The Creative Eye
that does!” The combination of commercial and advertising photography does indeed pay the bills but, ever the diver, he says, “If I had a choice, I’d be diving all day everyday!” He said the underwater fashion
photography began, as so much does in a person’s life, as an urge he simply had to follow. “I wanted to challenge myself and to push the limits of what was possible at that time.” So he applied his topside technical skills to the job of shooting in an underwater ‘studio’ (read swimming pool), and in time the business world noticed what he was doing and started giving him work. Some of his early underwater fashion efforts were fun and whimsical, and on his own initiative, but every shoot was added practice for the day when his photographs would serve to help sell something. “At the outset
WATER.COLORS was fueled entirely by passion and grew into something of commercial value,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s the best possible outcome.” A look at the images illustrating
this story reveals that some are shot in the sheltered surroundings of swimming pools while others are
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in the open ocean. Asked about the transition from one environment to the other, Wong said the pool was home to his fashion shoots for many years. And it was the right place to be as he honed his commercial photography skills in a water world. “But as things progressed I naturally thought about advancing the idea and realized that pools have their limitations. Moving forward meant moving out.” Shooting in the sea was the next challenge. “Creatively we just out grew the pool,” he said.
Do It Yourself Whatever the environment, there is a great deal of planning required to successfully complete a commercial shoot, especially those involving models. The weightless world of water “blows the window of creativity wide open,” he says, pointing to the fluid feel that underwater shots convey in a way that topside shots cannot. The catch is that these shots aren’t easy to make. Wong says there are guidelines for everyone to follow if they want to try their hand at the kind of set-ups he has mastered over the years. Safety is the number one
“I love contrast and this shot of gold on black is a good example. Working with
cloth underwater is always great but it can be a challenge lining up the
model with the background.”
consideration. Shooting underwater demands proper safety planning and, he says, no underwater shoot should take place without it. “A model with weights strapped on to aid in holding position underwater can be a real concern in an emergency,” he says. “I always have safety divers, assistants or first aid responders in the water with me.” With that crucial piece in hand,
the first step in a successful shoot is to begin with the right idea. “Everything starts with a good idea.
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