Archive 2025 · Underwater dance
p.1 #1Underwater dance
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Here's some work from this past October that I'm just getting around to sharing. It's all natural light without reflectors etc. The model had previous underwater experience and is a ballet dancer and aerialist (highly talented). It was a very fun shoot and overall was happy with what I came away with. I would be interested to hear constructive criticism of these both with respect to composition and posing as well as post-processing!
Thanks for looking!
back bend
fourth position
mirrors
hidden
entwined
resurface
Jan 24, 2025 at 04:53 PM
p.1 #2Underwater dance
Love this genre of photography, very well played, Anderson!
Douglas
Douglas
Jan 25, 2025 at 07:01 AM
p.1 #3Underwater dance
First, I know NOTHING about underwater photography. My comments are based soley on basic photography.
I find these compositions very well seen and composed "Andy"!
The exposures are excellent! There is nothing in the water(debris) distracting the view.
The sharpness is razor like! The edges of her body against the bg is perfect IMHO!
There are no "jerky or rapid" movements by the woman/subject.
You creatively composed her in each frame! The sharpness, detail, background and foreground rock solid! The waters "color" if you will permit me to state, is most excellent. Does it "look" like water? What does water look like?
Here it is very well done! The subject is framed wonderfully! She is highlighted,(exposure) versus low lighted, very well and the center of the viewer's attention.
In #1 I find the abstract, waveyness, of her figure exceptional!
In the "fourth position" the length of her legs look to be exaggerated(by the lens) BUT I do NOT find this a negative in any way. Also her toe joints look "unusual". I believe that is a result of the lens not a deformity. I use "deformity" very loosly and do not imply that there is anything abnormal about the feet. It is "appearance" only. I will leave it to you to determine if any post processing is worthy. I noticed it because I was viewing the entire leg very close.
The black background, IMHO, isolate her perfectly! There is nothing obstructing her pose. The reflection is a by product of her "dance"! And that reflection is wonderful!
The reflections from the position of her body are tremendous!
The "Hidden" frame is exceptional!
I find all these images unique, very well composed and extremely well seen and photographed!
Now I would be very interested on how you took these and with what equipment. Just for my on FYI! Were you in the water with her?
I could add many more kudos but these are the basics as I view them.
Sorry if I rambled on too much! I found your photography extremely well done!
Dan
I find these compositions very well seen and composed "Andy"!
The exposures are excellent! There is nothing in the water(debris) distracting the view.
The sharpness is razor like! The edges of her body against the bg is perfect IMHO!
There are no "jerky or rapid" movements by the woman/subject.
You creatively composed her in each frame! The sharpness, detail, background and foreground rock solid! The waters "color" if you will permit me to state, is most excellent. Does it "look" like water? What does water look like?
Here it is very well done! The subject is framed wonderfully! She is highlighted,(exposure) versus low lighted, very well and the center of the viewer's attention.
In #1 I find the abstract, waveyness, of her figure exceptional!
In the "fourth position" the length of her legs look to be exaggerated(by the lens) BUT I do NOT find this a negative in any way. Also her toe joints look "unusual". I believe that is a result of the lens not a deformity. I use "deformity" very loosly and do not imply that there is anything abnormal about the feet. It is "appearance" only. I will leave it to you to determine if any post processing is worthy. I noticed it because I was viewing the entire leg very close.
The black background, IMHO, isolate her perfectly! There is nothing obstructing her pose. The reflection is a by product of her "dance"! And that reflection is wonderful!
The reflections from the position of her body are tremendous!
The "Hidden" frame is exceptional!
I find all these images unique, very well composed and extremely well seen and photographed!
Now I would be very interested on how you took these and with what equipment. Just for my on FYI! Were you in the water with her?
I could add many more kudos but these are the basics as I view them.
Sorry if I rambled on too much! I found your photography extremely well done!
Dan
Jan 25, 2025 at 01:05 PM
p.1 #4Underwater dance
Really cool shots and like Dan, I too know nothing about shooting underwater. My initial reaction was these are cool and the red one had just the right amount of mystery and detail for me. Nice work.
Jan 26, 2025 at 07:33 AM
p.1 #5Underwater dance
douter wrote:
Love this genre of photography, very well played, Anderson!
Douglas
Thank you Douglas!
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Danpbphoto wrote:
First, I know NOTHING about underwater photography. My comments are based soley on basic photography.
I find these compositions very well seen and composed "Andy"!
The exposures are excellent! There is nothing in the water(debris) distracting the view.
