External Strobes for Underwater Photography

So you might be asking yourself, “Why do I need to use external strobes when shooting underwater photography if my camera comes with a built-in flash”? There are actually many answers to this question…many answers that make perfect sense and once you begin to realize the importance of using strobes underwater, as opposed to available light, you will quickly see that the superior quality and intensity of external strobes, along with the ability to aim and control their intensity make them a “must” when shooting underwater.

In the available light section we cover some of the situations under which not using strobe or artificial lighting can produce superior results. But for the most part the use of strobe, particularly external strobes when shooting underwater results in much higher quality images. Photos that are bright and contain rich beautiful colors are not possible shooting underwater at depths more than 30 or 40 feet, even in bright sunlight due to the loss of certain colors of the spectrum at depth.

While many cameras come with built in strobes or flashes, they are often designed for use on land and therefore lack the power to cut through the water with enough intensity to light a subject. They are also built into the camera body in such a way that they cannot be aimed and therefore can contribute to unwanted backscatter caused by light bouncing back into the cameras lens from particles in the water.