What is Lightroom?     

     Lightroom is a software package made by Adobe and is used to enhance or post-production process your photos. The reason you should want to learn how to use Lightroom is explained below.

     There are several pieces that have to come together to make a good photograph. First, you need good subject matter.  We can't do much about that except try to do our diving in waters that are very conducive to good photography.  We have to do the best we can with what nature gives us.  Second, we need good gear.  Some inexpensive or "sports/action" point-and-shoot cameras will do well above water but are not very good underwater.  Some cameras will only provide Jpeg photos which dramatically reduce the quality of the photo and your ability to "fix" the photo when compared to a RAW photo. Third, you need good photocomposition.  I can't count the number of times I have taken what I thought was a "good" photo only to find that the backside of a diver photo-bombed the picture in such a way as I could not fix it.  In addition, we need to be cognizant of the angle of the sun's rays or the inclusion of other marine life which can change the overall quality of the composition.  Fourth, if you have good subject matter, the right gear and you spend time composing a great photo you will still have a need for Lightroom. That is because the water absorbs colors as we go deeper and unless we are using some really powerful lights with a very high quality camera it is nearly impossible to shoot a photo that shows all the colors.  Lightroom helps to bring back the brilliance of marine life, especially if you shoot in RAW instead of Jpeg.

     As the side bar graphic illustrates, colors "disappear" as we go deeper.  The colors don't really "disappear" from the marine life. They simply are not apparent to us because the water has absorbed the the part of the spectrum that shows the colors.  Finally, when diving you not only need to consider the distance from the surface to your depth but you need to add the horizontal distance between you and the subject since the distance between you and the subject is a water column, too.