Cheap & Sweet Way To Catch A Wave!

Want to take a fun picture of the kids jumping into a swimming pool this summer?  It’s easy enough but there are some basic tips to make the picture better.  Watch for the sun.  Make sure it’s not behind the subjects.  Have the subjects line up on the side of the pool that is most aligned with the direction of the sun.  Not only will this give you plenty of front lighting, the reflection of the sun off the pool will act as fill lighting.  Get into the pool!  It makes a better picture shooting up than shooting across or down at the subject.  Take several shots!  Don’t depend on just one but repeat the shots as long as your subjects will participate.  

You don’t have to have an expensive camera to get some really great family and vacation photos.  I think today most of us are using some type of digital camera, either the one on our cell phone or a point-and-shoot type.  Personally, most of the pictures I take on trips and special events are with my digital single lens reflex Sony with a 5 lens selection from a 14mm wide angle up to a 500mm.

BUT I find I take a lot of family related pictures with a small handheld digital camera.  Which brings me to the topic of taking pictures with a waterproof camera.  I bought my small point-and-shoot just for the purpose of taking pictures of the grandchildren at places I don’t want to haul around my camera bag.

However, you don’t really have to have a digital camera to get into the water and catch the family floating down the Guadalupe River, swimming under water, or just wrestling over a floating tube.  There are still some simple underwater film cameras that can capture just the right moment the 5-year old reached the bottom of the pool and snatched the sunken ring off the bottom.

Fuji and Kodak both make waterproof film cameras that are available in stores or from an online retailer.  The only big downside is you still have to get the film processed and the digitized by the processor if you want digital copies.  Otherwise, the quality is acceptable acceptable for family purposes. 

Another downside is you don’t have the ability to see if the picture you just took is one you want.  I had my grandchildren crawl out of the pool and jump back in several times before I got a picture I wanted with my waterproof digital.  I would have been hoping for this shot if I had been using film.  This isn’t to say I haven’t gotten a lot of keepers with film.  Some of my favorite underwater pictures were taken with a Kodak waterproof camera.  The films for both Fuji and Kodak are rated 800 which is plenty fast but they worked best for me when my subject with within a range of 3-6 feet from the camera on a bright sunny day.

The disposable film cameras are light enough and cheap enough to not fret about them floating to the bottom.  But if you don’t want to lose even an inexpensive digital point-and-shoot, then for a few bucks you can add a floating strap that will keep it on the surface if you drop it.