The sharpness is razor like! The edges of her body against the bg is perfect IMHO!
There are no "jerky or rapid" movements by the woman/subject.
You creatively composed her in each frame! The sharpness, detail, background and foreground rock solid! The waters "color" if you will permit me to state, is most excellent. Does it "look" like water? What does water look like?
Here it...Show more →
Thank you so much for the detailed response and praise, Dan! I really appreciate the long comments as it tends to spur more reflection on my end.
With respect to the debris in the water, there was a tree that was dropping debris along the edge of the pool...and it made it into the pool more throughout the shoot. Extensive spot removal was employed in PS
That's a good point about how her toes appear in fourth position. That's very much an artifact of the lens and horizontal "stretching" off the image. I'll play around with reducing some of that horizontal stretching to see its effect. I do like the long legs though.
The black background has been my favorite so far. I have also used a white background but creases and flow in the cloth stand out much more, so I haven't quite got that dialed. I've also considered trying to get some other colors for a background. Maybe a deep red or navy blue?
What water looks like is a good question and one that I don't have a good take on just yet. I was freediving in the ocean the past two days with my camera and getting the "right" color of water in post-processing is not obvious.
I think the "Hidden" frame is my favorite from the shoot. It required a bit of luck for sure
Here's the rundown on how it was done:
The short of it was that it's essentially like this Ted Grambeau behind the scenes video: but I don't have any artificial lighting or reflectors or assistants right now.
So I use a black drop cloth along two sides of the pool to reduce post-processing work. Then I have a "surf" housing, which is watertight to 20 meters, for my camera (sony a7r iii), and I shoot with a dome port (a hemispherical covering of the lens), which leads to optically correct images. A flat port will lead to distortions of the subject, which can be desirable in artsy settings. I usually shoot at 16-20mm underwater as you want to be rather close to your subject as clarity and light fall off rather quickly underwater.
When the model is ready to submerge, I go down at the same time (with a weight belt) and shoot on breath hold. There are some pool photographers who shoot on hooka or even scuba, but I prefer the freedom and price of breath hold
Thanks again!
Sean Anderson
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Detroitable wrote:
Really cool shots and like Dan, I too know nothing about shooting underwater. My initial reaction was these are cool and the red one had just the right amount of mystery and detail for me. Nice work.
Thanks Detroitable! I too like the mysteriousness of the red one
Love this genre of photography, very well played, Anderson!
Douglas
Thank you Douglas!
---------------------------------------------
Danpbphoto wrote:
First, I know NOTHING about underwater photography. My comments are based soley on basic photography.
I find these compositions very well seen and composed "Andy"!
The exposures are excellent! There is nothing in the water(debris) distracting the view.
The sharpness is razor like! The edges of her body against the bg is perfect IMHO!
There are no "jerky or rapid" movements by the woman/subject.
You creatively composed her in each frame! The sharpness, detail, background and foreground rock solid! The waters "color" if you will permit me to state, is most excellent. Does it "look" like water? What does water look like?
Here it...Show more →
Thank you so much for the detailed response and praise, Dan! I really appreciate the long comments as it tends to spur more reflection on my end.
With respect to the debris in the water, there was a tree that was dropping debris along the edge of the pool...and it made it into the pool more throughout the shoot. Extensive spot removal was employed in PS
That's a good point about how her toes appear in fourth position. That's very much an artifact of the lens and horizontal "stretching" off the image. I'll play around with reducing some of that horizontal stretching to see its effect. I do like the long legs though.
The black background has been my favorite so far. I have also used a white background but creases and flow in the cloth stand out much more, so I haven't quite got that dialed. I've also considered trying to get some other colors for a background. Maybe a deep red or navy blue?
What water looks like is a good question and one that I don't have a good take on just yet. I was freediving in the ocean the past two days with my camera and getting the "right" color of water in post-processing is not obvious.
I think the "Hidden" frame is my favorite from the shoot. It required a bit of luck for sure
Here's the rundown on how it was done:
The short of it was that it's essentially like this Ted Grambeau behind the scenes video: but I don't have any artificial lighting or reflectors or assistants right now.
So I use a black drop cloth along two sides of the pool to reduce post-processing work. Then I have a "surf" housing, which is watertight to 20 meters, for my camera (sony a7r iii), and I shoot with a dome port (a hemispherical covering of the lens), which leads to optically correct images. A flat port will lead to distortions of the subject, which can be desirable in artsy settings. I usually shoot at 16-20mm underwater as you want to be rather close to your subject as clarity and light fall off rather quickly underwater.
