How can I take clearer photos underwater?

Taking a waterproof camera or a camera in an underwater housing (such as the Nikon 1 digital cameras that utilize Nikon waterproof housings) into the sea is one of the coolest types of photography that you can do, because it gives you such a unique perspective that few folks experience first hand with their photography. Cameras such as the Nikon COOLPIX AW100 and S30 make it easier than ever to “dive in” [pun intended] to underwater photography.
With a few easy tips you can begin to make some great underwater images.
Use the camera’s underwater mode. Light—more importantly, the various colored light waves—do not behave the same underwater as they do above the surface of the water. As you descend, less and less of the colored wavelengths of light descend, but are filtered out. Red is the first to go, then orange and yellow. Without using a flash underwater, your subjects will be bathed in greenish, bluish light. Go deep enough and there won’t be any visible light reaching that deep. If, however, you were to use a flash or even a flashlight and shine it on your photographic subjects, you’d see that they are more colorful than what may be represented by the camera depending upon the depth you’re making photographs at.
The underwater mode is designed to filter out blue so your images are more representative of the actual color of the objects you’re photographing.
Get as close to your subject as possible. Underwater, light has to not only travel from the camera to the subject, but also back to the camera to be recorded. That may sound odd, but it’s why you should use a wide-angle lens if possible rather than zoom into an underwater scene. This is, of course, if you’re shooting a subject that is safe to get close to. [Read: don’t use a wide-angle and get close to sharks or other predatory fish that might decide to make you their dinner!] By cutting the distance that light has to travel, your images will be clearer, with more fine detail visible.
Use the Macro mode to get even closer to tiny subjects. In our last tip, we suggested using a wide-angle lens to get close to your subject. Now, try the macro mode on your waterproof COOLPIX, or if you’re shooting with a camera in a housing, use a macro lens to get even closer.

Indeed at times trying to take a picture of anything other than something within a foot or so can be an exercise in futility.
Very often the things you see and photograph in poor visibility are the most interesting - have a look at my pictures of
Slow capture time
The point and shoot digital cameras are particularly prone to this – if you are up to it (confident enough and/or keen enough as well as have enough money!) a DSLR is the solution – see
for more information.
Your camera generates heat as it is working. When this meets the cold temperatures underwater the moisture inside the camera housing atmosphere condensates, often obscuring the lense.
Solution – keep the camera and housing out of the sun, try to set the camera and housing up in a cool air-conditioned room and insert a silica sachet into the housing to absorb excess air moisture. Doing this early or even setting the camera up the night before will give the silica time to absorb the excess moisture before diving.
This seems to be a particular problem with point and shoot camera housings – I think because the housing is smaller and the internal air heats up more quickly than in a DSLR housing?
All of this is background and the bare basics of photography underwater. I will continue to add more detail on separate pages which will shed ‘light’ on more specific aspects of photography underwater.
For more photography underwater click here for Photography page
Click here to learn about reading a histogram
Click here to learn about using the aperture priority setting on your camera
Click here to learn about using the shutter priority setting on your camera
Click here to learn about Depth of field
Click here to see a collection of scuba diving photos

Underwater photography can prove to be much more difficult than taking a photo on dry land and many people may not realize the various challenges that come along with getting a good quality underwater photograph.
Before even attempting underwater photography you should be proficient in basic water safety whether you are in a pool or deep sea diving. If you are diving, you should be experienced at diving procedures because taking a photograph underneath the water can cause unplanned distractions and you want to have the experience needed in case something goes wrong. You should always put your safety first before photography.
Many challenges lie underneath of the water. Various things can play a big role in how good of a photograph that you are able to get in the water. If you are diving deep down into the sea, you will notice that the deeper you go, the darker it gets and you will most likely need special lighting in order to catch the essence and the beauty of sea life. You will need to make sure that if your camera does not include a sufficient enough flash for deep sea photographing, you have another kind of light source such as a strobe light to carry with you, otherwise the photos may turn out cloudy and dark without much color depth to them.
The current also becomes stronger the deeper you go below sea level and this can cause extra pressure on camera equipment while also making it more difficult to hold the camera still to get the perfect photograph. Bubbles and fish swimming around can make that task even more difficult.
If you are planning on taking photos while deep sea diving, be sure to check and see how waterproof your camera is. Most cameras have a depth limit, meaning that once you go past a certain depth, such as 10 feet, the camera may not work any longer. This is something to consider before purchasing an underwater camera because you want a camera that will work at the depth you wish to photograph.
Practice makes perfect. You may have to play around with various settings and lighting to get the perfect shot. You should try various angles with the objects you are trying to photograph. It is best to get up close and personal with the object to get the best quality photo whether it be a fish or colorful coral. Looking through your diving mask, the object may look closer to you than what it actually is through the camera lens, and it will take practice to figure out exactly how to shoot the best photos.
Become familiar with your camera before going underwater so that you know exactly how to get the settings that you need.

This allowed us the opportunity to see how these cameras take pictures in the sea!
Shooting Photos in Water
Taking photos underwater creates challenges that may not be familiar to consumers. Water is 784 times denser than air. Because of this density, light is absorbed much more quickly. The first elements of light to be absorbed are the red and orange colors. The deeper you go or the farther into water that you shoot (distance to subject), the more pronounced is the color loss.
This color loss creates a problem for the logic within the camera. When shot in auto mode, the camera will “guess” wrong every time. The beautiful blue water colors come out as a light powder blue or green.
Additionally, there is a mismatch between our human visual system and the capture system of the camera. Our eyes and brains are very adept at auto white balancing the colors we see—even as we look up, down, close and far away. The white balance for each of these views is different underwater, but our brains seamlessly adjust them, so we don’t see the same way the camera “sees.”
We compared the cameras by setting them to auto mode and also several different shooting modes based upon lighting, location or subject, such as underwater mode. We followed our mermaid out to sea so that we could capture some beautiful vistas.
Using Preset Shooting Modes Underwater
Mode settings create a combination of adjustments that are predesigned for specific conditions. Some of the cameras we used had underwater modes. These modes are well worth experimenting with and using. Of course, there is always the issue of selecting and using the proper setting. Many times we forget what setting is active, which can actually make the image worse.
Using Manual Settings Underwater
Another mode that is frequently used is cloudy mode. When using “cloudy,” you are tricking the camera. On a cloudy day, sunlight is absorbed by the clouds much like it is absorbed by the water. The colors come out bluer and cooler because the clouds filter out the reds and oranges of the sunlight. The cloudy setting adds reds and oranges back into the photo, which is exactly what we also want to do with underwater photos.
In addition to preset shooting modes, some cameras provide manual adjustments. These include manual white balance adjustments to improve photos.
Manual Mode Camera Settings for Underwater Shooting
Manual mode allows the shooter to adjust ISO, f/stop and shutter speed.

