Shooting through a tank!?

Hey All,

I suspect it may be somewhat of a sin to shoot through a tank for divers. Unfortunely I am not a diver so this is not an option. I have never shot anybody underwater before and am looking for some tips and advice on things to watch out for.

I am filming through a tank with one model - we will then layer it up and stylize it in post, so it's the quality is not so essential for the final piece.

The shoot will be set up for a photography piece but we'll be filming at the end - does anyone know of specific lighting requirements?

As you can see, I know very little about this, so any advice is welcome. Our reference is below, but we will be trying to capture the slow movement of the clothes and body within water.

Cheers,

Sam

http://www.iconocast.com/00013/H0/News5_7.jpg

Sam,

Everyone I know shoots these underwater, and plays with above water lighting in a studio/pool setting, and uses underwater strobes too.

I suppose you could try it through a glass surface, but maybe you would want to see if a polarizing lens gets rid of the reflection, who knows.

There are a few such photos here, but because it is such a specialized field, good luck getting any photog that does this type of work to open up completely.

Sam,

While most tanks/aquariums appear quite clear the acrylic is not optically clear and will interfere with the resolution of your photos. As a result lighting, reflections, lens selection are problematic for many reasons. Hire a real u/w photog to shoot inside a pool. You'll save money and time in the long run.

The image you show as an example was not shot through glass or acrylic and would be all but impossible to shoot without actually being in the tank and requires a real professional to achieve.

I agree with the above post, you just won't get great results through a tank.
Are you looking for stills or video, I presume stills but I wasn't sure as your in the video section?

Where are you based?

Jon