Okay, so, today I wanna talk about something I’ve been messing around with lately – split shooting. Basically, it’s taking pictures that show both above and below the water at the same time. Sounds cool, right? It is, but let me tell you, it’s trickier than it looks.
First off, I had to get the right gear. I realized pretty quickly that my regular lens wasn’t gonna cut it. I needed something super wide, like a fisheye lens. The wider, the better, really. And it had to focus pretty close, like within a foot, to get the underwater part looking sharp. I ended up borrowing a friend’s wide-angle lens and a big ol’ dome port – that’s the thing that goes over your lens underwater.
Then came the fun part – actually trying to take the pictures. I started by just dipping my camera halfway into the water, but it caused the line damage. So I figured out I needed to be more gentle. Instead of forcing the shot, I let the water kind of flow over the dome.
- Get the right gear:
- Fisheye or super wide-angle lens
- Large dome port
- Be gentle when placing the camera in the water:
- Avoid forcing the shot
- Let the water flow over the dome
Honestly, the first few attempts were a mess. I got some shots that were mostly blurry, or the water line was all wonky, or the exposure was totally off between the top and bottom. It was a lot of trial and error, to be honest. I also tried shooting at a high frame rate, you know, like a burst mode, especially when the water was moving. That helped me get at least one good shot out of a bunch.
Trial and error
I learned a few things along the way. One big thing is to keep the dome port clean. Water drops on the lens can totally ruin the shot. I kept a little microfiber cloth handy to wipe it down between shots. Another thing is to pay attention to the light. It’s tough because you’re dealing with two very different lighting situations. I found that shooting during the golden hour, when the sun is low, worked best for me. You get that nice, warm light above the water and it still penetrates pretty well below.
It took a lot of patience, and a lot of deleting bad photos, but I finally started getting some shots I was happy with. It’s definitely something I’m still practicing, but it’s a fun challenge. And when you nail it, it’s a really rewarding feeling. So if you’re into photography and looking for something new to try, give split shooting a shot. Just be prepared to get wet and be a little frustrated at first!
