Ted takes on underwater photography.
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In this TED Talk, conservation photographer Thomas Peschak shows some incredible underwater footage and discusses about some of his most memorable diving and photography experiences. He talks about using images to encourage change. "You can't love something and become a champion for it if you don't know it exists," he says. Join him as he shares his stunning work and his dream for a future of respectful coexistence with the ocean. Thomas Peschak is a photographer for National Geographic magazine.
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Strobes vs constant light.
Beginner photographers often ask: “What’s the difference between constant light and strobe light? Do I really need strobes? Why can’t I use my video light for shooting stills?”
As LED video lights get more powerful, more compact and more affordable, these questions become more important and more pertinent. It used to be that you’d never find a video light with the kind of power output that a strobe could achieve, but as with all technology these days, this is quickly changing.
Hopefully this helps!
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So why use a strobe?
Great things about strobes:
- Can delivery high output power very fast. This enables fast shutter speeds to be used (unlike constant light sources).
- Duration – you get hundreds of frames with strobes, versus shooting with constant light.
- Cost – technically strobes will give you more light and shooting time per shot than LEDs.
- Freeze your subjects – many underwater subjects will freeze when confronted with the burst of light a strobe emits, helping you get the shot.
On the down side:
- Can’t shoot video with it. Can’t use it as a dive light.
- Strobes can fail to fire – especially as your battery runs down and your “recycle time” lengthens.
- Guesswork – models often have to guess where a strobes beam will fire
- Can’t see the ‘shot’ until you take the image – and you can’t see the power of your exposure either.
- Complexity – strobes require slave sensors, sync cables and/or TTL connectors. Frankly, the whole thing can be confusing, and it can take you a long time to learn how it works.
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Constant light – LEDs
These are great because:
- It can double as a dive light.
- You can see what you’re taking before you take it. If you’re shooting a model, both photographer & model can see where the video light is pointed in real-time. (Though for models used to burst of a flash to inform them the photo has been taken, constant light can have a learning curve.)
- Video lights are so simple! No need for sync cables of triggers.
- You can use video lights to shoot both still and video – on the same dive if you want!
But also:
- Unless you’ve got a super powered tech light, LED is generally just not as powerful as the burst of light you get from a flash. This means you’ll have to use longer shutter speeds to compensate and shaky images may result.
- Constant light needs to be controlled. Which means you have to hold it. Goodbye handsfree.
- Video lights have a limited burn time compared to strobes, which tend to be more conservative in their power use.
- Some creatures will be scared off by the constant light. Others can be attracted by it. There have been reports of lionfish and plankton becoming attracted to LEDs on night dives and photobombing pictures, for example.
- And last but certainly not least: beaming thousands of lumens in a cave/wreck reduces communications (and can really annoy people).
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