Sometimes the flash will help with the photograph while sometimes it can wash the subject away and ruin the picture. External flashes work better for underwater photography instead of the built-in ones. The external flashes can be a stick with a little light bulb on top.
Underwater photography requires a few more skills than regular photography due to the lighting conditions and color issues. But once understood underwater photography creates some wonderful opportunities to capture some fantastic pictures.
Capturing Moments UnderwaterMoments can be created just about anywhere. Right here on the floor, up in the sky and even underwater. And to capture these underwater digital cameras are needed. There is a big difference between waterproof cameras and underwater cameras.
Water proof cameras cannot withstand water and water pressure. They are fine to work in a little rain or near pool sides. However, digital underwater cameras specially designed for deep water photography can be submerged into water and can be used to snap away some breathtaking underwater shots be it a school of fishes as it weaves in and out of pale reefs of coral or just a friend who is scuba diving for the first time.
As one furthers underwater, the light diffuses. Because of this light diffusion the red spectrum seems darker and the images produced are darker. To avoid this using white balance and coming up with neutral colors is recommended. Also pictures that are taken underwater come up lager than pictures taken on land with the same zoom effect. In a situation like that, the camera’s viewfinder can be used to check the desired angle and size of the image.
An underwater camera with a built in flash produces marine effect which is the phenomenon wherein the pictures come out as blurry with white particles floating above it. This can be rectified by using an external flash with the camera instead of the built-in flash. Many digital underwater cameras come with different lenses. Experimenting with these lenses sometimes lends to some great imagery. For instance, macro lens helps capture small things without getting too close and startling the subject.
Beautiful opportunities are created under water. Vivid colors and spectacular scenes can be captured. All that is required is a good underwater camera and some pre-requisite about photographing underwater.
Challenges of Underwater Photography
Shooting a photograph underwater is not as easy as just pointing a camera and clicking a button.

And keep your camera's specifications and limitations in mind when shooting.
When you photograph a small subject in large scale, camera shake can lead to blurred focus. Hold the camera with both hands and keep your elbows close to your body to create a stable shooting platform. Avoid shooting with one hand, which can lead to out-of-focus and out-of-frame shots.
What's your focus?
When shooting fish and most other sea life, focus on the eye of the subject. When the focus is elsewhere, the picture as a whole can appear out of focus. When shooting coral or plantlife, think about which point you want to stress most and decide on your focus and composition of your work.
The focus is not on the eyes.
The focus is on the eyes.
To use the product safely and correctly, please read the manual before using.
Enhance your underwater photography experience with these helpful tutorials. Learn proper technique for caring for your housing, explore macrophotography tips, and more.

Coral taken with camera lens on a Iphone 12
Exploring Underwater camera
For those reefers who love to explore more in-depth and would like to take better quality photos, investing in an underwater camera would provide you the nearest take that you can find inside your reef tank. Yes , i mean inside your tank, as these underwater camera, for example, the popular Olympus TG series is able to submerge fully into the water for your underwater photograph.
Not only does a underwater camera allow me to take pictures underwater ,it also has varies function that allow better photography underwater, for example the white balance setting allows user to auto-filter the blue light effect .
For those using Olympus TG camera, i am going to share with you some tricks how to set the auto white balance easily .
Firstly, point your camera to a clear white surface that has blue light background. Alternatively, You can also find place a white acrylic plate in the tank for the camera to be able to set the auto white balance. Press “Capture WB (Menu)” and save the setting!
Setting the auto white balance function
And thank god you only need to set this once, and the next time you take pictures with your camera, you can quickly select the filter effect and start taking imdiately.
The image on the left is taken with an auto white balance function, and the image is taken without the white balance function
Other than being able to take photo underwater, some of the underwater camera has a macro shot mode which enable you to take up close up shot of your corals enabling you to see all the fine details of all the colors /polyps ect .
Tips for Reef photography
Now we have suggested ways that prevent your photos that get too “Blue” , the next thing that affects your picture quality is the glass wall barrier that come between you and the corals that could affect the image quality. Subject to the thickness of the glass, the pictures you take might tend to be blurry and not focused even when you are using a good camera. So below are some trips you can use to improve your photography.
- place your camera as close as possible to the glass or even touching it so that the autofocus function of the camera is not detecting the glass as the ” Object”.
- If you do not have any camera lens or filter, adjust your lighting to warm white or a more natural white lighting. 12k and 14k lighting is good for photography.

It’s summer and you’re probably in or near the water.
If you have a waterproof camera: maybe your phone, an all weather point and shoot, or an underwater housing for your camera; getting good underwater portraits can be tricky.
In this article, I am going to share my top three tips to capture better underwater photos.
Underwater Photography Tip 1 – Pay Attention to the Direction of Light
It may sound obvious, but the direction of light is just as important underwater as it is on dry land. The difference is that it can be very tricky to actually see light underwater, and also much more difficult to reliably position your models.
Because of the way that light is rapidly dispersed underwater, there is also a drastic difference between highlights and shadows – meaning that you will often find highlights overexposed and shadows underexposed.
I usually assess the direction of light from the surface, then direct my models to swim or pose in a direction that will work best with the style of image that I’m trying to capture.
I find that it usually works best to have your model approximately perpendicular to the direction of the light. Shooting directly into the light can be very dramatic, but you risk loosing detail in the shadows. Shooting away from the light is my least preferred approach because you usually end up with a boring looking evenly lit subject.
Underwater Photography Tip 2 – Shoot at Mid-Day
Mid-day is usually when most photographers put away the camera and go get a drink. Harsh, mid-day sunshine usually looks terrible on land, but underwater mid-day is a great time to shoot.
Quantity of light is often a problem underwater, especially if you are deeper than a few feet from the surface. Bright sunshine allows for faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures. Fast shutter speeds are important if you’re photographing a swimmer or someone moving quickly. A small aperture helps add a little buffer for focusing which can be unreliable underwater.
Also, due to the angle of refraction between light traveling from air to water, a little chop on the surface is usually enough to drastically soften sunlight underwater, even at mid-day.
Underwater Photography Tip 3 – Spend Time Editing
It is very difficult to get a great underwater photo right out of your camera. No matter what you do some heavy post-processing is almost always required.

Have you ever seen an underwater photograph, depicting the coral reef maybe, or a school of vibrant fish swimming? Or perhaps, you have had the chance to snorkel or go scuba diving and been introduced to the beautiful underwater world of marine life. What many of us overlook as a form of art and fine art at that is underwater photography. We are aware that photography is art and that taking pictures of beautiful landscapes captures people and often sell for hefty price tags. But what about the beautiful landscape that can be found under the sea?
Underwater photography is indeed categorized as an art form and photos often show the beauty of shipwrecks, coral reefs, different marine life and cave systems to name a few. What many of us may not realize is that being a underwater photographer and a fairly good one at that, is a lot harder than we may think. Akima, an underwater photographer and friend of mine shared that the biggest hurdle is the lighting? Why? The waves of sunlight that stream down onto the surface of the water are absorbed so everything appears blue and green. Akima, who offers photography and snorkeling tours on the island of Oahu, explained that many times travelers enjoying one of her snorkeling tours will be mesmerized by the beauty that can be found underneath the surface of the water. They aim their underwater cameras thinking they can capture the exact image and often find that the picture just doesn’t do the view as much justice as it deserves. She explains the way the sun’s rays are affected by the water and provides these tips:
Tips To Capture Beautiful Underwater Pictures
- Get as close to the subject of your photo as possible
- Use a flash so that you can help to restore some of the color that was lost when the sunlight was absorbed by the water.
- Use flash in “forced flash” mode
- For best composition- shoot at an upward angle never downward
- Get comfortable with diving/snorkeling and fine tune your skills before setting out to photograph
- Try setting your camera at the highest resolution and the lowest ISO when starting out
- To use natural light only shoot in 20ft of water or less
- If your photos didn’t come out as sharp as you would like, try checking your shutter speed
- You can either purchase an underwater digital camera or a special case that can go around your regular camera to make it waterproof
These are just a few tips to help to create and take the best underwater photographs as possible.

While zooming in to an image lowers its resolution, keeping close with a wide angle lens reduces that blue effect and captures the highest quality and resolution available.
Whether deep in the ocean or just in the deep end of a house pool, right underwater digital cameras help you take breathtaking underwater photos anytime you want to.

