Hello wonderful people! We’re back this Monday with another 7 tips from the fab Martin of Britsnap Photography. If you want to check out his past posts, be sure to click on over. You’ll find great, practical ideas for shooting and composition…no DSLR required! Today he’s back with a few tips on the best ways to capture the final days of summer. From a unique angle, of course. So without final ado…Take it away, Martin!
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As the kids start to head back to school and College Football begins, there may be only a few more weekends of fun at the Pool and Beach.
My kids LOVE the water, and it’s always this time of year that they get more confident with their water skills. This year, my son really enjoyed diving in the pool, and my daughter started swimming with floaties.
Of course because I love what I do, I wanted to master some pool jumping and floating shots. So I did. But you know what? There are things I was missing out on. Things I actually never saw. I thought when my son jumped in the pool, his eyes were shut and he’d desperately be trying to get to the surface. But no. How do I know? I used a waterproof camera. So here it is. My seven tips for great water photos, and capturing those final days of summer.
1. Buy a waterproof camera. Haha, believe me. I have used a good one at the beach, only to suffer sea water and a scratch on the glass. Whilst it was a great shot, I got what I deserved and my poor NON-waterproof G12 got a scratched lens. My recommendation is easy: The new Canon D20. Yes I am biased, and yes I have used other waterproof cameras. And no, I wasn’t paid to say that. The camera is a point and shoot, $277 on Amazon, but has a few manual settings that really let you push the camera to the limits and produce images like this:
2. Wear a mask or goggles. This will let you see what Is going on under water, and know what all the buttons do, before going under. Have your child wear goggles too, they will think it is cool to watch you!
3. Be prepared. Watch your child jump in a few times, to figure out how long it takes. The Canon D20 and most water cameras are fairly slow from the point of pressing the shutter button, to the image actually captured. You need to guess where they will be at a certain time. Try 1 second in advance and click the shutter button early.
4. Use the underwater setting. If the camera has an ‘underwater setting’ (and most do) USE IT. This may take reading the manual to find out how to do this, but is something you need to do. Another tip: if you use the under water setting ‘on land’ the pics will not be very good, so make sure to change it back to the normal mode.
5. Keep it shallow. The deeper you go in the water, the less light there is, and therefore less colour. Unless it is an extremely light pool and bright outside, you need to take the pics with the subject closer to the top of the water to retain colour.
6. Camera maintenance. Make sure all the battery compartments and memory card slots are closed tight before going in the water, or your camera will drown . Also, after a day at the pool or beach, put the camera in a bowl of fresh tap water to clean it.
7. It’s all about the time of day. For the best shots, shoot between 10am and 2pm on a sunny day. That is when the sun will be the highest, and the light In the pool the brightest. It will give you a better chance of having great shots!
And there it is. Now go get a waterproof camera and show me your shots! Cheers!
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I absolutely love this perspective and tips for unique summertime photos! Aren’t they beautiful? Seriously, I’m in awe. I want to see these blown up on their walls in their home! {Yes, my mind does always go to the decor side of things.} Amazing, for sure!
Maybe if I follow his tips next time, I won’t look like Sloth from ‘Goonies’.
Thanks again Martin…another awesome post from Britsnap! To see more of his great installments, be sure to click here. To see more of his beautiful works + stay up to date with the latest and greatest, be sure to check him out here, as well!
Have an inspired day, everyone! I’m off to try out some photos!
Anna Belle Young says
Amazing photography! This is pretty great. 😉 Makes me want an underwater camera to take their photos every year.
JP says
Lovely! These would be great framed out and blown up. These tips are useful!
DaNelle says
Wow, I never even thought to do some underwater shots. Great Idea!
DaNelle recently posted…Why I changed my mind about Homeschooling
Jenna Joy says
Omgah I die. These are beautiful. And that last photo made me nearly spit my coffee!
Jenna at Homeslice says
What great tips! I never really thought about it, but I’d love to take pictures like these. I’ll have to refer back if we ever get a good quality water camera! My mind totally went to home decor too… it’s just in our bones!
Rachel says
These shots are amazing! And the Sloth thing…hilar.
BRITSNAP says
Cheers all, thanks for looking. Seriously, this simple Canon D20 is all you need….use it the right way and you will have really brilliant pics of your kids or whatever else you want to shoot underwater. Cheers, Martin
Lasso the Moon says
I am crying–tears running down my face–had to scroll down just so I could stop laughing and not have an accident (I’m six months preg…) That last photo! so funny.
As for the rest of the post. Beautiful! I have pinned it so I can find it later, and have just started an underwater camera fund.
Thanks so much!
Anna
ashley @ the handmade home says
HAHA! So glad you liked my little self portrait. I think it should be my main profile pic. ;} And I nearly have accidents all the time… definitely not pregnant. ;}