When the model is ready to submerge, I go down at the same time (with a weight belt) and shoot on breath hold. There are some pool photographers who shoot on hooka or even scuba, but I prefer the freedom and price of breath hold
Thanks again!
Sean Anderson
---------------------------------------------
Detroitable wrote:
Really cool shots and like Dan, I too know nothing about shooting underwater. My initial reaction was these are cool and the red one had just the right amount of mystery and detail for me. Nice work.
Thanks Detroitable! I too like the mysteriousness of the red one
Jan 26, 2025 at 05:57 PM
p.1 #7Underwater dance
Fantastic in every way from concept to finished product.
Jan 27, 2025 at 06:04 AM
p.1 #9Underwater dance
Sean. My remark about "debris" was not that I noticed any..I did NOT! It was just a comment I made about photographer's NOT being aware of debris and eliminating it prior to the posted composition.
Again fantastic photography!!!
Thanks for the video! Oh I like long legs also....
Dan
Again fantastic photography!!!
Thanks for the video! Oh I like long legs also....
Dan
Jan 27, 2025 at 10:26 AM
p.1 #10Underwater dance
DanielScott wrote:
Really exceptional work.
Thank you for the kind words Daniel!
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newyork wrote:
Fantastic in every way from concept to finished product.
I don't know if I've hit my concept quite yet, but I think that's just the nature of my shoots so far
---------------------------------------------
RustyBug wrote:
Thanks Rusty
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Danpbphoto wrote:
Sean. My remark about "debris" was not that I noticed any..I did NOT! It was just a comment I made about photographer's NOT being aware of debris and eliminating it prior to the posted composition.
Again fantastic photography!!!
Thanks for the video! Oh I like long legs also....
Dan
Thanks Dan, I've found that video to be quite informative for my own learning. Lots of little tricks in there. And yes, I just wanted to be upfront that there was in fact debris in the water
Thanks everyone,
Sean
Really exceptional work.
Thank you for the kind words Daniel!
---------------------------------------------
newyork wrote:
Fantastic in every way from concept to finished product.
I don't know if I've hit my concept quite yet, but I think that's just the nature of my shoots so far
---------------------------------------------
RustyBug wrote:
Thanks Rusty
---------------------------------------------
Danpbphoto wrote:
Sean. My remark about "debris" was not that I noticed any..I did NOT! It was just a comment I made about photographer's NOT being aware of debris and eliminating it prior to the posted composition.
Again fantastic photography!!!
Thanks for the video! Oh I like long legs also....
Dan
Thanks Dan, I've found that video to be quite informative for my own learning. Lots of little tricks in there. And yes, I just wanted to be upfront that there was in fact debris in the water
Thanks everyone,
Sean
Jan 27, 2025 at 10:59 PM
p.1 #11Underwater dance
I love these shoots when they're done well, and you knocked it out of the park. Way to go, thx for sharing!
Jan 30, 2025 at 05:38 PM
p.1 #12Underwater dance
Killer pictures and the video you showed us all is amazing, thanks for that...Very nice work.
Jan 31, 2025 at 07:47 PM
p.1 #13Underwater dance
Truly amazing work! Thanks for sharing the behind the scences footage.
Feb 01, 2025 at 04:33 PM
p.1 #14Underwater dance
friscoron wrote:
I love these shoots when they're done well, and you knocked it out of the park. Way to go, thx for sharing!
Thanks Friscoron!
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Bill Gass wrote:
Killer pictures and the video you showed us all is amazing, thanks for that...Very nice work.
---------------------------------------------
rntbot wrote:
Truly amazing work! Thanks for sharing the behind the scences footage.
Thanks Bill and rntbot! The video was quite instrumental in getting this project off the ground initially as there was so much to learn and figure out!
I love these shoots when they're done well, and you knocked it out of the park. Way to go, thx for sharing!
Thanks Friscoron!
---------------------------------------------
Bill Gass wrote:
Killer pictures and the video you showed us all is amazing, thanks for that...Very nice work.
---------------------------------------------
rntbot wrote:
Truly amazing work! Thanks for sharing the behind the scences footage.
Thanks Bill and rntbot! The video was quite instrumental in getting this project off the ground initially as there was so much to learn and figure out!
Feb 03, 2025 at 11:46 PM
p.1 #15Underwater dance
Love these shots! I'll be getting an RF 15-35 soon for shooting models underwater, along with a 230mm dome. Mostly I just shoot wildlife now and divers.
Mar 21, 2025 at 08:30 PM