You may not even be aware of the particles until you look at your underwater photos later. This tends to be one of the most common difficulties in photography underwater.
There are ways to get around (and that means avoidance rather than cure) most of these problems – the diving competency will improve with experience and that is just about all there is to that!
Use a flash – you should set the camera to forced flash mode, not auto and generally no pre-flash settings (if you are using a strobe the pre-flash will set off the strobe out of time with the shutter). As you get deeper into photography underwater (is there a pun in there?) use of lighting - strobes and flashes will become more obvious to you.
Attach external strobes to your setup; these are ideal for replacing the lost color and light at depths.
A filter can be used to filter out the green/blue, you must remember that the filter does not replace the colours so beyond about ten metres they don’t function particularly well. If the red has gone from the light it has gone and a filter won’t help. You also have to turn off your flash or strobe and use the filter in ambient light.
At what depth is color lost?
- Red - 15ft (5m)
- orange - 25ft (8m)
- Yellow - 35-45ft (10 – 14m)
- Green - 70-75ft (20 – 23m)
Remember to add the distance from the subject into this – 15ft deep and 15 ft from the subject equals 30 ft of color loss.
This can be very difficult to deal with and the degree of difficulty and I suppose degree of potential for success in dealing with it, depends on how much particle matter is in the water.
The first aspect is the fact that your flash or strobe light will reflect off the particles directly back at the lense. A diffuser can assist in decreasing the impact of this.
Another method is, if using strobes, to angle the strobes away from the direct pathway between your lense and the subject so that the light is not directly hitting the particles in front of you. This to is something in photography underwater which you will 'get' with experience.
The surest way to resolve this is to decrease the distance between your lense and the subject of your photography underwater.

To show what great swimming technique looks like, Swim Speed Secrets has dozens of full-color underwater photographs of Olympic swimmers. With patience and the right gear, you can take underwater photos of your friends and training partners so they can see how they are swimming now and how well they are progressing using Sheila’s approach in Swim Speed Secrets.
Follow these 5 tips from professional photographer and USA Swimming and U.S. Master Swimming coach Daniel Smith.
- Know your camera and equipment. First, make sure your gear can handle being underwater at the depths where you’ll be shooting. [You can find underwater cameras for surprisingly little money online.] It’s equally important to know every setting so you don’t waste time adjusting settings for light conditions and action vs. stills. If you haven’t mastered your gear on dry land, shooting under water isn’t going to work.
- Think about water as a medium. Bubbles can make auto-focus difficult to use so try manual focus instead. Water will cut your light exposure in half, so you’ll want to increase shutter speed or exposure time. Expect a blue and green color cast to your photos and either shoot with settings or filters that will compensate or be prepared to remove the cast in your photo editing software.
- Use weights and a scuba tank or snorkel for the best photos. Staying stable and at pool bottom helps a lot.
- A weighted tripod and auto-timer can save you lots of drama if you have no access to scuba gear.
- Invest in good software. It can take a few weeks to rise up the learning curve, but good photo editing software can make even average photos sparkle.

You’ll be able to photograph corals or fish at close distances that make your images look truly “one-of-a-kind”.
Show some scale. Sometimes it may be hard to tell how large an object is underwater, so its great to add a subject that will show the scale of the scene you’ve captured. For instance, if you’re photographing a shipwreck, by adding a SCUBA diver into the scene, you’ve now provided the viewer with a sense of the size of the wreck. As a bonus, the added subject will often make the overall photograph more interesting to view.
Remember that composition matters. Lastly, remember that just because you’re now photographing under the surface of the water, you still need to be aware of the composition of your images. Use the lessons you’ve learned regarding creating pleasing compositions, such as the rule of thirds; placing the horizon at the top/bottom third instead of right in the middle of the image, filling the frame with your subject, look for patterns to photograph, etc.
Check out these articles on composing better photographs and using elements within the scene to frame your main subject.
Five of the images accompanying this article were taken by professional underwater photographer Wolcott Henry. To see more of his work, visit his website at http://wolcotthenry.com.

Just remember the closer you are to your subject the clearer the photo. So, think about your lens size, preferably a wide angle. Shooting from the water can also be heaps of fun. It's a perspective I really love! It requires patience, an open mind, physical endurance and good humour! Beware, you will get addicted!

Underwater photography is usually divided into two categories. The first type of underwater photography uses submersible cameras, while the second type of underwater photography refers to underwater pictures that are taken using a non-submersed camera. In the second category will we for instance find all the photographs that aquarists take on their fish from outside the aquarium. At first glance, you might not consider this true underwater photography, but if you wish to take great picture of your aquarium fish you can actually learn a lot from the professional underwater photographers that use submersible cameras. Both types of underwater photography is forced to deal with the fact that light behave differently in water than in air. There are naturally also large differences between the two types of underwater photography. When you photograph your aquarium fish from the outside, you must for instance try to avoid reflections in the glass. This is not a problem when scuba diving photographers use a submersible camera to catch the underwater world.
Photographing fish from outside the aquarium
It is naturally possible to use a submersible camera in an aquarium, but due to practical problems it is not very common. Most pictures of aquarium fish are instead shot from outside the glass, using a normal un-submersible camera.
A high-quality camera is naturally a good thing, but there are several other factors that play vital roles during aquarium photographing as well. A good camera will not automatically produce great photos, and great aquarium pictures can be taken using quite an inexpensive camera if you plan your picture carefully. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that it is harder for light to penetrate water than air. If your aquarium is deep, you might therefore have to use extra lighting if you want the true colours of your fish to show. A 20 inches deep aquarium can need twice as strong lighting as a 10 inches deep aquarium.
A second factor to take into account is the water quality. When you take fish pictures in the sea or in a lake, you can’t do much about the water quality except for trying not to disturb the silt. When you are photographing fish in your own aquarium, the water quality is however completely in your hands. Floating debris in the water can be devastating for an otherwise great picture. A problem with floating debris is that it is often very complicated and time consuming to remove digitally.

Methods For Undersea Photography
Undersea photography brings the undersea world to the surface. Some question wheat swimming in the sea is like, yet the do not want to learn exactly how to dive. Underwater photographers have taken it upon themselves to bring the undersea world to those that do not want to dive or never had the opportunity. While all digital photography is an art the underwater world needs special skills to bring the finest quality to life.
Unlike wildlife digital photography the underwater world needs to be viewed up close. That is to say the marine life requires to be photographed closely. This is as a result of the water. The water refracts images commonly distorting them so the closer you are to your subject the much less water you have in between you an the subject. Undersea photography needs a good deal of persistence. You topic may swim quickly by like the shark, whale or dolphin, or they might hide with in the coral reefs bulging only when risk is not felt. Water holds bits, many generally living microorganisms called plankton since these particles usually drift by while you are attempting to take an image you can loose contrast as well as sharpness of the picture.
Marine life makes use of the premise of hiding greater than rate or selection. This implies you will certainly frequently discover your subject masked rather than out in the open. You need to seek your subject with decision, without startling the topic. The underwater globe demands respect. You don’t want to touch the living organisms and consequently you need to find out to relocate with the present while trying to achieve the best shot. A lot of marine life will die if you touch it, specifically coral reefs so having a pastime of underwater photography requires you to adhere to the policies, a code of values.
Undersea flash or even more commonly called a strobe can aid you gain the light you need to take an excellent photo. It is necessary to have a flash with an underwater camera. It will certainly assist you bring other colors as opposed to red and also orange into the picture. The strobe only requires to be medium sized, any kind of larger as well as it can hinder your image taking experience.
Make-up is also very essential. You will certainly follow the exact same rule you performed in routine digital photography; nonetheless, you still need to have an upward angle on the subject. This returns to the camouflage technique of the majority of aquatic species.

