Being Comfortable Getting Close

Alex Mustard explains that when it comes to creating attention grabbing close focus wide angle images, getting close is only part of the challenge.

We all know the mantra for successful underwater photography: “Get close. Get CLOSER!” This is such essential advice, that some photographers even have it written on the back of their housings. Getting close helps us produce pictures that have more colour, contrast and detail, because however clear the water is, the underwater world is always murkier than air.

Things get most interesting when we get super close with a wide angle lens as we reap another benefit. Short camera to subject distances force the perspective of the picture, so that the main subject appears larger than it is and it seems to pop out of the background creating an almost 3D image. The resulting photos are particularly eye catching, with a high impact, especially when the foreground subject is colorful or a charismatic creature. This is the classic technique of Close Focus Wide Angle (CFWA) photography.

CFWA is a very popular sub-division of wide angle and, as the name suggests, refers to images taken at camera to subject distances of less than about 50cm (20”), often as close as possible. This close working distance creates unique challenges in approaching subjects and particularly lighting photographs.

The good news is that CFWA works just as well with a compact as with more advanced cameras. The lens is far more important than the camera behind it. The technique is best achieved with fisheye lenses because they focus close and their unmatched, ultra-wide coverage allows us to create the most dramatic forced perspective images. A small lens, like Inon’s UFL-165 or Dyron’s WA-180 on a compact or a small dome port on an SLR allow us to get the lens as close as possible to the subject and therefore make the subject appear as large as possible in the frame.

Not all critters will allow us to get close, so subject selection is important. Colourful soft corals, anemones, sponges etc are classic subjects. As are creatures that don’t move too much like ambush predators (scorpionfish, frogfish) or are site attached (like anemonefish or a moray in a hole). But even so, good diving skills are essential so you can make a slow and steady approach, with perfect buoyancy and no flapping arms to spook the subject and stir up particles that will cause backscatter.

CFWA shots have a high impact because the subject appears to jump out of the background (off the page or out of the screen). So as well as finding a subject we need to find a background that creates perspective. We usually do this by trying different camera angles around the main subject until we can include some silhouetted reef, kelp or diver that gives the image depth.

Exposures are quite easily controlled. We should think of CFWA images in two layers: a flash-lit foreground and a background illuminated by ambient light. The big challenge of CFWA is not the quantity of light, but the quality. At such small camera to subject distances it is difficult to get pleasing illumination on the subject. The most common lighting mistake is for the strobes to miss the front of the subject, over exposing the edges of the frame and the sides of the subject and leaving the face in semi-shadow.

When the subject is very close to the lens, our strobes need to be tucked in right next to the dome port or external lens. We must keep the front of the strobe behind the back of the port, but we shouldn’t be afraid to aim it inwards when very close. At such close distances, you won’t need much strobe power and backscatter won’t be an issue, even in lower visibility water, because there is so little water between the lens and subject. One tip is to set your lighting up on a practice subject that won’t run away, before moving in on the main target.

Finally, we should spare a thought for the environment. CFWA requires us to maneuver very close to subjects, and before going in to take any CFWA image we must be certain that we can do so without impact. Some subjects will always remain inaccessible, so learn to say no. And remember that the best images always come from subjects that give us space to work, so we can find the perfect angle for the composition.

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