Pull your pants back up, it's not that kind of a de-brief!
After every shoot, I try to sit down and assess what I did and didn't do. What went wrong and what went right. What I could do for next time. Some times this is a great exercise in self-reflection and learning...others it's a hideous post mortem of events leading up to the crime.
Today it is a bit of both.
So...How did it go?
First things first, I think I got some good images. The models seem happy as well. Nothing broke. I still have all my cameras. No one was hurt and the venue seems to like what I do too. Kinda love the guys at the Royal Commonwealth Pool.
The biggest improvement actually came from me and my ability to direct a situation like this. Practice does indeed make perfect as does preparation, after 6 months of swimming it was easier for me to move about and it let me focus on what I was doing.
I had help in the form of a friend who held the main light for me. She was super keen to help on this project though I did kinda overloaded her a little by asking her to Instagram the event too. I wouldn't have made a single image without her though. Thank you, Sian.
BUT, that same old issue flared up again and in force. Getting my lighting to trigger reliably from under the water is a much bigger issue than I had initially thought. Last time I chalked it up to me not understanding my kit but now I know there is something much more serious affecting the equipment in that environment.
YOUR THOUGHTS PLEASE:- Triggering a flash situated above the water, from 5m underwater.
Ok, so specifically what was the problem?
I used a slave drive above the water to pick up the flash from the Speedlight on the camera (under the water) to trigger the main light that was also above the water. It was spectacularly unreliable. 1 in 10 times it actually triggered. This led to a huge number of shots missed and one near-drowning as I slowly sunk to the bottom of the pool without actually noticing as I was fannying around with my camera!
That housing, it was a good start but you can outgrow it REALLY quickly. It hampered every activity with the camera and even cause a few images to be out of focus which is a serious drama when your hit rate for good shots is so low!
What is next?
Editing like a mofo to get these images set in a way I like and then out to the models. You know, standard post-production.
I need a new housing so I will be looking heavily into that next, along with selling various body parts to be able to afford it.
Lighting is now a top priority however since it seems like no one has ever designed a solution to this problem. I will be spending time making a solution, copyrighting it then making my millions! Or not, but a solution must be found and find it I will.
But Itchy, where can I find all of these great images you keep talking about.
Good question dear reader.
The grams (Instagram):- @itchyphotog
The web:- www.itchyphotog.com/the-life-sous-marine but you know that because you are here….
And if you want exclusive access to my notes and my thought process through my notes then you can donate here to help me put together the next step in these projects Ko-fi.com/itchyphotog
Be polite
Be efficient
Have a plan to shoot everyone you meet