Candice LandauLast Updated on April 23, 2026 by Candice Landau
Camera in underwater housing? Check. Arms and strobes attached with fiber optic cables plugged in? Check. DJI camera mounted to the top of the rig? Yep.
Sitting on the floor in my hotel room in Saba, I went through the final stages of readying my camera for the first day of diving. I would be here for a week and was tasked with capturing what this volcanic island looked like below the waterline, both in print and photo form. I was thrilled.
As I contemplated the shots I was going to take, I fished through my bag for my strobe trigger, the small chipboard that converts the cameraโs hot-shoe electrical pulse into a light flash, which then travels through the fiber optic cables to tell the strobe to โfire.โ Once that was in place I could close up the housing, vacuum pump it tight and then shoot a couple of test photos.
Finding it wrapped inside a microfiber towel, I frowned. I must have forgotten to put it back in its normal place. Picking it up I noticed one of the watch-size batteries had a green sheen. My heart sank and I flipped it over. A bubbly green and white corrosion covered all of the little solder points on the chip. Though the batteries could easily be replaced, I knew instantly it was unlikely to work. The microfiber towel must have been damp or become damp in the bag as it attracted any remaining moisture from other damp items. Sure enough, even after a battery change, the strobes did not trigger. Nothing I did to attempt to clean them worked either. I was officially beginning an assignment, for the first time ever, entirely strobe free.
So far as strobes are concerned, this year Iโve had a spate of bad luck. Not only did I lose the ability to capture Sabaโs dramatic pinnacles and healthy reefs in crisp color, but I also lost three strobes to leaking, two of which were sent off for repairs and then returned to me, repaired incomplete. Finally, in October, I bit the bullet and bought new strobes, this time with double O-rings.
And thatโs not to mention all of the potential โmoneyโ lost missing out on capturing beautiful images. While I was able to make many images work, both for print and for digital, I personally know the reduction in quality of the images is huge. Strobes are critical for underwater photography, especially as you descend, ambient light loses the red/orange spectrum, so thereโs less real color and detail to recover in post. Without light, pictures don’t correct as well in Lightroom or Photoshopโcolor isnโt quite right, shadows donโt get filled in, and detail is sacrificed. Though you certainly can salvage pictures with hard work, all you have to do to see the difference is take a photo with strobes on and one with them off, then taking it to editing. The difference is marked.
Add to that the fact that there’s almost never a replacement available in the field unless you bring your own backups or video lights as backups and I think you get the picture.
Today, I try never to travel without my 12,000 lumen Kraken video light; it’s my strobe backup and a night dive light. That said, even a video light this powerful isn’t as good as a strobe for underwater photography, at least not if you’re shooting wide or fisheye. For macro it’s more than adequate, though of course you’re more likely to scare the life off with a video light. There’s a reason underwater cinematographers have cameras that work seriously well without lights. But, even a Canon R5 like mineโgreat in low lightโcan’t do what a cinematographer’s RED can do without light, though even cinema rigs still benefit hugely from added light or spectrum-shaping filters.
So, what do you do when your strobes have decided to strut their way off stage for one reason or another? Are your pictures all doomed to blue monotones and desperate editing?
Not entirely.
There are a few tactics you can use to keep taking great photographs, even strobe free. Take it from me, I’ve learned the hard way. Before we dip into things you can do if your strobes fail, I want to mention that itโs well worth planning for failure and prepping for any DIY repairs you may need to do.
So, when you find your strobes donโt work, before you panic, first figure out if there’s a way you can jury-rig them. For example, if a battery contact snaps off in the battery compartment, could you jury-rig your own? If so, what will you need? A piece of aluminum foil, or even better, single-sided conductive copper tape so you donโt risk overheating. And what about spare fiber optic cables in case you lose one, or in case one breaks? Is there anything you can carry to clean corrosion? Perhaps a little bit of isopropyl alcohol and a soft brush. Donโt assume your operator or dive shop will have these things. To my disappointment the dive boat I was on in Komodo recently had just run out of aluminum foil which meant that even though I could technically jury-rig my incompletely repaired strobes with it, I couldnโt do so because it wasnโt available. And if youโre not sure how to attempt to DIY repair them, consider shooting a quick email to the manufacturer. They can often tell you.
If a DIY-fix is not in the cards, here’s what you can do:
1. Shoot RAW
If your camera can shoot RAW (yes, even an Olympus TG6 or 7 can), make sure that’s what you’re doing. When you shoot in RAW your camera keeps everything your sensor captured, so you can fix more later in post. While it does take up more space, youโll be grateful for it later. Youโll be able to rebalance white, add back lost reds, recover blown highlights, and restore more detail. If youโre shooting a DSLR or mirrorless camera, investigate all your options. Many cameras have more than one option. For example, my Canon R5 allows me to shoot in RAW or C-RAW. Your camera might have other options. Investigate what this means for you.
2. Manually adjust your white balance
If youโre shooting free of strobes I suggest you switch white balance from auto to manual. Youโll want to set it at the depth youโre shooting at and adjust it every 10 to 15 feet or when the light changes.
