How to build an underwater housing...for a MODEL?

[OscarWilde]

Hmm... doing some research I found you can get 4'x8' sheets of plexiglas (acrylic) for between 150 and 180$.. and you HAVE to make sure you go more than 1/2" thick. The bigger you go the thicker you need and anything over 2 feet needs MORE than 1/2".

For any type of effective photo taking in water you would need more than 2 feet but you MAY be able to do it with 4 feet (by 8 feet?)

Got all of this from this site: http://www.duboisi.com/diy/BNdiytank/bndiytank.htm
Pretty neat read actually all about building your own aquarium (which is essentially what you're doing haha)

Either way... you'd be looking at a pretty chunk of change and without any guarantee that the result will be what you expect sounds like a bit of a gamble; but if you have the funds/ time it also sounds really fun!

Hope this helps a little?

Oscar

 

[Helen B]

I think that you are making it harder than it needs to be by wanting to be in the dry. I've done underwater clothing shoots in private pools. Being in the pool with the model just seems natural, and lighting is probably easier, but it is difficult to judge what is best in your case because you seem to have specific requirements.

 

[Solarflare]

I agree with Helen. Get an underwater casing for your camera, and wear a swimsuit.

 

[12sndsgood]

how big an opening are you needing to shoot out of, if you want to be in this tank with lights your going to need a huge piece of glass area. or youlle have to build a couple diffrent tanks to house everything in. with that size and the amount of pressure from the water you'd want to probalby use lexan and i probably wouldnt feel safe with less than an inch or of it. a 1/2" sheet 4'x8' can run you anywhere from $500-$1000 dollars. anything over a half inch thick will likely have to be custom ordered And its something you would want to consult with an aquarium maker the amount of pressure in the water you wouldn't want that thing to crack and splinter with you inside it, that could be dangerous.

 

[ClickAddict]

Check out any magicians in the area. Not the "kids party" types but any that do fancy escape tricks. They might do a water escape. If so you could possibly do a shoot for them in exchange for using their tank. (They pay print materials, you offer time for free) The tanks would be available fo long periods between shows so fairly easy access and controlled environment I would think. You get to use their tank for your shoot with the model, have fun photographing a magician at another time (should be some cool shots) and they get free photography work. Wins all around and it costs you nothing out of pocket (Only some of your time)

 

[ClickAddict]

Did a quick search for Baltimore Magicians and although it came up with tons of hits most seemed visiting types. Didn't bother go through it, but found another idea. There were people who rented out dunking tanks for parties. Not all tanks would be see through of course, but I've seen some in the past which would probably be suitable for what you are trying to do. Could be another avenue to look into.

 

[Markw]

I think that you are making it harder than it needs to be by wanting to be in the dry. I've done underwater clothing shoots in private pools. Being in the pool with the model just seems natural, and lighting is probably easier, but it is difficult to judge what is best in your case because you seem to have specific requirements.

That sounds ideal, but how long will a black backdrop hold up to the chlorine in a swimming pool? I can't imagine it would take too long to turn it purple. I have an 18' round pool in my yard, but it's only 4.5' deep. So, not deep enough to even fully submerge the model.

Did a quick search for Baltimore Magicians and although it came up with tons of hits most seemed visiting types. Didn't bother go through it, but found another idea. There were people who rented out dunking tanks for parties. Not all tanks would be see through of course, but I've seen some in the past which would probably be suitable for what you are trying to do. Could be another avenue to look into.

That's quite an idea too. But, dunk tanks are generally fairly small. I'll need it to be at least 1.5 body lengths high and wide. So, a dunk tank will probably be a bit small, unfortunately.

Mark

 

[TCampbell]

Have you considered renting an underwater enclosure? See (BorrowLenses Underwater section): Rent professional cameras or camera lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Leica and Pentax

You'd have to rent both an enclosure AND the correct port depending on the lens you intend to use. Keep in mind that water magnifies everything by about 25% - so the focal length you'd use on dry land would give an entirely different look when used underwater. e.g. a 40mm lens will probably shoot more like a 50mm lens.