News
Underwater Photography Essentials: Part 3

Tips, ideas and advice for budding underwater photographers
by Nick Robertson-Brown FRPS
Part 3: Getting to grips with your camera settings – ISO
Read Part 1 of Underwater Photography Essentials here.
Read Part 2 here.
The third element in controlling the exposure value is the ISO. The term ISO is an acronym for the International Standards Organisation which prescribed a common standard for the sensitivity of a film many years ago. The higher the ISO number, the greater the sensitivity to light; but it came at a price. As the sensitivity to light improves and the ISO number on the film gets higher, the lower the quality of the image becomes. With a high ISO film, the image looks grainy and hence the resolution is reduced. The same standard has been maintained in digital imagery, whereby the exposure value of a digital image will be the same as it is on a film camera, as long as all the settings are the same. There are, however, still penalties as you increase the ISO value. In much the same way as it did on film cameras, the image becomes grainy, but we refer to this as noise – and a noisy image has very restricted uses.
On the face of it, it would appear that increasing the ISO is a great way to increase the exposure value of your image with no major side-effects. Only a few years ago, using the ISO as part of the exposure triangle was restricted to changes between ISO 100 and ISO 800 (at best). Modern technology has come a long way in the last 4 to 5 years and on some cameras, mostly expensive ones, ISO values of 2500 can produce images with very little noise.
With the introduction of modern technology, the ISO setting is now a serious tool to be exploited underwater, as high ISOs are ideal for working in low light conditions. The ability of an individual camera at different ISOs will vary between manufacturers and camera models and it is important that you understand the limitations of your own camera so you know how far you can push the limits of the ISO setting. You can test this limit by taking a sequence of images into shadow and increasing the ISO on each shot. The low ISO image should look clean and black, whereas the high ISO image will look really noisy with hundreds of tiny red or blue dots which become clearly apparent when you zoom in. By taking a sequence of images, you can look at the effect as you increase the ISO, and you can decide how high an ISO value you are happy with. There is a certain amount of subjectivity in this, but it is what you think that is important.
Having the ISO set to the right value is still important, despite the advances in technology. Ideally, the default setting should be at your lowest ISO setting, which is usually 100 and this means your images will give the best resolution of your camera can produce. Whilst an image which you have taken at ISO 400 for example, may look as good as the one you took at 100, when you zoom in, and look really closely at it, you will appreciate the higher resolution of ISO 100.
One point I should make about using the ISO at high values, is that on certain images, the noise can actually work, possibly even enhancing the result. However, this is unusual, and increasing the ISO level should really only be used if reducing the shutter speed would induce motion blur or shake, and opening the f-stop would reduce your depth of field beyond the level you are comfortable with.

This image of the wreck of the Giannis D is shot with a high ISO (1250) on a Nikon D800, so whilst there is some noise, it suits a wreck shot.
Now that we have discussed all three factors that affect exposure control, pick up your camera, put it into manual, and start to experiment.
Whilst we are dedicated Nikon camera users, we found this useful tool on the Canon website and thought it was worth posting. You do not even need to get your camera out to see how ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed interact – as you can give it a go on this handy web tool whilst sat at your computer:
www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play
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Do you want to learn more? You can pick up a copy of Nick’s book “Underwater Photography Art & Techniques” by clicking here. For a signed copy, click here.
Underwater Photography Courses
Contact Nick for information on the Frogfish Photography Complete Underwater Photography Award, designed for 1:1 and small group sessions to improve your underwater photography at your pace.
www.frogfishphotography.com | frogfishphotos@gmail.com | +44 (0)161 9177101
News
Emperor Divers reaches halfway in Covid Diver Heroes Initiative with fourth award

Emperor Divers have reached the halfway point with their #coviddiverheroes initiative and are still receiving worthy nominations every day! Here, they recognise their 4th winner, another awesome hero from the diving community with an inspirational story of selflessness through the pandemic. Nominated by David White, Phuong Cao wins a free liveaboard trip in the Maldives when she can finally take some time off, and here is her story:
I, David White, would like to nominate Phuong Cao (36) for her tireless efforts fighting this pandemic. Not satisfied with being a frontline hospitalist in New York she took a second job on the COVID team in Guam to treat patients under even tougher conditions on her weeks off! She continues to commute 7750 miles each way and apply herself to both jobs for three months already and counting. Her energy level has no limits and she’s only happy when those in her care are on the mend. I think she definitely deserves a break! I guess the Maldives would be the best choice for her as I know she has dived with you in the Red Sea already.
We have been in touch with Phuong who had this to say: “Wow what a surprise! Thank you for the recognition. Holding my breath until I get back underwater!”
The halfway point is a good chance to remind people that the initiative is still running and the Emperor Divers team would love to hear about more heroes, as there are four more to award in the next 2 months!
Do you know a diver who has been heroic this past year? Emperor know that, worldwide, people have had to step up during this pandemic which has affected so many lives. They want to reward some real heroes with free liveaboard trips in the Red Sea or Maldives.
Luke Atkinson, Emperor’s Red Sea Manager, said: “This initiative is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to all those hundreds of people who have taken a selfless interest in looking after the vulnerable in their community. Examples could include healthworkers, carers or those who have come out of retirement to volunteer locally, but really we know there are many other ways people have been heroic.“
Emperor want to hear from people who know a heroic diver who would love to have a free liveaboard trip to look forward to in the future. People need to nominate a Covid Hero Diver and tell Emperor (in 100 – 200 words) why they deserve a free trip, and whether they would prefer the Red Sea or the Maldives. A multinational panel of Emperor’s most loyal and compassionate staff will judge the entries and pick a winner every 2 weeks for the next 2 months. There are two remaining Red Sea and two more Maldives liveaboards to be earned, so get nominating and give that hero a reward for their amazing work!
Winners will be announced by 14th (Maldives) and 28th (Red Sea) of each month. Final entries for Red Sea by 20th May ‘21 and Maldives 5th June ’21.
Entries, comments and questions should be sent to heroes@emperordivers.com.
Terms & Conditions apply: Please contact heroes@emperordivers.com for details.
Dive Training Blogs
My Dive Buddies Episode 1: Alejandro Dutto’s Best Wreck Dives! (Watch Video)

My Dive Buddies Episode 1: Alejandro Dutto’s Best Wreck Dives!
The first in a new series, where I invite my local scuba diving buddies into the Dive Locker for a beer and a chat! This week I’m chatting with Alejandro Dutto, Co-Founder of the International Scuba Divers Club and Publisher of the digital scuba magazine ‘Trim.’ I know Alejandro is a man after my own heart. Before covid hit, we dived South Florida wrecks together frequently and I’m looking forward to getting back in the water with him.
But for now, I’m happy to have a beer with him and talk about our top three favourite South Florida Wreck Dives. Alejandro also talks about the challenges of filming at technical diving depths and about his new Spanish language dive magazine.
Please follow Alejandro’s channels here:
- ISDC on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/internationalscubadiversclub
- ISDC on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/internationalscubadiversclub
- Time Magazine on Issuu: https://issuu.com/trimdigital
- Trim on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trimdigitalrevista
Thanks everyone! D.S.D.O James
Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/DiversReady
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