Underwater Lighting Tips

[Oisin Hugh Edwin O'Connell]

Hey all! 

I'm gaffing a music video shoot where we will be shooting underwater. I've never done this before, so I wanted to ask some questions about some assumptions I have! I also have attached some stills that we are using as a style guide. 

My current plan is to source 4-6 Aputure 600s with fresnels spotted, surrounding the subject underwater. Then use either SidusLink or Blackout to stage random flashing. 

• I imagine that a hard light source will emphasise the wavy diffraction patterns of water on an underwater subject, while a soft source will lessen them. Have you found this to be true? 
• We intend to shoot upwards into the surface of the water. I see a lot of setups where people either hang a white/black surface over the pool, or cover it with dry ice fog (like in our inspo) to block to view of the environment above the surface. We will be shooting in an outdoor pool, I imagine at night. will the black sky do this job do you think? 
• We will be blacking out the walls of the pool, but probably only the ones in the background of the shot. Should I be concerned with some light sources bouncing off the uncovered pool walls/floor and reducing contrast? Or am I over-worrying? 
• Will the lights stated above be strong enough? I know it can get way darker than you expect underwater, so if anyone knows that it's way too dark then let me know! 
• Can I expect the water to affect the colour of the light much? ofc water has a slight blue/green tint to it but I imagine that it wouldn't show up until there's much more watern than in a normal swimming pool? 

And furthermore, if anyone has any general advice for lighting/shooting underwater, unexpected problems or tips and tricks they would also be hugely appreciated! 

 

Thanks and have a great day! 

Edited June 23 by Oisin Hugh Edwin O'Connell
clarity

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

You need to work this all out ahead of time with light tests. And keep testing until you get something of decent quality. Although your #2 shot may be doable.

Other option is to hire an underwater cameraman.

Good luck!

Edited June 28 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

[Oisin Hugh Edwin O'Connell]

On 6/28/2025 at 6:37 PM, Daniel D. Teoli Jr. said:

You need to work this all out ahead of time with light tests. And keep testing until you get something of decent quality. Although your #2 shot may be doable.

Other option is to hire an underwater cameraman.

Good luck!

Thanks very much! We probably won't be able to test sadly, but I'll push for extra prep time so that we can muck around a bit.