In auto mode, the camera may overexpose the shots because it misinterprets water density for darkness. Photographers can use the manual mode to force the camera to darken the shot using those settings.
There are several ways to deal with overexposure and loss of color:
• Lower ISO/higher f/stop number/faster shutter speed
• Adjust camera mode
• Use external filters (also some cameras have built in snorkel/dive filters or modes)
• Use photo-editing software
Using Mode and Manual Settings
Our mermaid had swum off, but we found someone else who loves to play in the sea. Although he is certainly not a merman, using fins instead of a tail, he did introduce us to the stingrays at Grand Cayman’s Stingray City. It should be noted that in most locations, humans should never touch sea life. However, Stingray City in Grand Cayman attracts one million visitors a year to a location that provides a unique, interactive experience—whether snorkeling or diving.
We mentioned earlier that at different depths, light is filtered by the water—losing warm colors first and other colors as you go deeper. These Stingray City photos provide a good example of snorkel-depth photos with underwater settings or filters.
By comparison, the Kittiwake photos were taken down in scuba-depth water with the same cameras. Also note, we adjusted for the foreground metal structure that is better lit in the bottom left than the deeper/farther/less-lit wreck. This will confuse and affect the automatic mode adjustment and the captured image.
Using Lens Filters
The photos taken with the iPhone/LenzO housing and GoPro action cam show that color filters are another way to improve underwater photos.
A filter adjusts warm orange colors in a photo and will help correct the loss of those same color elements in underwater shots. Several of the cameras that we reviewed had underwater mode settings that accomplish a similar effect. Others require (will allow) attaching filters externally. Those filters can be attached or removed as needed.
Below are photos taken with and without snorkel-depth filters. It should be noted that a challenge for filters is that they are “matched” to one particular situation. This can cause filters to make inadequate corrections or add too much red into the photo. As a result, it can make white sand look red—and equally change the color of fish, coral and other subjects.

(CNN)Seems like everyone’s a halfway decent photographer these days thanks to better gear, flashy phones and clever digital filters.
When it comes to underwater photography, though, few people have what it takes.
Perfect sub-aquatic images involve a new level of skills, like framing a shot while maintaining buoyancy and not getting eaten by predators.
So where to start?
We asked some of the planet’s best underwater shooters for tips on the technique and equipment they use to make superlative marine photography.
They shared their secrets and some of their best shots.
Now it involves hours each and every day with my computer working in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and on my website, along with Instagram and Facebook, to get my images out all over the globe.
Oh, and periodically I get to take my camera underwater and shoot new images somewhere in the world, or in my backyard, which continues to be a rather fascinating latitude.
What’s the hardest aspect of underwater photography?
If you told a professional above-water photographer that you wanted to hire him to shoot, but you can’t be sure what the subject really is or if the subject will be there, he must select his lens before he begins, carry all his camera and lighting equipment during the entire process and would only have an hour to shoot before he runs out of air — this would be where you hear a “click” on your end of the conversation.
If you had to give one tip for capturing compelling images, what would it be?
Picture the image you want to get.
Check everything on the display on the back of your camera to be sure and then continue with the same subject, changing angles, backgrounds, anything that you can think of.
Use that unlimited number of exposures and then try what you don’t think will work, or what someone told you would not work.
You might surprise yourself and the rest of us.
What camera setup would you recommend to the scuba diver just getting into underwater photography?
I have shot with Canon SLRs for 40 years and continue to recommend them.
I use Ikelite housings and strobes because they were the first company to really nail down the electronics to utilize TTL strobe exposures, which make a huge difference in many cases underwater.
That said, I did a trip to shoot great white sharks off Guadalupe Island last year and the guy beside me in the cage got some great shots with a GoPro on a stick.

Algae are hopefully only present on the inside of the glass, but the outside can still be speckled with dirt, dust and fingerprints, so don’t forget to clean the outside of the glass as well.
Photographing fish using a submersible camera
The submersible camera is not frequently used for taking pictures of fish inside aquariums; it is instead popular among snorklers and scuba divers. Many snorklers purchase practical and inexpensive waterproof cameras, but these cameras are usually not strong enough for a scuba diving adventure. The traditional single-use underwater camera that you can buy in most seaside resorts will typically only withstand the water pressure down to 5-10 meters. If you want to go deeper, you will need a sturdier form of camera housing. A camera house is a plastic container that you place a traditional camera in. It is important that you purchase a camera house that has been made to fit your particular camera.
Just like the aquarium photographer, the snorkling or scuba diving photographer must remember that it is harder for light to penetrate water than air. The deeper you go the less sunlight will reach you. It is also common for underwater pictures to become blue, since light that has travelled far down into the deep will bring out different colours than light at the surface. A fish that would look red at the surface can therefore look almost blue further down.

Photography underwater is a whole new ballgame with a whole set of new challenges for the underwater photographer.
When first beginning photography underwater, there are a few different challenges to come your way, both from a photography perspective as well as scuba diving.
Scuba diving competency -
Particularly your ability to maintain neutral buoyancy.
Apart from either hurting yourself or damaging the reef, you will stir up silt making photography underwater difficult.....
When you are trying to take a picture of a subject that is moving in a different direction to you who are drifting in a current, or alternatively a lot slower moving underwater than a fish is, you suddenly have to develop a whole lot of new skills!
Trying to maintain buoyancy and remain still whilst in a surging current.
You will be concentrating on remaining within focus distance of a subject that doesn’t necessarily want you to be that close and so will keep dodging, moving away, hiding….
All of this can lead you to get tired, use more air and then as a result shorten your dive.
Often as you get more involved in photography underwater, your equipment gets more and more bulky making this situation worse.
Trying not to exhale a cloud of bubbles as you take your picture and so obscuring the subject from your lense.
While you are concentrating on taking that picture, where are the rest of the dive group – are they still in view?
The light is different under water.
As you get deeper, less and less of the full spectrum of light reaches that depth, the first colours to be lost are Reds, yellows and oranges, which is why very often underwater photos appear to be bluey green.
The loss of light is increased by the angle of the sun in the sky – the lower it is the more light is lost, something people also forget about in photography underwater is that not only is the depth a factor, but the distance from the subject is also part of the total distance of water the light must travel through and therefore needs to be taken into account for color loss.
You should also know that while you are underwater, your brain compensates for the loss of color so you won’t realise the color loss, until you look at the underwater photos.
Backscatter – Particles in the water - is often a problem, particularly in poor visibility underwater. Often in different seasons of the year the water is rich in plankton appearing as particles in the water which cause the light from your flash to be reflected back at you (or the lense).

