4 minute read
SNOOT IN UNDERWATER MACROPHOTOGRAPHY IMAGING
ADVICEFORUNDERWATERPHOTOGRAPHERS
Text By Adam Sokolski
Underwater macro photography is the art of capturing the details of the tiny world hidden beneath the water’s surface. When diver-photographers want to highlight minuscule creatures in their natural environment, they turn to various lighting techniques. One of the most creative and effective is the use of a snoot – an accessory that transforms how light reaches the subject.
What is a snoot?
A snoot is essentially an attachment for a strobe or continuous light that narrows and concentrates the beam into a tight spotlight. This allows the photographer to precisely illuminate a selected part of the scene – for example, just the eyes of a shrimp, the antennae of a nudibranch, or a single intricate detail of a coral.
Snoots come in a variety of shapes and sizes – from simple DIY tube-shaped designs to professional models equipped with focusing lenses, fibre optics, and adjustable beam sizes.
Why use a Snoot underwater?
Light Control: A snoot allows you to light only a chosen part of the scene, eliminating distracting backgrounds. This makes the subject clearly stand out as the hero of the frame.
Theatrical Lighting Effect: The focused beam creates dramatic contrast – images become more artistic and often resemble studio shots, even though they were taken several meters underwater.
Backscatter Reduction: Water is filled with microscopic particles that can reflect strobe light and ruin a shot. By narrowing the beam, a snoot minimizes this unwanted effect.
Maximizing Poor Conditions: When visibility is low, the bottom is silty, or there's a lot of suspended matter, the snoot lets you isolate just what matters. Instead of fighting the entire environment, you can focus on the micro world and extract its beauty despite unfavorable conditions.
Challenges of working with a snoot
Precision Targeting: Shooting with a snoot is often a trial-and-error process. You have to learn how to “hit” the tiny subject with your light beam – sometimes a moving one.
Working with a Buddy: Using a snoot alone is tough, and having a helper is beneficial. But not every diver wants (or knows how) to be a photo assistant – especially if they have their own dive goals.
Requires Patience: Snoot photography isn’t the easiest – especially at the beginning. Properly positioning the light, setting up the camera, and patiently waiting for the right moment all take time, focus, and calm. But that’s exactly why every successful photo is so rewarding.
Practical Tips
Practise on Land: Before diving, practise setting up the snoot on dry land or in a pool.
Use a Strobe Aiming Light: This helps guide your snoot beam to the right spot more easily.
Choose a Professional Dive Centre or Private Guide: If photo quality is your goal, look for dive operators where guides are used to working with photographers and know how to assist effectively with snoot work. Ideally, hire a private guide – then the whole dive can revolve around photography.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment: Sometimes it's worth breaking the rules – like backlighting your subject or shooting from below. Creativity pays off.
From the Author
Personally, I love the black background effect and how the snoot can completely isolate the subject from its surroundings. It gives the image a surreal quality – like the creature is floating in a void. However, I’m not a fan of the so-called “plate” effect – the even, round light circle under the subject. I much prefer when the light casts an irregular shadow, adding a sense of realism and depth to the shot.
I took my first steps with a snoot from Retra – unfortunately, it turned out to be quite difficult to use, mainly because the aiming light didn’t align with the actual flash. Today, I use the Backscatter setup – the snoot combined with the MiniFlash 2. It’s one of the most popular options on the market, and for good reason – it’s compact, user-friendly, and very intuitive to operate underwater.
Summary
Using a snoot in underwater macro photography opens the door to a completely new style of shooting. With this small accessory, you can achieve spectacular effects that make your images stand out from the crowd. While it requires patience and skill, the reward of unique shots is well worth the effort.
So next time you dive with your camera, don’t forget your snoot – it might just be the key to your underwater masterpiece.
