Is underwater photography difficult? Actually, no—at least, not to any significant degree when compared with any other discipline of photography. Each single stage of creating an underwater photograph, if seen in isolation from the rest, is not so tricky. It is the sum of all its parts, as well as mastering the whole, which can appear confusing at times.
Selective color is a multi-step procedure in postproduction of images, allowing certain colors to be highlighted while removing color in the rest of the image. Underwater photographer John A. Ares gives us a step-by-step look at how one can use this unique effect to transform underwater images into artistic creations.
We asked our contributors what their favorite images of color contrasts were, and they sent back photos and stories revealing the diversity of color contrasts found under the waves.
We asked our contributors what their favorite images of broods and juveniles were, and they sent us photos and stories about the offspring and parenting behaviors of a variety of marine species.
Razer, a manufacturer well-known in the video gaming scene, has announced its newest line of laptops, with specs that make them very suitable for postproduction/editing of large files of underwater videos and photos.
We asked our contributors what their favorite underwater portraits were, and they sent us photos and tales of intriguing marine life. From sea lions to hammerhead sharks, manatees to sea turtles, dolphins to pilot whales, lemon sharks to pufferfish, wrasse and seahorses, and even kids, X-Ray Mag contributors share their favorite images showing a range of faces and personalities found under the waves.
When we asked our contributors what their most favorite dive location was, they came back with photos and stories of beautiful and exciting spots both near and far from home.
We asked our contributors what their most unusual or unexpected dive was and they sent us photos and tales of unique experiences under the waves, some involving interactions with intriguing species, others purely chance encounters or surprising discoveries.
We asked our contributors what their favorite underwater photography technique was and they sent us images and insights into a range of intriguing techniques from close-up wide-angle to use of reflective cylinders and Snell's window to circular fisheye and snoots to using sunballs and sunrays for backlighting as well as how to create black backgrounds.
Back in 2020, we challenged underwater photographers—many of whom found themselves stuck inside or unable to go diving during the pandemic—to search through their image archives and match a topside shot with one of their own underwater shots, in a side-by-side comparison.
In this series of articles on postproduction of underwater images, we have worked a lot on white balance settings, basic and advanced exposure corrections, contrast and curves, advanced techniques of removing colour casts, basic and advanced retouching, final colour boost, cropping and sharpening. Finally, our image is ready! And now, we arrive at the question: What do I do with it?
