Lighting Subject Underwater in a Tank; Me not Underwater

PHXAZCRAIG wrote:

Having shot some aquariums for years, I can tell you a number of things you're going to need to watch out for.

1. reflections - best to have a rubber hood sealing the gap between glass and lens. If you have to be back from the tank, this could be a serious issue depending on the lighting. With it completely controlled from one side, you might have a chance.

2. unclean glass - you want glass cleaner and lots of it for the outside, possibly a squeegee for the inside.

3. Generally speaking, shooting at any kind of angle gives very poor result. You'll want to be back away from the tank, leading to problems with #1.

1. No chance of shooting with hood against the glass. Tank too small and subjects  pretty much take up the whole tank. I changed my lighting since last time and we added more backdrops. I think I managed to keep the reflection issue fairly under control but I think it would have been better if I was dressed in all black.

2. We had this covered.

3. I think I needed to pay more attention to this. I was fairly good about shooting flat on to the front of the tank but as the subjects moved I followed them a little too much and created some issues on some images because of the angles.

The only additional problem with people in a tank is the micro bubbles and general haze the water takes on when you’re shooting in there for many hours.

Your guidance was really spot on. Thank you. I think I should do some practice runs with aquariums before I do this kind of shoot again.