that it's a big club with free membership . . . so to speak.

And Defied, I may not be normal, but since you're my friend, what does that say about you?!?

Friend....Zookeeper....same thing....

D(B)

[wallyc72]

YOU ARE NOT NORMAL!!

[Dusty2]

None of us are normal!!! Normal people don't go swimming in 45 deg. water to take pictures of fishies!

With practice the keepers will increase and the deletes will decrease. However I still take at least a half dozen pics of anything I find interesting. Even if all 6 are OK you wasted nothing but bubbles.

[ktb]

[quote="Dusty2"]None of us are normal!!! Normal people don't go swimming in 45 deg. water to take pictures of fishies! [quote]

So true, so true . . .

[Dashrynn]

None of us are normal!!! Normal people don't go swimming in 45 deg. water to take pictures of fishies!

So true, so true . . .

i third that! I was thinking the same thing when we were diving ttn and it was 22 degrees outside and 45 in the water

[Peter Guy]

BTW, when you take 6 pictures of the same thing, think about what you might want to change after pic 2 or 3 -- strobe position, aperture, camera position, zoom (in or out) -- in other words, "bracket" the shot so you won't be "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

Thank goodness for digital cameras and large storage chips! 36 (or 38) images with a Nikonos made it much harder to learn and get "the" shot.

[nwscubamom]

What's funny is now I look back on the photos I took 9 years ago (that I thought at the time had turned out good!) and think, "Ewwww yuck!!"

Your skills will only get better with practice - and as Dan says, Closer is Better!

Start with shooting far enough away that you don't scare the fish, then gradually move in, shoot, move in some more, shoot another, move in closer...etc.

- Janna

[lundysd]

There are 2 competing trends here....

When you first start shooting, you're lucky to get 1 in 10 that are keepers. When you're an advanced amateur, you may only get 1 in 50 that are keepers (in my experience). The difference is in the details -- at first, any image that is properly exposed and in focus is a keeper, while later on an image must "pop" to be worthwhile. All the while you're getting better at framing the subject, filling the frame, and predicting the exposure of the shot, so while you may have equal or less numbers of truly "keeper" images, those images will be of much higher quality. of course, this is my humble opinion.

FWIW, I consider myself a serious amateur, and if I get 1 truly good shot a dive, I'm satisfied

[Dashrynn]

There are 2 competing trends here....

When you first start shooting, you're lucky to get 1 in 10 that are keepers. When you're an advanced amateur, you may only get 1 in 50 that are keepers (in my experience). The difference is in the details -- at first, any image that is properly exposed and in focus is a keeper, while later on an image must "pop" to be worthwhile. All the while you're getting better at framing the subject, filling the frame, and predicting the exposure of the shot, so while you may have equal or less numbers of truly "keeper" images, those images will be of much higher quality. of course, this is my humble opinion.

FWIW, I consider myself a serious amateur, and if I get 1 truly good shot a dive, I'm satisfied

if im in a place where i cant take my time (boat diving) then i get maybe one really good pic out of 50 or 75ish but if i shore dive i have more time to slow down for the shot thats when i get around 5 to 10 great pics (macro not wide angle)

so just take your time guys (thats my trouble)

[MikeMeagher]

Youre normal. Just shoot as much as you can. I have taken over 33,000 underwater images over my life.. and feel that I only have about 100 that I really, really like. Guess I'm too much too picky.

[Greg]

I'm new to UW photography, so I'm just wondering . . . please tell me I'm not the only newbie that takes a TON of pics during a dive only to discover that maybe 1-3 turn out the way I want. However, the ones that do turn out seem to be pretty good. Now if I could just remember *exactly* what I did to get them . . . and I haven't even started trying to frame the shot in an interesting way so they aren't all landscape and such. Sigh.

So here's a couple from the past 2 days. The first two I didn't do a thing to fiddle with the color.

PC190043.JPG

PC190011.JPG

This one I tried to fiddle with the color a tad.

PC200025--some coloring.JPG

Thoughts? Comments? Any feedback is appreciated.

Back in the bad old days of film cameras if you were shooting a 36 frame roll and one or two photos came out in your underwater pics you were doing pretty damn good. From what I have seen in your photos it looks like you are on the right track. My recommendation is to read as much on photography as well as U/W photography as you can not too mention take a course or two. Also, take a look at what the pros are doing. People to watch would Barb Roy, David Doubilet, and Cathy Church. Check out and see how they are composing their shots and try to use that when you are composing your shots. Finally, don't be afraid to experiment.
I hope this helps

[ktb]

Thanks everyone! It does seem to be a numbers game, so I plan to keep taking as many as possible.

[BASSMAN]

take a look at what the pros are doing. People to watch would Barb Roy, David Doubilet, and Cathy Church. Check out and see how they are composing their shots and try to use that when you are composing your shots.

And...Greg Amptman
Yeah, go ahead and "google" Greg Amptman", You'll be busy for hours!