Under water

Hi...

I will be traveling to El Nido in Philippines shortly and would like to take pictures of the fishes there from a glass bottom boat. (I am not a swimmer hence I will be sitting in the glass bottom boat itself).

Could someone please tell me the setting I should use to get so good pictures?

Thanks

I have no experience shooting through the glass bottom of a boat Hussain, but can imagine that it will be challenging to get good quality images. Reflections will be a problem and since flash is not an option light may be as well. I would suggest to try different settings working in manual on trial & error basis and use a camera with good high ISO capabilities. Good luck.

I'd use the "shade" white balance since the images will tend toward blue, especially as the distance increases. It's also a very good idea to shade the glass to avoid reflections, whether with your own shadow or a draped cloth almost like the hood used with a large format camera. Scratches on the glass are less of a problem with shade, too.

You'll find distortion from the glass increasing too, as you increase the angle you shoot, relative to the glass. Depending on the location of the glass in the boat, I'd try to select a spot where the glass is at an angle allowing more of a view to the side rather than strait down in order to limit distortion.

If you feel the need for flash, put your lens hood on the camera, then press the hood right on the glass to limit or eliminate stray light reflecting off the glass itself. I find it helps to use an off-camera cable with the flash, both to move it a little ways from the lens, and so I can press the flash right against the glass.

BTW- If you use strobe, be sure to change the white balance to "sun" or "strobe".

If you can get it, a collapsible rubber lens hood can work really well. You can press it against glass to eliminate all reflections, and possibly even use a flash that way (although the distance a flash will illuminate in the water that way is going to be pretty short.