The vibrant colors and endless diversity of aquatic life provide one of the richest photography experiences imaginable. The technology in Olympus Digital Underwater Housings allows divers, from beginner to divemaster, capture worry-free images of unique underwater scenes. Each Olympus housing features a large, responsive shutter button, precision zoom lever, and a tight O-ring main seal with a safety lock. Find the housing that fits your camera, and dive in!
Lesson 4: Macrophotography in underwater surroundings
The Under Water Macro Mode can depict the subject in natural colors.
Set your camera to the Underwater Macro Mode
When you want to shoot anemones and sea slugs up close, select the Scene Mode menu and then Underwater Macro Mode. The lens will automatically adjust and the flash will function automatically. As a result, the subject will be revealed in natural coloring. White balance, auto focus and other functions are all tuned and adjusted in great detail. So it's best to try underwater macro photography in this mode first, and then experiment to develop your own style. Getting great results may take a few attempts; give it some time and keep on shooting!
Photographing from a distance in zoom.
Photographing by moving up close as possible.
Move as close to your subject as possible
To get the best results you've got to get closer to your subject when shooting underwater. When there is too much distance between the photographer and the subject, seawater can act as a murky filter due to floating organisms and you may not get a clear picture. Red colors in particular can be absorbed by water and turn bluish. In order to accommodate for this absorption of color, you need the light from the flash. However, it is very difficult to reach underwater subjects with your flash. In order to recreate natural coloring, you must ignite the flash as close as possible to your subject.
The method differs according to the type of subject and camera model.
Position the zoom
The basic trick of macro photography is simple. Zoom out wide and move up close to the subject so it fills your LCD screen. However, your subjects may not always cooperate. Shrimp, crabs or sea slugs might scurry away as you try to get close. So you may need to try zooming in shoot by moving closer very slowly. How close you can get will differ according to the type of subject you are photographing.

One striking difference from terrestrial photography is how sunlight is affected by water. Water is almost 800 times denser than air. Water density strongly affects the colors of light that are present at varying depths. Warmer colors are quickly absorbed so that little or no red, orange or yellow hues are present at depths of greater than 30 feet. The most prominent colors at depths of more than 30 feet are green and blue. This color filtering can result in monochromatic photos that lack punch. On the other hand, it can also be used creatively once understood. Additionally, there may be low or no ambient light at relatively shallow depths depending on local water clarity. As such, artificial light is regularly used in underwater photography to add color and to assist with exposure. In addition to the color and level of ambient light, one must also consider the presence of particulate matter in the water. Especially turbid or murky water often results in illuminated particles in photos also known as “backscatter.” Therefore, it becomes very important to know under which conditions you should attempt any particular shot as well as proper strobe positioning to minimize backscatter.
Underwater photography also tends to involve more “moving parts” than other photographic disciplines. Addressing the typical complexities of terrestrial photography remains crucial. However, the additional gear required for the particular type of dive (snorkeling all the way to deep technical diving) can add a significant amount of variables to the photographic equation. Also, the movement of both the subject and photographer in the water must also be considered. All of the variables can quickly occupy your underwater time, thereby shortening the time available to react to each given scene. As such, an ability to pre-visualize a photograph before entering the water can often save valuable underwater time.
Due to space constraints, I must now conclude this article. The next article in the series will cover specific issues regarding underwater photography gear from the beginner to more advanced user. It will also address the two most common types of underwater photography (close focus wide-angle and macro photography) as well as issues common to each. I hope this article has sparked an interest to begin your own journey into underwater photography. Until next time, take care.
There are many scuba certification programs available and exclusion from this list does not indicate a program is unreliable or disreputable. The author strongly recommends you perform your own research before attending any scuba training courses.

It’s more about the effect than image quality…
So what photos can you get? – Well, I’m not going to lie, it’s hit and miss. Here are a few examples that (with a little care) have worked out quite well:
I think we can all agree – the image quality here isn’t great, but it’s great for a personal memory. However, these have all had their brightness, contrast and most importantly their white balance adjusted.
Disposable cameras in the sea will all have a blue colour cast which needs to be corrected or it can make a photo really disappointing. This can be done in several free or inexpensive software programs (such as GIMP or PhotoScape) – but only if you have a digital copy of the image.
Underwater digital photos on a tight budget?
So – let’s look at options when you have had a bit of time to plan. Just how cheaply can you take photos underwater?
Just about the cheapest way, is to use an underwater camera bag. There are loads on Ebay and Amazon – and here is one I bought earlier this year for about £3 (including P&P).
I don’t know about you, but I would be very dubious of sticking an expensive camera in one of these and just diving into the sea. The problem is, there’s not really a good way to test them without putting something electric in them and going for a long swim… (If it doesn’t work, I accept no responsibility…)
Because I was worried, I bought a cheap second hand camera for £7. It’s 7.2 MP and has since become a firm favourite. I’ve dived with it several times and it still works! At £10 in total this is cheaper than a disposable camera. BUT – the results can be disappointing.
The key problems are:
The plastic “pouch” over the lens is not flat or perfectly clear, which plays havoc with the cameras auto-focus. Since manual focus is impossible with most cheap cameras, this is a real issue.
Using the cameras controls / buttons can be very difficult.
The bag is not well insulated, so your camera will get cold quickly, spoiling battery life.
You can get fairly good results by ensuring that the camera lens is right up against the plastic lens window. Alternatively, you can buy a more expensive bag with a solid plastic, or better, glass, window – which if right against the lens will solve many of these problems.

Use Photo Albums
You can store your photos in photo albums and this will keep the quality intact and the photos will not come in contact with bare hands.
These are just a few tips you can use when you want to maintain the quality of your photographs. We hope this helps.
Posted on March 20th, 2012
There are many forms of photography out there today and one in particular is starting to rise with interest. That would be the skill of underwater photography. It is not unlike that of normal photography and can be performed even by the most novice photographer out there. Just like regular photography there are few helpful tips in underwater photography.
- Become familiar with your underwater camera before entering the water. With minimal time with your air supply and the fact that usually in the ocean there are no reshoots, it is best to become familiar with all settings and functions of your camera. Also, most underwater cameras have specific depth requirements that you should become familiar with to prevent damage to your camera. No need to waste time with your camera instead of your pictures.
- Before venturing off to your underwater location, research the area for any specific interest. Research for types of coral, fish, and other marine life in the area. It is also a good idea also to check with the local currents and any sharp corals in the area. The more you know of the area the more prepared you will be.
- Repeat your shots over and over again from different angles. Underwater photography is an exciting adventure that some rarely have the opportunity to enjoy, so the best thing to do is take multiple shots from different angles so you may have a wide variety of pictures.
- When taking photographs of the marine life you may encounter, the best way to capture their likeness is simple. Focus in on their eyes, just like you would of a child. It is best to also become familiar with the behavior of the potential marine life in the area. Remember you are in their world and must respect them.
Being prepared and using common sense can ensure of fun filled day of underwater photography. Remember to have fun and be creative.
Posted on March 16th, 2012
When purchasing your photography equipment there is a bit of excitement and awe of your new life line. You spend hours even days becoming familiar with your equipment, settings, and lenses and take pride in the new piece.

Don’t just think about the basic form but go beyond that. Try capturing images during different times of the year, different weather conditions, or perhaps black and white. Never settle for the greeting card image but rather a different spectrum to landscaping. Don’t be afraid to experiment and never delete an image until viewed at your studio.
If ou are looking for a great deal on a digital camera please visit http://www.42photo.com
Posted on July 18th, 2012
Now that you have perfected your skill with perhaps landscaping, weddings, sunrises and sunsets, it is time to get your feet wet. Underwater photography can be such a magical experience that every photographer must try at least once in their lifetime. Although it may appear tricky, it in act can be simple and easy to perform. The following tips can help you along your underwater journey.
- It is best to make sure you have the appropriate equipment that is designed for underwater photography. It is best to research the depth that the camera can operate properly as well as other functions such as batteries, memory cards, and flashes.
- You don’t have to be an Olympic swimmer or scuba certified, but it is best to be prepared.
- Research various locations as well as marine life. You want to focus on behavior of the marine animal as well as their natural state so that you are prepared of their actions.
- Once you are ready to dive into the water, make sure you are working with a fast shutter speed. Recommended is the following: 1/30 for still object such as coral, 1/60 for slow moving objects, and 1/125 for faster moving objects like fish. Adjusting your shutter speed can help with the sharpness of your images.
- Using the natural light of the sun is one way of capturing your images but it is recommended to do so at a depth of 20 feet or lower.
- Set your camera to the highest resolution and the lowest ISO
- For best composition it is best to shoot upwards rather than downwards. Make sure the subjects eyes are focused as well.
- Like photographing on land, do not delete any photographs until you have returned to your computer.
- If possible and safely, get as close to your subject as you can. Water can reduce the sharpness, contrast and color of an image, so try to be about 12 inches or shorter from your subject.
- Have fun!

