Sumptuous Scenes

1. Seasonal Interest

Great wide-angle scenes marry stunning foreground subjects with eye-catching backgrounds. This rarely happens by accident but rather by the photographer consciously considering all the elements in creating the shot, including the time of year. Damien Mauric took this picture (above) at Secret Garden in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. “These reefs are always incredible,” Mauric says, “but during the last few months of the year, schools of baitfish arrive, creating spectacular reef scenes.”

2. A Painter’s Eye

Beautiful foreground subjects are helped by lighting. Use manual settings and make small adjustments to strobe positions and powers to perfect the lighting. “I look for colorful subjects with interesting shapes and textures to compose an eye-catching image,” says Mauric. “I paint my foreground subject with a soft touch of light by extending my arms and positioning the strobes behind the camera housing and pointing them slightly inward.”

3. The Magic Moment

Backgrounds are important, completing the story of a reefscape and giving the composition a three-dimensional quality. “The fish in the background add an additional layer by filling the negative space with beautiful silhouettes and movement,” says Mauric. “It shows how lively a reef can be.” This requires patience. Says Mauric: “Study the behavior of the shoal, and keep your eye to the viewfinder until the magic moment.”

Reefscape Splits

Over/under images are among the most compelling underwater photographs and are worth trying when corals flourish near the surface

Beginner Tip

Successful splits need the right subject matter and the right conditions. To justify splitting the photo, we need interest both below and above the surface. A classic combination is hard corals in shallow water in front of a beach with palm trees. Consider wading in without fins so you don’t stir up the sediment on sand patches between the corals.

Intermediate Tip

Success comes when we wait for calm conditions and sunny weather before trying reefscape splits. Sunny weather creates a more even exposure in both halves. Calm water makes getting the shot easier. A larger dome port also helps in controlling the surface. In rougher conditions, or with a smaller dome, try shooting verticals, which give more room for error.

Advanced Tip

The big technical challenge of over/unders is getting everything sharp, which is critically important in a photo that tells its story across two halves. The correct technique is to focus on the underwater subject, then close the lens aperture right down to ensure you have enough depth of field to record the section above the waterline in sharp focus.