Snoots allow underwater photographers to create precise, dramatic lighting. Applied to either a strobe or constant light, snoots shape the wide angle of light into a narrow beam, primarily used in three ways:



First, you can light the entire 
subject to make 
it pop out from
 a distracting background. This simplifies your composition while inherently adding more contrast, especially when combined with a black background. In this case, the entire frame will be black except for the beautifully lit subject.

Second, you can highlight a portion of the subject creatively, like an abstract composition of a nudibranch, or a shrimp cleaning a moray eel.

Third, snoots can be used for precise backlighting, which is a fun technique with translucent subjects and those with intricate features like the hairy frogfish.

How Do Snoots Work?

They narrow the light into a diameter ranging from pencil-eraser size to the size of an apple. The closer the snoot, the narrower the beam of light. The farther the snoot, the wider the beam. Many snoots also have masks with cutouts that are inserted inside to further modify the beam of light. These include circles, ovals and squares of various diameters, and even color gels. Control your buoyancy, as any movement of the camera will make snoot composition very difficult.

How To Choose A Snoot

Snoots mount to most popular strobes. Video shooters can choose between several lights that have snoot accessories. Contact your local photo retailer and they will recommend the best snoot for your camera setup.