How To Shoot Half Underwater GoPro Photos?
That’s because there are many things working against you, including the water line, field of view, and underwater magnification.
3 Problems When Shooting Underwater GoPro Photos
1. Field of View
To get a good half underwater photo (also called split-level, half and half, over under, and 50/50) you’ll want to push the water away from the lens. When the water level is close to the lens, the field of view is reduced.
With one eye closed, try holding a pen horizontally (like it’s the water level) in front of your open eye. You can’t see much above or below the pen because it’s so close.
Now hold it a little farther away. With the pen a few inches away, your field of view is increased. This is similar to what happens when you use your GoPro with a dome port.
The dome port pushes the water line farther away from your lens giving you a larger field of view, above and below the water line.
2. Water Magnification Problems
You’ll also notice that when you try to get half underwater shots without a dome port, the water magnifies things. This distorts the look of photos, making the above water objects look normal while the underwater objects look larger.
This can be a cool effect, but not when you want things looking even and balanced.
3. Unlevel Water Line
Trying to get half underwater GoPro photos without a dome port is tricky because the lens area is small.
You’ve got to lean over the camera to make sure where the water is. With the dome port, it’s much easier. The Telesin have a water line guide on the back.
What does a dome port do?
A dome port makes capturing half underwater photos easier because it pushes the water line farther away from the lens of your GoPro. It also puts more distance between the lens and underwater dirt particles.
These half underwater photos are also referred to as split shots, over-unders, split levels or half and halfs. However you refer to them one thing is for sure, they are stunning.