Underwater Photography Tips: Mastering Contrast

Mastering contrast makes your images easy to understand.

1) Why It Matters High contrast is essential to help create the points, lines and shapes that define an image — people like to know what they’re looking at without trying to figure it out. It’s a largely subconscious process, which is why we must make our subjects pop from their backgrounds. A shape must be immediately recognizable as a fish, turtle, shark, diver, or whatever you’re shooting.

2) In The Water It’s all about proximity, position and light. Get close to allow the shape, detail and color to sing out. Position or frame the subject against a clear background to make it stand out strongly. Note the direction of natural light, and shoot with it behind you for color or into it for silhouettes and strong shapes.

3) Different Contrasts Light and dark is the most important contrast, but don’t forget to use opposites on the color spectrum: Warm colors like red, brown, orange, and yellow contrast against cooler colors like green
and blue. Also look for differences: A diver or small fish against a big animal or wreck emphasizes different sizes; a soft and colorful nudibranch against a gray hard coral will emphasize its color, and so on.

Paul Colley is an award-winning underwater photographer, compact-camera instructor and author of Winning Images with Any Underwater Camera. To view more of his work, visit mpcolley.com.

To find the latest in underwater compact cameras, visit SeaLife Underwater Cameras.

To view more underwater photography tips for your compact camera, visit our Guide to Underwater Photography.