Emily Underwater – Creative – Austin, Texas

The squid tattoo

For an upcoming shoot we decided that some underwater shots would be perfect. Having never photographed with an SLR underwater before it made sense to take some practice sessions. Emily had been posting updates on her arm sleeve tattoo of a giant squid, first in outline, then in color. I also knew that she would make an excellent test subject having photographed her bridals, engagements and wedding photos…

The squid is coming for you

First, the gear from Aquatech and Borrowlenses.com is fabulous kit. Well made and well sealed for taking my 5d underwater, confidence inspiring. Which is a good thing when you are submerging expensive electronics underwater. Second, Lake Pflugerville maybe isn’t the place to go. Apparently you need lots of visibility to see things underwater, and Lake Pflugerville has about 2 foot vis, which is not near enough. Thanks go out to the Pflugerville Parks and Rec lifeguards who steered us to a great little pool near the house that was deep enough for our needs.

Third, Wearing scuba goggles with a big bulky knobby underwater housing is a no go unless you use live view. I kept bumping my face against the knobs (knobs that are crucial for changing settings underwater). Next time, we use swim goggles with a much lower profile so that I can see the viewfinder.

Emily Ascending

Fourthly (?), in my lack of fitness I seemed to have gained buoyancy. In other words, my lack of muscle tone makes me float. This causes problems by making it hard to stay under the water. Weight belts next time! I had Geoff, literally standing on my stomach and legs so that I could shoot for more than 5 seconds.

And lastly, thanks to the models, Jasmine and Emily, for being such troopers while getting stared out by a boy scout troop in training at the pool. 8 year old boys had no idea what to make of you in your dresses.

Leopard print, and red dress

– JB

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 11:14 AM. It is filed under Creative and tagged with backup plan, emily, snorkel, tattoo, underwater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.