Photographers are so lucky in that they can capture the mesmerizing moments they spend underwater on camera. But it’s not a cake walk to get the right picture, which is neither under exposed nor over exposed, and for this both artificial and natural light play a pivotal role. The natural light does not always help while taking pictures, so professional photographers often use a Flash to give the subject the required amount of light and it is one of the most difficult tasks in underwater photography.

Usually the photographers create an aesthetic balance between the natural sunlight and the Flash light. Many contemporary cameras, such as the Sony Cybershot DSC-W170, either have automatic exposure modes or through-the-Lens (TTL) metering to get the right balance. 100% Flash lights are used in places such as interior of caves or shipwrecks under the water. But there’s one major problem with the use of flash which is backscatter, where the flash reflects off dirt in the water. But by positioning the flash away from the primary plane of the camera, the problem of backscatter can be reduced.

Many digital cameras might have revolutionized functions that can correct the colour of the picture but only leading to some other catastrophe. There have been some attempts to avoid the use of flash entirely but it seems that the use of flash underwater cannot be replaced.