Terry
May 13th, 2007, 01:07 PM
I feel like a bit of a poseur here because I'm not much of a photographer...I have done thousands of hours of videography in my day, but I'm still a rank amateur the world of stills. However, since my good friend Tom is unaccountably silent on a topic to which he brings considerable experience, I shall venture my One Big Tip for beginners.
Shoot wide.
Shooting video, you're pretty much stuck with the composition you see in the viewfinder during recording. So on my first three or four dive trips with a camera I wasted considerable time and energy trying to frame perfect compositions in that little tiny viewfinder. Eventually even the slowest learner catches on, however, and I realized that shooting the widest possible shot while getting as close as necessary/possible to the subject would provide me with compositional options at the computer or in the darkroom.
I'd be interested in hearing everyone else's "If You Follow Only One Rule of Underwater Photography, It Should Be..." tip.
Shoot wide.
Shooting video, you're pretty much stuck with the composition you see in the viewfinder during recording. So on my first three or four dive trips with a camera I wasted considerable time and energy trying to frame perfect compositions in that little tiny viewfinder. Eventually even the slowest learner catches on, however, and I realized that shooting the widest possible shot while getting as close as necessary/possible to the subject would provide me with compositional options at the computer or in the darkroom.
I'd be interested in hearing everyone else's "If You Follow Only One Rule of Underwater Photography, It Should Be..." tip.