To set your white balance for the depth youโre at, youโll likely have to pop into your white balance settings and then take a shot when your camera prompts you to, of a neutral color. Not all cameras work in quite the same way so make sure you know how to do this on the surface long before you drop.
To set white balance underwater most people use a white slate they carry with them, white fins, clean sand, or they take a photo of the palm of their hand in a pinch. Ideally youโll be taking this balancing shot at the same distance as your subjectโkeep that in mind as this differs depending on the lens youโre shooting.
If youโre using a red or magenta filter (more on that in the next step) to make up for some of that color loss, youโll set white balance after the filter is added, which likely goes without saying given for the most part if youโre shooting a DSLR or mirrorless camera, you wonโt be able to add the filter outside the housing.
If itโs a little tricky to get to your white balance settings, try mapping Custom White Balance to a quick button so you can refresh it in seconds as light and depth change. Also, ideally shoot with the sun behind you. This will help light your subject and reduce noise as well as make it less likely for you to get a washed out blue look.
3. Use a red filter
I’ve actually not tried this technique yet as I haven’t got one for my Canon R5, or for the appropriate lenses but given what I know about how light works underwater it makes a lot of sense (consider most people do it for their GoPros too).
A red filter restores that missing spectrum so a quick custom white balance at depth gives you truer skin and coral tones, a cleaner in-camera preview, and less noisy, overcooked reds in post.
Itโs especially helpful for ambient-light wide angle in blue water (shallower to mid depths), and it works for video and JPEGs too.
I’ve noticed you can either buy filters to screw directly on to your lenses (more expensive at least for my Canon, coming in at $200+), or you can buy filters that you cut to size (also made by Keldan) that go between your lens and your housing body. They’re also expensive but not as expensive ($60+ depending on where you buy them). Check out the options on Keldan’s website and then shop the dealers in your area. You probably don’t want to use these filters if your strobes are working though.
If you do opt for the paper filter route, you should know that topside, things like this are often called โgels.โ Though Keldan does make gels for specific depths, there are much more affordable options that you can experiment with, including options by Rosco as well as Magic Filters, to name but a couple (youโll just have to do more experimenting with those options).
Set your white balance after you add the filter and redo it as depth and light changes. Use magenta instead of red in green water.
4. Use a video light as a gentle assist
Note, it won’t be a replacement, even if it’s powerful. Strobes are even more powerful. But, a good video light can help to bring back color, especially if you’re shooting close. Those big wide angles? Yeah, you’re unlikely to light them properly without strobes. Some video lights also have a burst mode (strobe mode) that can be triggered optically, which means youโll get a little more power out of them if you need to use them as strobes.
If you’re shooting macro it might actually be a full replacement. For example, on night dives I only use one Kraken video light (and no strobes). The 12,000 lumen one works perfectly, though you could of course buy an even more powerful light in case you want to use it as a backup for daytime shooting. In that instance, the most power you can buy is the best option. Of course, keep your light low if you’re dealing with light-sensitive marine life as much of it is, especially at night. Shadows can be your creative friend here. Try to think out of the box.
5. Dive shallow
If it’s at all possible to opt for shallower dives (a little tricky when you’re diving in a group), try to do that. The shallower you are the less light and color you’ll lose meaning your pictures will still have a level of color and crispness that you can bring out when editing. Perhaps you can peel off with a separate dive guide if itโs imperative you get good shots. Frankly, I often find some of the healthiest reefs are shallow and am often perplexed by why we go deep when so many gorgeous reefs are within those first 30 feet.
6. Think black and white
Many photographers only edit photos in black and white when there are issues with them, for example, pesky backscatter you can’t get rid of. Perhaps this is your opportunity to try and lean fully into it. Contrast and shape are key here so keep that in mind. Play with ambient light and be sure to keep setting your white balance for the depth youโre at.
7. Know you’ll spend more time editing
Post can save more than you think if you shot RAW and gave the file a fighting chance. A quick white balance off sand or slate, a nudge to exposure and contrast, and gentle dehaze in the background go a long way. Iโll often cool the aquas, warm the yellows a touch, and mask the subject separately so Iโm not sharpening noise in the water column. I also do point color corrections if I feel the photo needs more red, magenta, etc, or if I need to tone down blues or purples. But I also know when to stop. If the reds never made it to the sensor, dragging sliders wonโt resurrect them.
Finally, the unsexy part: prevention!
Before a trip, I now do a dry-land fire test with the exact batteries and cords Iโm packing, then I open anything a repair shop touches and actually look. Are the contacts new? Do the O-rings seat cleanly? Did they actually do what I asked? I also pack spare fiber cables, extra end-cap O-rings, brand-appropriate O-ring grease a lens-port cleaning cloth that leaves no lint, a dessicant stash, spare batteries, alcohol wipes, and yes, a square of aluminum foil or conductive copper tape.
The truth is, though frustrating, strobe failure doesnโt doom a trip to blue mush. It just changes the assignment and probably means youโll be doing a little more work after the fact.
Take the suggestions Iโve made above and start planning for failure. It will probably (Iโm sorry) happen at some point so better to have the right tools in place when it does. My next purchase? Red filters.
