Scubalamp MS20

Phil Rudin · Issue 108, May/Jun 2019 · pp. 47–51

Products mentioned: Scubalamp MS20, CREE XP-L HI LED, 18650 battery, YS ball adapter

Light shaping devices have been around for about as long as photographers have been making images. As underwater photographers we have used the position of the sun to create interesting lighting effects, a verity of diffusers to widen and soften strobe lighting, multiple strobes can control shadows, highlights, contrast, color, depth and more. Another technique underwater photographers have taken right from the studio photographers toolbox is the use of snoots for shaping and directing light onto a subject. Most snoots have a cylindrical or conically (cone) shaped light reflector which fits over a strobe to produce a focused light beam directed onto the subject. The snoot creates a column of light which will allow you to separate a subject from its background or place a very narrow sliver of light on an element of your subject like its eye or mouth. We most often see snoots used for macr…