3 Tips in Using Auto Mode for Underwater Photography
All digital cameras have an auto mode. However, digital cameras were not designed for underwater photography, so if you are using auto mode, you will need to keep a few things in mind.
It is not recommended that you use flash while underwater. You can still capture great underwater photos by staying shallow in the water, shooting your photos between 10 am and 2 pm and shooting with the sun to your back. If it is not a sunny day, you may not want to take photos that day, unless you have a strobe.
Whether you are set on using auto mode or design to use manual mode, you should consider investing in at least one strobe. An external strobe will immediately and noticeably improve the quality of your digital photographs. A strobe is similar to a flash in that it produces artificial light, but the strobe is much more powerful.
If you are shooting in auto mode and are not using a strobe light, then filters can be very beneficial to you. Filters are small, colored gels that are placed in front of the camera lens. You can purchase filters that are specifically designed for underwater use and these filters will help you get good color in your photos.Popular Cameras for High Quality Photos:

Many things need to be taken into consideration before you begin such as water depth that you will be shooting at, what angles are the best to use in the water, how to deal with lighting problems, and the best way to capture the bright beautiful colors that are waiting for you below sea level.
The best way for you to learn these skills is to talk to others who have experience with this type of photography. These people have experienced it for themselves and can teach you everything that you need to know to begin your journey as an underwater photographer.
Digital Underwater Photography Tips
Photography has come a long way over the past decade or so especially when it comes to underwater photography. Gone are the days of having to load a roll of film, have it developed, and throw away the photos that didn’t turn out or that you just don’t like. Those types of underwater cameras are still available for those who choose to use them but technology has come a long way especially in the form of digital underwater cameras.
Digital underwater cameras may not necessarily do a better job of taking photos under the water however it can save a lot of time and money. For one thing, with a digital camera, you can’t run out of film. We all know what a pain it can be to run out of film while trying to take photos underwater, even if you loaded new film before you take that first dive, you are still able to only take a specific number of photos before the film runs out. You have to then wait for the film to rewind and the camera to dry out before you can change the film rolls. With digital cameras, you don’t have to worry about any of that and with a large enough memory storage used, you can take literally hundreds of photos before running out of room.
Also, with actual 35mm film, you have to wait for the film to be processed before you can look at the photos. If certain photos didn’t turn out, you wasted your time and money getting it developed just to throw the photo in the trash. With a digital underwater camera, you have the ability to view the photos immediately to see if you need to retake it. If you don’t like how the photo turns out, it can be deleted right away.
Digital underwater cameras typically come with more advanced settings than regular film cameras.

You don’t want to have to worry about fumbling around with unfamiliar buttons on the camera and miss that perfect shot. Once you learn to overcome all of the challenges and obstacles of underwater photography, you may just become the perfect underwater photographer!
Learn Underwater Photography
People take underwater photos for a variety of reasons. Some may take photos under the water just to capture the pure essence and beauty of the world that lives in the deep dark sea while others may use underwater photography to learn more about the environment down below and the species that live there.
No matter what reason you may have for taking photographs underwater, you are going to need to learn the ins and outs of this hobby before you will become good at it. Taking photos underwater is much different than taking photos on dry land. When it comes to taking a photo on dry land, most of the time you can simply point the camera and click a button to get a good photo however, underwater, things are much different and numerous precautions and preparation must be taken to capture that perfect photo.
You don’t want to dive into underwater photographer blindly because it will take you much longer to become comfortable with getting the perfect shot and there will be a lot of trial and error going on. It is best to learn the tricks of the trade beforehand and then develop your own style for capturing photos underwater. Using what you learn along with your own photography experience, you will soon learn the best ways to take photos underwater.
Various underwater photography courses are offered online; some free and some for a small fee. These types of courses are important because you will learn the basics of underwater photography along with troubleshooting, and how to choose the best underwater camera to get the job done that you are attempting to do. You will most likely learn about the various challenges that underwater photographers face that you may never have thought of before and tips on how to get the best out of your photography experience.
Another way to learn basic concepts of underwater photography is to frequent the various forums and websites that are centered around underwater photography. These types of forums will give you a chance to meet other underwater photographers, learn a few secrets, and ask any questions that you may have. Most of these types of websites also offer reviews on various underwater cameras and other equipment that will be needed for your deep diving photo shoot.
You will need to learn a variety of things before trying your hand at underwater photography.

They tend to merge their hideouts or in some cases; their bodies are created to conceal in the water when swimming like sharks. When you are attempting to obtain a clear shot when the subject blends into the history can be hard as well as produces a difficulty.
When dealing with underwater photography as a pastime you will need to hone your photography skills ashore first. Once you take fantastic pictures on land you can move right into the more challenging version of the underwater globe, where some policies you’ve utilized no longer apply and also achieving the most effective photo takes perseverance along with skill. Underwater photography brings the marine life to the surface minimizing some of the unknown. If you locate you are simply starting to have an interest in undersea digital photography you will want to seek a professional undersea photography class to teach you several of the vital techniques in addition to method.

For someone who makes only a small amount of his income from underwater photography, I drag an awful lot of fragile equipment through airports across the world. Every time I hand over my precious camera gear, I fret about its survival and whether or not I’ll have to explain to yet another understandably concerned security agent, that those large lumps of electronics have solely peaceful uses. But why do I need all these extra pieces? I’m taking photos in the tropics, right?
Well, yes, very often I am, and I’m going to put to one side the obvious uses for large flashguns: night time, inside caves/wrecks, and of course the murky waters off my own country.
During the day, even though the amount of available light at say, twenty meters on a tropical reef, is suitable to take a photograph with a fast-enough shutter setting to avoid motion blur, you’ll get a very dismal-looking picture. It’ll be dominated by blues and greys and won’t look anyway near how our terrestrial eyes and brain remembered it. I wonder if this is something that aquarists occasionally forget, as their comparably shallow tanks don’t (to the human eye) show an appreciable change between the upper reaches of the tank to the lower, in terms of color. In most home aquariums, enough red light gets to the bottom to ensure a red fish appears red, but below ten meters in the wild, that’s not the case.
How can you combat this? If you’re planning to go snorkeling or diving on a reef, and you’re looking to buy a waterproof camera or housing, it’s well worth considering one with an extra flash gun or one that allows you to use your camera’s built-in flash easily. You’ll get much better results and see the ‘real’ colors of the reef. Failing that, you might try a color-correcting filter. Usually made of red acrylic (glass is often more expensive), these fit over the lens to ‘add in’ some red. Some cameras have ‘underwater’ modes, but I have little experience of these I’m afraid.
Conversely, you might want to shoot in RAW and spend some time in Photoshop. This can also offer great results, but you’ll need a camera capable of doing so and much bigger memory cards.

