Underwater Photography Job

[FDSA]

I don't know if you guys have seen the pictures of Michael Phelps where he is sitting at the bottom of the pool, or running on the bottom holding a weight, but I was thinking that if I set up a booth to do these kinds of shots at swim meets it might sell.

i don't have any underwater equipment and i'm guessing i'd need at least an underwater housing/camera and some good flashes or lights. Does anyone have experience with this stuff, i'd be happy if i was just able to break even after buying equipment.


found one of them
http://ultimateswimshop.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/phelps3.jpg

 

[Ptyler22]

I don't have any experience with underwater photography nor do I have much experience with any kind of photography, but I think it may be kinda hard to have them let you put a camera like that in the water, I believe it is either the pool or the news stations that has the cameras in the water.
They may think you were just some kind of creep trying to get underwater shots of people lol.
I do love the shots they get though, very interesting to see the race from underneath

 

[FDSA]

I don't mean during meets, more like portraits and maybe even shoots for a whole team, or parents or whatever.

the building that i used to swim at had 2 pools so while there is a meet in one i would be able to take pictures in the other.

i can't find the picture i'm looking for right now, i think it was in sports illustrated where phelps was sitting with his legs crossed at the bottom of the pool, it was a good artsy shot too.:x

 

[D-50]

Its a decent idea but it may be tough to accomplish. Is the pool going to just let you do this? also underwater gear is very expensive. I do not have much experience with underwater photography so I cant speak too much on the technicalities of achieving a well exposed image but I can tell you there is gong to be a lot of work on the front end trying to set this whole situation up.

 

[FDSA]

I know its gonna be a lot of setup work but once thats all worked out it should go easily

heres another- number 10 in this gallery
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mu...edal.hopefuls.power.of.dreams/content.10.html

im not seriously considering this as a job for me, i doubt i will go and do it but it seems like a good idea.

 

[henkelphoto]

Actually, I have quite a bit experience with underwater photography, however mostly in the ocean. You will run into a number of problems but it can be done and done well with a little practice.

First, I would have to ask if you have scuba equipment. If not, how do you intend to stay down at the bottom and do the photos? If you answer that you'll just take a breath and stay down, try it. You'll find out that most people tend to float with a lung full of air. Also, how long do you think you'll be able to stay down without needing air? Something to think about. Now, if you're a scuba diver, this first problem is solved. If not, you'll probably need a weight belt to keep you down and some way to get air down to you. I really can't help you with that, since I'm a certified diver and have never had to think about how to get air down to the bottom of the pool.

Second, you'll have to get permission from everyone involved. Probably have to sign a waiver absolving the pool if anything happens to you. Convince the lifeguards that you are no threat to yourself or anyone else. All this can be done with a short meeting with pool officials and a water test (for the lifeguards).

Finally, we come to photo gear. I'm assuming you're using a digital camera and not a Nikonos. Digital housings and lights are extremely expensive and unless you are a dedicated uw photographer, they are way out of the price range (think 4-6K for complete system). However, there is a company making bag-like enclosures for cameras called Ewa Marine that are perfectly serviceable for pools. They run between $150 and 300 and are watertight to about 50'. They have a glass port for your lens and I think you can even use a popup flash in them with no problems. If you get one, my suggestion is to place some paper around a weight or something, place it in the bag and submerse it to the bottom of the pool to check for watertightness before placing your camera in it!

Good luck!

 

[FDSA]

yeah i was looking into housings instead of a whole underwater camera. i would probably need lights set up like a studio underwater, and im not sure if those exist.

and i wouldn't need scuba gear seeing as the person getting they're picture taken will only be under for as long as they can hold their breath, and i can hold mine for a good 2-3 minutes. i would probably wear a weight belt of some sort and maybe give the other person some kind of weight (i've seen a bean bag type used for scuba) that they could hold or tuck in somewhere out of the shot.

take one pose at time and then come up for air.

 

[henkelphoto]

As for lights, the best you'll probably be able to come up with at a reasonable price would be a pair of uw video lights. You could always set your white balance for them, in this case, digital is much easier than adjusting film.

Back in the 80's, James Cameron made "The Abyss" and I saw a "making of" video about that film at a scuba convention. He had to come up with new ways to film underwater on the scale that he wanted because the equipment just wasn't there. He spent many millions of dollars constructing lights and camera housings, underwater air stations and new scuba helmets.

I'm sure that there are people who do this sort of thing (uw portraits) that have "studio" lights that are usable underwater, but I'll bet that they had them specially made. There's a guy here in town who does uw portraits/fashion and if I can get ahold of him, I'll ask him what he uses. I'll get back to you about that.

Jerry