Perfecting the balancing act

Mark Webster · Issue 2, Oct/Nov 2001 · pp. 24–26

Products mentioned: Nikonos compatible flash guns, Nikon F90X, Nikon F801, Subal housing, YS120/30 strobe

The most appealing underwater photographs are often those wide angle scenes which have an entirely natural look to them – the foreground is colourful and well exposed whilst the background is also visible and appears to stretch away into the distance. This effect is produced by using a mixture of natural or ambient light and flash or strobe light, which adds back the lost colour in the foreground subject. To achieve this we need to master one of the most essential skills in underwater photography, which is balancing these two light sources sometimes referred to as fill flash exposure. Modern auto-focus cameras are brim full of programme modes and it might appear that the simplest solution is to select one of these and let the camera and TTL flash control do the job for you. Whilst this can be a successful option in many cases, the camera does not always provide the correct exposure, part…