It's better underwater - Photoshop Tutorial

- [Interviewer] Alright, we're going to start things off with a movie that we're calling It's Better Underwater. And the idea is that we kind of want to take you on a tour of what it's like to strap on a tank and go under sea and actually see some of these wild creatures. Starting with this image right here. And the first question I have is is this actually a good idea? - [Hergen] Absolutely. So the great thing about this photo is this a real nature moment. This is not a planned encounter, we didn't go somewhere with the specific goal of seeing these amazing creatures, they just came by. And luckily my wife Kerri was there and she was able to take this amazing shot. - [Interviewer] And I want to stress here, she's not in a cage, she's just scuba diving, she's just out there with the sharks a few feet away. - [Hergen] What I love about underwater photography is that it's given us the opportunity to go to some of the most remote, amazing places on the planet and see things that most people probably don't even know exist. For example, this reef scenic. So this is a reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia and the colors along are not something you can find anywhere topside. You can only see something like this underwater. So in this case, for me this photo is illustrative of a concept that we've been preaching for years, which is it's not the camera, it's what's six inches behind it pushing the buttons. Because this photo was actually taken with a compact camera and it's one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. And this is a group of fish with the most unfortunate name of any fish, they're called sweetlips, but they're a beautiful fish and they like to aggregate in these little bundles. And in this case they happen to be surrounded by some pretty good bronze sweepers, and other bait fish, really making for a stunning composition. - [Interviewer] And it's amazing frankly that we have this many animals in the frame. You just don't see that on dry land. Now, Hergen, what in the world is this? - [Hergen] This is a really unique critter. This is called a rhinopias and it's a type of scorpionfish. Now most people associate scorpionfish with that thing you touch and you have to go to the hospital. Yes, they do actually have some stinging spines, but this is a very unique, very hard to find creature. And again, this is one of those things that unless you've been there and unless you've seen it you just have no concept of it. And so underwater photography really opens up a whole 'nother world not just for your photography, but just for experiences that you would normally not have. - [Interviewer] Now this is another one of those images that unless you've actually been there you really have no frame of reference. This thing is tiny. - [Hergen] So and what's even more amazing is this is actually a very close relative to a garden slug. Now personally I've never seen a garden slug that looks anything like this, but they're actually quite closely related. - [Interviewer] And just for the record, these things are called nudibranchs. - [Hergen] This photo was taken quite shallow, which to be honest, a lot of the really nice hard coral gardens, like you see here, tend to be quite shallow, but still it's a challenge to photograph them unless you're diving. So in this image we happened to get in the middle of an incredible bait ball. At a certain time of year in a certain part of Indonesia these bait fish just show up for a couple weeks, and then the population gets a little bit decimated by predators, but for those couple of weeks it's raining fish everywhere. And these fish are on the move. And again, this is one of those things where you can't see this kind of action anywhere else. So I chose to put this next image in because this is a good representation of what we like to call creative lighting. So part of what we're teaching in this course is how to control the light in your image, and this is a good example of how controlling the light in the image is what's setting the tone. We've got that deep red anemone and the two anemone fish sitting up just off the top, and then we've that bright blue sun coming straight through the water. And the combination of those three things is what makes this one of our favorite images. - [Interviewer] I'll tell you, I absolutely love this one, but I have to say I think I might like this one even more. - [Hergen] This is another one of Kerri's greatest shots. I personally love this. This is one of the most difficult things to photograph, because this fish is super, super shy. And he's living in something called a bryozoan. Don't ask me what a bryozoan is, it's what that fish is living in. But these bryozoans are very hard little corals that are on the ground and these fish live tucked up way in the back and you really have to be patient and wait for them to come and show their face and if you don't have a good grasp of the technique and you don't have a good grasp of your settings you're not going to be able to capture this kind of an image. - [Interviewer] And this guy, for the record, is really super tiny and he's what's known as a goby. - [Hergen] So this is one of my favorite examples of macro photography. So photographing the small animals that we find underwater, not just because it's an amazing animal, but because this is a great example of something that has only been found a couple years ago and is now being photographed. There are so many things in the ocean that we haven't even discovered yet and every year there's more and more things being discovered that we are photographing. - [Interviewer] Now this is one of everybody's favorites, it's a hawksbill turtle. - [Hergen] Yeah, so we've got a hawksbill turtle and he's just cruising along the reef. But you can see, there's a lot of emotion, a lot of action in this image. And actually we have a little bit of motion blur there, which I think actually lends some motion to the image. - [Interviewer] Yeah, this is a great example of how you can take a common sighting, the turtle, and turn it into a dramatic scene. Now here we have a great example of natural light. - [Hergen] So as you can see, we're quite shallow. The surface is right there and we're looking down on just an absolutely spectacular reef that's teeming with fish. - [Interviewer] And so just to stress, this is one of those rare occasions where we're relying on natural light, that is sunlight, as apposed to strobes, or LED torches, which we'll discuss in future chapters. Now this looks like two jellyfish, but it's actually one and its own reflection. - [Hergen] So this is a good example of a high contrast image where we're using those settings that we're going to learn about to black out that background and really pop that foreground subject, in addition to capturing his reflection, and then also some of the surrounding jungle arching over the top. - [Interviewer] And this is a great example of the kind of thing you're only going to capture underwater. - [Hergen] So here we're adding another element to our image, we're adding a diver who is carrying a torch. Now in this image it almost looks like the torch that she's using is lighting that cuttlefish, when in truth we're actually doing that using artificial light mounted on the camera. But using techniques that we're going to teach you in this course you too can capture an image like this. - [Interviewer] Now this shot just kills me. Two independent cylinders of schooling fish. - [Hergen] In addition to these fish, what's really cool about this image is it's shot on a wreck. So this is a World War II wreck off the island of Palau and this school of jacks, which are those fish that you see swirling around, live on this wreck. And they are there all day, every day, all year. - [Interviewer] In other words, you can go there any time you like and you will see these same animals. Now this is another shot that I love, because it's not anything that lives underwater. - [Hergen] So this shot was taken at an island that is entirely populated by birds. Not a single person lives on this island, it's just huge aggregations of frigates and boobies and they're swirling over the top of you, come up from a dive, see the fish, how can I combine underwater with the birds and let people know what it's like to be there? So I did what we like to call an over, under exposure where part of the camera's out of the water, part of the camera's under the water, and really taking people to that scene. - [Interviewer] And here we have something that I've never seen myself, manta rays. - [Hergen] There's several places on the planet where you can go specifically to see animals like this. These animals are fairly social and they tend to aggregate at certain times of the year in certain places. And we are very fortunate that we were able to witness one of these aggregation events. Have to say it again, this is something you will only see in nature underwater, and being able to capture a scene like this is what we're going to show you how to do in this course. - [Interviewer] And of course, no matter where you go in the world, kids are kids, even underwater. - [Hergen] Adding a human element to your images can really help the photo relate to your viewer, especially those who probably don't have a whole lot of experience with the underwater world. And you can really see that in other parts of the world people have a really intimate relationship with the ocean. - [Interviewer] And that is our introduction to the amazing world of underwater photography.