If choosing a camera with interchangeable lenses, keep in mind that along with the housing, lens ports must be purchased to accommodate the various lenses. The depth of the port must accommodate the length of the lens.
Next is the photographer’s source of lighting, the underwater strobe. While both non-DSLR and DSLR cameras have built-in flash units those units will not provide enough light for underwater photography. Remember your basic dive class! The deeper one goes the less light and color so strobes are necessary.
Along with a strobe, or strobes – two are better than one; the photo kit must include a tray and handles. The housing attaches to the tray, the strobes attach to the handles. Strobes introduce the problem of back scatter. Back scatter occurs when suspended particles reflect light back into the lens. The resulting photos are speckled.
To help eliminate back scatter and diffuse ‘hot spots’ (too much light on a subject) the strobe power should be adjustable and the kit should include diffusers. Commercial diffusers are generally opaque plastic attachments that snap onto the strobe to mute the flash. Unfortunately, most are lost eventually and that’s where the dryer sheets and rubber bands come in. Used dryer sheets make excellent diffusers. Simply lay a sheet across the face of the strobe and secure with a rubber band.
How to protect the photo gear? Underwater photographers know not to enter the water from a boat holding their cameras. Instead, they have someone on the boat hand them their cameras once they are in the water. Next, they attach the housing to their BCs with a strong coil lanyard and descend slowly while checking for leaks.
As for transporting the kit, a hard case with foam inserts is the only safe way. Soft-sided luggage, back packs, and duffle bags do not provide protection from baggage handlers or taxi and bus drivers.
Wondering about costs? The choice of camera will set the cost basis; however, there are kits available starting at $1,000 or less that will provide a new photographer wow photos to show friends and family. Do some research and next time we will cover the basics of shooting photos underwater.
Becky Bauer is a scuba instructor and award-winning journalist covering the marine environment in the Caribbean. She is a contributing photographer to NOAA.

Lanzarote is also a great place for a spot of stargazing.
Perhaps you’re one of those people who watched Jaws and has decided it still isn’t safe to get back in the water, or perhaps, like me, you watched it and thought “wow that’s cool!”
If the latter is the case, you’ll probably spend half your life trying to find an excuse to jump in the sea, into a lake or even into a swimming pool with a pair of goggles on to find out what’s going on below the surface. And when you do, you probably want to get some good shots of the stuff you see (whether it’s your friends and family playing in a pool, a crab, a brightly coloured fish or jaws). So how do you do it, and how much will it cost?$
“you’ll probably spend half your life trying to find an excuse to jump in the sea, into a lake or even into a swimming pool with a pair of goggles on to find out what’s going on below the surface. And when you do, you probably want to get some good shots of the stuff you see…”
As ever, it will cost as much as you want to spend.
It’s clear that for the very best, super-sharp and well exposed images at depth, you will need an expensive camera with high ISO (light sensitivity) capabilities. This may be a custom designed underwater camera or a specialist, dedicated underwater housing for a DSLR. This, though, is the realm of the scuba diver, and nearer the surface (down to around 10m) you can get by with some pretty cheap and basic gear:
Underwater shooting with zero preparation
If you’re not a regular scuba diver, the times when you’re most likely to want to take photos under water are when you’re on holiday. You might be by the sea in Cornwall, or in the Mediterranean or on the Pacific coast. Wherever the sea is, there is the desire to jump in it and boat on it.
However, most cameras are not waterproof. Take it from someone who knows, you don’t want to take a decent camera out, even on a boat, without protection if you want it to come back working. Ideally, you want to think about this before you go away, so that you can get a waterproof camera or some sort of housing.

- Use an acrylic box, take your photo on top of the water surface.
- Stop all pump and wavemaker in the tank
- Do not use the zoom function unless necessary, as it will result in poorer quality picture.
Camera Phone or Underwater camera?
We make an comparison between using a cameras phone and a Olympus camera to see the difference.
Image Captured using iPhone 12 Pro with a coral lens
image Captured underwater, inside of the tank using Olympus TG-4 with auto white balance function
Thank you for reading my article. I will share some of the macro shots taken below for everyone to enjoy!
True Rasta taken using TG-4
My favorite dragon eye zoas
Vampire Slayer taken using TG-4
Are you able to identify these three zoas?

Underwater photography provides a view of the world that most people don’t ever get to see. It’s expensive. You need to buy a lot of gear, take diving lessons, get certified, buy more equipment, buy camera equipment, pay for airfare, pay for a dive boat and much more. You get the picture (sorry).
On the other hand, imagine all the time I must have spent traveling and diving just to photograph. The exotic places, the fascinating people, the beautifully colored fish. Imagine the incredible investment I’ve obviously made to dive and photograph in beautiful, warm, tropical and exotic places. Well, guess what… I made this image just 40 miles from my home. Instead of diving, I simply go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA to do my underwater photography.
First of all, I need to provide a plug for the Aquarium. I’m a member of the Aquarium and they are a significant beneficiary of my estate when I go to the great darkroom in the sky. I encourage you to visit. The work that they do to provide educational programs for children and adults is extremely important in helping to protect the oceans and the exhibits are among the best I’ve seen at any aquarium in the United States.
The best way to photograph at the aquarium is to arrive when it opens in order to avoid school groups and other visitors. You may not be able to use a tripod so use a monopod instead. Set your ISO at 800-1000 and don’t use a flash. It’s prohibited in many exhibits and, in any case, it will reflect off the glass right into your lens.
Now you know how to be an underwater photographer. All you need to do is visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s worth the trip and it’s a lot less expensive than going to the Coral Sea.
One last thing: my friend and colleague Vic Smith recently began his own blog at Vic Smith Photo. Please visit his site.

At the end of the day, I love the challenge and I love being able to visually document and share my perspective and I think the key to capturing the moment is being able to connect with your subject, making them trust you, so that they can open up to you, whether that be on land or under water. Olivia felt comfortable and in return she performed an amazing underwater dance that showed the passion I was after and the magic of weightlessness.
The woman in the photos looks quite ephemeral, ghost-like, with the high contrast of her skin and the dark water. Was this intentional? If so, why?
Olivia's photo shoot was planned a couple of weeks in advance. With Olivia being a dancer, I knew I wanted to see passion, motion and almost a dreamy romance with the water. With this in mind, I have no control over Mother Nature and had no idea what the weather or the water quality was going to be like. In addition, Olivia, who is only 15, had never been photographed in the water before and had no idea what she was up against.
The day of the photo shoot was in fact overcast, had rained that morning and the water quality wasn't the clearest and it was late in the afternoon around 4.30pm. I knew then that I was up against some obstacles and that I wouldn't be getting any vibrant colours and consequently shot for black and white. The high contrast is caused from a combination of a high ISO, water and ocean particles and ocean colours and converting to black and white.
How did you take these images?
I took these images using an older Canon and a wide 20mm lens and an AquaTech water housing. My ISO was at 800 ISO, the water wasn't the clearest and the weather was dull. But I kept my shutter on 320 as I wanted to show some movement but still keep the subject sharp. I used a medium aperture, at F5.6, shooting a moving subject in the water is rather challenging. And I wanted to show some depth of field, but not too much. I felt like F5.6 was a good middle ground. To make things easier for my model Olivia, I dragged along a boogie board, so she could rest up whenever she got tired.
Any advice for our readers who might want to have a go at taking images underwater?
Shooting under water is a different world.

