Let’s Talk About Light and Diving

Let’s Talk About Light and Diving

Understanding Light and Diving is key to getting the most out of your dives

Light and diving is a key topic in various PADI courses. Advanced Open Water Diver, Deep Diver and Underwater Digital Photographer all cover light and diving. The concept is quite easy to grasp as your visual experience while diving is directly linked to it.

In a nutshell, light is affected by the distance it travels underwater (depth and subject distance) and topside conditions (time of day, weather and surface conditions). So it is all about how much light goes in, and how far it has to go.

The following graphic from Dive Photo Guide illustrates this concept nicely. You can see that some colours, such as red and orange, rapidly disappear when going through water.

Source: www.divephotoguide.com

Source: www.divephotoguide.com

So, you want to fully appreciate the amazing underwater world? Introduce your own light source! A spotlight style torch is best for finding small critters but a video light is better for photography.

Using a dive light will help restore colours. Get a good dive light, and get close. This will not only boost your visual experience, but it will help you find things. Even on the brightest day it’s difficult to see anything under overhangs or beneath a wreck.

Let’s take the frogfish as an example. This particular froggy was about 25 meters deep hiding in wooden rubble from a wreck. Without a dive light, it would be very easy so swim by without ever noticing its presence, as you can guess from the greenish image below.

the frogfish would be almost impossible to see without a light source in your diving kit

the frogfish would be almost impossible to see without a light source in your diving kit

Also, when armed with a camera, you want to show your subject in all its glory on a photograph. Your lighting technique will give life to your photos. Compare the images and see for yourself.

All of our guides carry a torch. We all consider them to be an essential component of our dive gear.

Want to learn more?

Posted in Photo Tips & Tricks on .

Popular Services

Diving Phuket With Hawksbill Turtles

Turtle Rock – Phi Phi Ley

If you want to go diving with turtles then Turtle Rock is the dive site for you. It's very rare that we don't see hawksbill turtles and usually more than one. They feed on the shallow shelves that run along the wall at Koh Phi Phi Ley. So shallow that snorkelers can usually see them. Quite often your safety stop is spent observing the turtles munching away on the bubble corals. They've got pretty used to divers over the years and seem to be c [...]

Find Out More
Boat crew re-filling tanks on the M/V Kepsub - Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand :: Mission Statement

We take our job as a leading diving tour company very seriously. You could argue we are the best at what we do here in Phuket, providing safe, reliable, fun and dedicated scuba diving tours to Thailand's best dive sites and most pristine reefs. But that is not going to stop us from improving further or prevent us from doing everything we can to make your customers, or your day one to be remembered! Below is our company philosophy, sometimes r [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

Crinoid Shrimp inside of a Feather Star Photo Tips & Tricks

Let’s Talk About Light and Diving

Light and diving is a key topic in various PADI courses. Advanced Open Water Diver, Deep Diver and Underwater Digital Photographer all cover light and diving. The concept is quite easy to grasp as your visual experience while diving is directly linked to it. In a nutshell, light is affected by the distance it travels underwater (depth and subject distance) and topside conditions (time of day, weather and surface conditions). So it is all a [...]

Read Full Story
buoyancy control for new scuba divers Scuba Diving For Beginners

Improving Your Buoyancy Control

Some divers get diving immediately but not all. Students who are strong swimmers and confident in water tend to find the course easy and a whole lot of fun. This gives the opportunity to experiment and really get hold of buoyancy during the PADI Open Water Course. That's not the case for all new divers. Although you've successfully completed all the skills, had immense fun and opened up a whole new world, you still may not have quite gras [...]

Read Full Story
longtail boats in rawai waiting for the phuket tourism sandbox News & Updates

Phuket Tourism Sandbox Is Finally Official!

After 15 months of what can only be described as despair for Phuket tour operators. The Phuket Tourism Sandbox finally gives a little hope for the islands residents. From the 01st July, much needed tourists can stay in Phuket without being quarantined in a hotel. There are of course rules to be adhered to but they're not particularly intrusive and so won't impact your enjoyment of our beautiful island. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ri [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps