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Underwater Photography: Red Focus Lights

Underwater dive photography requires the use of various forms of lighting to get the best shot, and red focus lights might improve your odds at getting that perfect click. There is an amazing range of waterproof cameras and waterproof camera housings available on the market today, however, even top-of-the-line equipment requires additional lighting. Underwater photography red focus lights are often essential to getting shots of sea life.

A lot of people try their luck with this art and are left discouraged, wondering why their underwater images lack the perfection they see in the pictures captured by pros. Of course, one of the obvious reasons is that perfection comes with practice – you are not going to get perfect images on your first or even 10th dive. Another reason is a lack of understanding of underwater photography lighting. One of the key concepts of underwater dive photography is using the correct focus light.

A focus light creates the contrast needed for your camera to get a clear image. There are two colors of focus light – white and red. White lights are useful in a variety of circumstances, but if you want to capture images of animals, fish, and other creatures, a red light is essential. Many underwater creatures can’t see red lights because red is one of the first colors to disappear when you go below the water’s surface. By using a red focus light, photographers can capture an image without scaring the animal away. Ultimately, red lights provide cameras with the additional lighting they need to focus without sending sea life swimming off in a hurry.  Alternatively, white focus lights tend to disturb sea life, resulting in blurred images.

When you want to take photos underwater, especially photos of deep sea creatures, a red focus light is essential.

Scuba Dave: Dave had the good luck of growing up in a family of divers: his mom is a PADI instructor and his dad is a wreck diver. He started working toward earning his open water diving certification as a freshman in high school, and by the time he graduated college he was a certified master scuba diver and PADI instructor. Dave loves to try new things, and is just as happy dipping into a deep lake as he is deep sea diving to explore underwater wrecks and caves. He documents everything with his camera, making him our resident expert in videography and photography lighting.