>> Alan Lo

Two rhino shrimps on whip coral; they are also known as dragon shrimps by: Alan Lo

WHEN

December 2019

WHERE

Anilao, Philippines

HOW Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Seacam housing, 100mm lens

(f/16, 1/160s, ISO 160)

Black backgrounds have become one of the most enduring trends in underwater photography, and it’s easy to see why. A colourful subject really

“pops” against a pure black background.

The basic principle behind pure black backgrounds in macro photography is that all natural light is blocked out and only the subject is illuminated with the artificial light from your strobes. To remove the ambient light, you need to take control of your camera through manual settings, adjusting the shutter speed and aperture, and perhaps ISO, depending on the amount of available light.

Although it might seem like a challenging technique, taking underwater images with black backgrounds is actually quite simple. You just have to use fast shutter speeds and small apertures with high strobe output, while framing your subject against open water. Often, the hardest part is finding a suitable subject with nothing behind it. However, even in the case of a subject positioned against a background, you can produce a black background through strobe positioning and careful composition. My preference is for a Retra optical snoot and Fisheye FIX Neo video lights.