Underwater Photography Concept: Absorption

When shooting images underwater, selective color absorption will occur, which means that colors will slowly disappear, leaving the entire spectrum of color unavailable to be photographed without an alternative light source. The depth at which this occurs will depend upon a number of factors including direct sunlight and whether the diver is in fresh or salt water.  The properties of water will impact color with the red tones being the first to disappear underwater, which usually occurs within a few feet of depth. Orange tones followed by yellow tones are the next to go, leaving green and blue tones remaining (at a 30-60 foot range as an estimate).  A powerful strobe light will help restore some of these tones and return some color vibrancy to your subjects.  Just remember that you will need to make adjustments as you vary in depth during diving; what works at 20 feet won’t yield the same results as when you’re shooting down at 60 feet.