Articles

DPG editors Joe Tepper and Lia Barrett take a detailed look at five of reader Jeff Lemelin’s images, giving him pointers and feedback on how he might improve them.
 

Raja Ampat, Indonesia
(f/8, 1/60s, ISO 160, Tokina 10–17mm zoom at 10mm)

Joe: I’m impressed that you were able to take this image at a focal length of 10mm. Getting close definitely helps the strobes make the colors of the soft coral and fish pop. While much of the foreground subject is well lit, I feel that the edges of the image aren’t well enough exposed. This can be easily fixed in-camera by boosting the ISO (maybe 400) or in post-production by using the dodge/burn tool to even out the lighting in the image.

Lia: Shooting shimmery, schooling fish is challenging. Their reflective nature must be considered when making lighting choices, so as not to blow out the highlights. And getting them to sit still while you’re adjusting your settings is equally challenging, for their tails are definitely not as interesting as their faces. So, already you have managed to overcome your initial hurdles. In saying that, I would say your next steps are overall lighting and exposure, as Joe points out, but also framing. Had the composition been moved so that the right side was cut out, you would be filling the frame with a burst of color from the soft corals, and a dash of action frozen in the fish.
 

Raja Ampat, Indonesia
(f/11, 1/160s, ISO 200, Tokina 10–17mm zoom)

Joe: This image shows great compositional forethought, with all of the elements combining for an intriguing shot: crinoids, lionfish, schooling fish in the background. While all of the elements are there, the focal point—the lionfish—doesn’t really pop into the background. Change this by using the widest focal length on the fisheye lens and getting closer to the subject. Being a bit more patient until the lionfish faces you to make eye contact would make a world of difference too—but that’s easier said than done! Finally, consider shooting at a more upward angle so that the lionfish pops against a clean background, rather than blending in with the cluttered coral. 

Lia: I agree with what Joe says. I love the schooling fish in the background, but would rethink shooting such a prominent focal point against a noisy background. It detracts from its glory and the main subject ends up fighting with its environment. If it were up against say a bright, orange, monochromatic sponge that would make the subject pop out, that would be fine. Otherwise, using the blue background, as Joe suggests, is a nice solution for making the star of the show shine forth.
 

Raja Ampat, Indonesia
(f/9, 1/200s, ISO 160, Tokina 10–17mm zoom)

Joe: The first thing that strikes me about this image is how well you’ve lit the baitfish. These reflective subjects are all too easy to blow out with your strobes. That said, the negative space (water column) is a little dark and moody for my taste. You can increase the exposure of the water without having an impact on the strobe light hitting the baitfish by opening up your aperture (maybe f/5.6) while maintaining the shutter speed. From a composition standpoint, the image would benefit from backing up a little to fit more of the school in the frame. Adding a dive model would also help to give a sense of scale.

Lia: You really get the sense that Nature is at work in this image. With the swish of baitfish, active survival is obviously at play, and you have managed, as Joe said, to capture it beautifully. I like how you didn’t cut the composition into equal parts, and that there is a little bit of imbalance going on in the line created by the school, so well done—even if that’s sort of the opposite of what Joe says (just goes to show how subjective photography critique is!). I would add that, where the black doesn’t bother me as much as it does Joe, I would open up your exposure, as he states, for the sake of the soft corals. They are a little flat, and where I see this as a tricky situation because you don’t want to blow out the fish, both a slight adjustment in aperature and perhaps even strobes would help remedy this slight imbalance.
 

Raja Ampat, Indonesia
(f/10, 1/200s, ISO 250, Tokina 10–17mm zoom)

Joe: I love the creative thought on this one—including the reflection of the reef in shallow water. Reflections are tough, and require a lot of practice (read Keri Wilk’s guide on underwater reflection photography), but you’ve done a good job to get almost a mirror image on the surface. Personally, the shot is a little tight for my liking: I’d like to see more than just two or three coral heads. I think that would really make it a stronger image and give a sense of place. You can accomplish this by keeping the focal length of the fisheye at 10mm, and taking a fin-kick backwards.

Lia: Yup, Joe said it. This shot would benefit greatly from stepping back. Coral reefs are such an important part of our natural ecosystem, so to see a coral garden, especially so close to the surface, in its grandeur (or lack there of), not only tells a story, but reveals how close we really are to the living, functioning reefs that we impact so greatly.
 

Komodo Island, Indonesia
(f/14, 1/125s, ISO was set by mistake to 2000 so had to use B/W to reduce noise, Tokina 10–17mm zoom)

Joe: Ah, Manta Alley in Komodo. What a great dive. My first instinct was to say that you should have waited until the manta got a lot closer before snapping away. But we all know animals aren’t always cooperative—and I have to say, this image has grown on me! I think it gives a great sense of the environment, with the cruising manta, schooling fish, plethora of coral and the diver in the background. I just wish it was in color! Even if it had a little too much noise, I just know there are colors waiting to pop off the screen (especially with those corals in the foreground). Try the noise reduction tool in Lightroom or your RAW converter and working the image in full color.

Lia: I actually quite like this particular image in black and white. I like the composition and placement of the focal point sort of off-center, and the fact that you’ve got a little scale reference with a diver and the manta. My biggest suggestion would be to open this image up a bit in exposure. In the olden days, you would likely utilize a contrast filter and perhaps dodge the dark areas in the foreground and to the left of the image. But alas, we have modern tools to do such tedious tasks, so setting the tongs and the stop bins in the closet of yesteryear, you can simply achieve this by adjusting your curves in Lightroom, Aperture, or Photoshop.
 

Final Comments

Joe: It seems obvious that it’s all about wide-angle for Jeff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. And Jeff has regular access to two of the wide-angle photography meccas: Komodo and Raja Ampat. I think the diversity of wide-angle subjects can also result in a bit of an overwhelming feeling, where the photographer spends less time adjusting to each subject when there’s so much to shoot. In each of these images, there’s a simple change (boosting ISO, slowing the shutter, shooting upwards) that would turn these from just publishable to gallery-worthy. As a final note, it seems that many of these images were captured closer to the 17mm focal range of your fisheye zoom. Try using a fisheye 10.5mm prime lens to force yourself to capture fuller scenes and gett closer to medium and large subjects like lionfish and mantas.

Lia: You can tell that Jeff finds a serenity under the waves that perhaps counterbalances the action he seeks while surfing. He clearly has a feel for what is worth shooting, as experience seems to be leading his lens towards discerning subjects to focus on during those precious underwater minutes (he’s not chasing tails). But I agree with Joe that there seems to be a slight exposure issue that, with a bit more experimenting and adjusting while shooting, can easily be remedied. Also, I would encourage Jeff, as we often do here at DPG, to try adding in a human element. Sometimes, in order to practice alternative compositions, especially when the lionfish are not cooporating, it is easier to have a person be the point of focus. At least if you poke that person into place, you’ve only got an angry friend to deal with, not an entire boat, or worse, a vengeful, spiny critter!
 

About Jeff Lemelin: An avid northern California surfer for the past 20 years, Jeff discovered the spectacular beauty of what lies beneath the waves when he learned how to scuba dive in the waters off the coast of Thailand in 2005. Since then, he and his wife Jen have enjoyed traveling to remote parts of Indonesia and the South Pacific, searching for both waves and underwater seascapes in some of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Topside, Jeff and Jen live nestled in the hills on a garden oasis between Santa Rosa and Calistoga, California, with their two couch-potato pugs, chickens, and beehives. More of Jeff's work can be found on his website, www.BeneathTheWavesPhotography.com.