What is backscatter and how can I avoid it?
When there are many suspended particles in the water, especially when visibility is low, the light of the flash reflects back from these particles. These reflections seem like "white noise" in your image and are called "Backscatter".This problem occurs in underwater flash photography, especially when the flash is too close to the camera lens (such as when using the camera internal flash). What you might see is a slight fog, a haze or bright specks obscuring the picture.
The most efficient solution for backscatter is using an external flash and positioning it farther away from the camera lens. It is best to position the strobe in an angle that differs from the angle of the camera lens, so the light of the flash bounces back to a different direction than the direction of the lens.
For further information regarding external flashes, please Click Here.
If you don't have an external flash and encounter a significant amount of backscatter in your images, swim to a clearer site or acsend to an area with better ambient light and less need for the flash.
In addition, you may want to try macro and close-up photography when such conditions persist, as when capturing such close-up compositions, there is less water between the lens and the subject, thereby resulting with less backscatter.
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