Half-in and half-out of the water. I’m sure you know such photos. A girl in a bikini that dives a few feet underwater like an innocent and beautiful mermaid. And above the water level sunshine and palm trees. Photos of this type have been spreading rapidly on social networks in recent years. And they have success. Similar to drone photos. It offers a new way of story telling, a new point of view. But … How are these cool shots taken?
Complete Guide To Underwater Photography
Hardly, haha! Plus it needs the right equipment, a little exercise and a lot of patience. Right from the start, let’s just say the main thing – you need special accessories. The so-called dome port. It is actually an underwater housing for your action camera. There are 2 types of ports – flat ports and dome ports. The differences are obvious – one is a flat window, and the other is shaped like a dome. And this type of port we care about. Yes, this article is mainly about taking pictures with the dome port, but you can also take it as a best underwater photography tips for beginners.
How does Dome Port work?
It’s actually simple. The trick is that the curved port creates space between the action camera (lens) and water, which allows half-in and half-out of the water photos. The fact is that you could achieve the same effect by using a glass bowl or a round fishbowl. And of course, the dome port can also be purchased for your SLR camera, but in that case you will pay a few hundred dollars more (compared to the price for the action camera version).
So in theory, using a port is easy – just insert a camera inside and that’s it. But the practice is much more complicated. Do not take just random photos, try to think in advance what you would like to shoot. Realize that you will often not have firm ground under your feet. So taking a photo sharply can be a problem. Despite the fact that keeping the right composition can be also difficult (you see almost nothing on the small action camera screen). At the same time, be careful not to spray the top of the dome port with water – water drops could ruin your photos. So… Keep it dry! 🙂
One very important tip first – always use anti-fog strips!

Take a Journey to Another Photographic World – Underwater Photography Part I
Life can be full of exciting journeys when we seek them out, or vice versa. My latest journey began when I purchased an underwater housing and strobes for my digital SLR late last year. After completing Summer Intensive and Advanced Intensive training at Rocky Mountain School of Photography during the fall of 2009, I returned home to Florida eager to bring my camera along on my underwater adventures. Having seen some truly amazing sights since I first put on a mask and snorkel at the age of 5, I thought that the underwater world would provide a wealth of photographic opportunities provided I did my part. Fortunately, this hunch has been more accurate than I could ever have imagined.
Since I began working with my camera underwater, I have had close encounters with some interesting creatures, both large and small. I have also had opportunities to make images of underwater seascapes that continue to engage my senses. What excites me most about underwater photography is that it allows one to display images from a world that is unfamiliar to many people. In this series of articles I will attempt to provide some basic tools, so you may begin your own underwater journey.
Comfort in the water and training for the conditions in which one intends to shoot are two prerequisite skills to possess before attempting any underwater photography. Comfort in the water can be an elusive skill. However, scuba certification (or more advanced training like closed circuit re-breather technology) is now widely available, so it is relatively easy to obtain a training certification level to meet virtually any need. Several of the most well-known certification organizations in the U.S. include the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (www.padi.com), National Association of Underwater Instructors (www.naui.org) and the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (www.iantd.com). However, don’t forget that snorkeling requires no certification and is a perfectly acceptable way to begin your underwater adventures. I have had many successful underwater shoots while using only mask, snorkel and fins. Provided you have a body of water nearby (Note: swimming pools certainly qualify) sufficient comfort in the water and the appropriate training to suit your needs, there is little reason not to explore the world of underwater photography.
Before we cover more specifics about gear and techniques, I would like to address some concepts that are unique to underwater photography.

Nikon D300, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye, natural light with Magic red filter. F10 at 1/50 sec, ISO 200.
How I took the underwater photo - Snapper Hole
The second image is of a diver in a famous Grand Cayman swim-through at Snapper Hole, using an off-camera lighting technique. Alex helped his students to set this shot up by providing a remote strobe to illuminate the diver inside the cave, which was triggered by lighting from one of the on-camera strobes aimed at a slave sensor. For me, the shot is defined by the exposure technique, which brings out the strong blue background. This needed a medium f-stop and a correspondingly slow shutter speed.
The composition is also important. Alex was keen that the student photographers included the small patch of blue at the top right hand corner, which adds balance and an implied strong diagonal to a very pleasing overall composition. The under-exposed inside of the cave also provides very strong contrast for the rest of the picture. This image came 3rd in a May 2010 British Society of Underwater Photographers competition and it also won a UK newspaper Daily Telegraph weekly photographic competition on the theme of solitude.
The value of a good underwater photography workshop
I hope that you enjoy these images as much as I have. But the real point of this article is to emphasize the importance to amateurs of good instruction. To that extent, I take my hat off to both of my instructors, who have, in the space of 1 day and one week respectively, helped me to take my photography to a far more pleasing standard.
The journey started when my wife suggested that I should take a day’s tuition with one of the UK’s top underwater photographers, Martin Edge. In July 2008, Martin taught me to look at the underwater world in a different way. He set me on the right track to thinking about composition and many other vital aspects of underwater photography.
The standard of the images that I began to produce after only one day was much higher than hitherto. With a busy full time job and only a few opportunities to dive each year, I soon worked out that the more effort that I put into thinking about photography, the more that I would get from my few opportunities to exploit it. Yet as vital as theory is, there is only so much that you can learn from books.

Like we mentioned above it is very important that you feel confident and comfortable when diving or snorkeling before attempting to take photos, especially in new waters. Akima, believes that once you get the basics down and are comfortable in the water, you will never want to give up underwater photography. It’s like art plays out right before your eyes in a whole new atmosphere. The objective in capturing your images, is that you can display the beauty and wonder of what you have seen with those above sea level!

Underwater photography have come a long way since new technology and development in cameras and equipment have changed. More and more people that are not professionals take photos with underwater cameras and they are exploring this new world.
Before taking pictures underwater was not easy, you needed large waterproof cases that were bulky enough and of course expensive. But now with new advancement in technology, plastic part of camera are made with such development that anybody can use those cameras underwater without worrying about getting your equipment damaged due to water.
Also the same is applicable for photography equipment, they have become compact and more reliable. Here’s are list of best digital cameras for underwater shooting and top 10 waterproof cameras in all kind of price range.
Other options which are called waterproof casing is also available and can be used with your existing cameras, but still I would suggest you to buy a camera that’s inherently waterproof. The range of these waterproof cameras are in plenty.
With underwater photography, you will be capturing an entirely new world, you will be amazed how beautiful your photography becomes and other than that you will get some exciting pictures.
Whenever you start, keep some of the essential tips in mind.
1. Depth & Pressure – Always read your camera’s manual before heading out for underwater photography. Every camera has different capacity of handling pressure and at a certain depth they start falling apart, so you need to know exactly what are your camera’s limits.
2. Always make sure your camera is fully charged and all the photos from memory stick is backed up. If possible remove those photos and take your memory stick with maximum memory, so that you can take lots and lots of pictures.
3. Before heading into water, remember to check all the corners and areas on your camera and look for any dirt and grime in and around the memory stick or battery. And if you are using underwater case, remember to check all the buttons, latches and seals. Everything must be checked thoroughly before diving in.
4. Securing your camera with a wrist strap is another good habit, as in water you may lose your camera and drop it off at the bottom, which is quite difficult to locate and get it back. So, when you jump in keep your camera strapped and attached to some part of your body.
5. After returning from shoot, wash your camera with clean water so no sediments from the underwater is seen and rub off any dirt that was accumulated.

The issues with battery life and accessing controls will remain the same, though.
A “proper” waterproof compact camera
Of course, there are a whole range of custom-designed waterproof cameras out there, and after years of being prohibitively expensive, costs of some have now come down to below £100 in many cases (though well known brands are still more expensive). In truth, these cameras don’t tend to stand up well against similarly priced regular (i.e. not waterproof) cameras on dry land. Image quality and optical zoom both tend to be limited. But in the water they are generally much better than other cheap options.
Again, you will want to make sure that you know how to edit your photos once taken. A lack of light and poor white balance are classic trouble-makers with these cheap cameras, though you would be amazed the level of detail you retrieve…
A key point about dedicated underwater cameras is that they have autofocus mechanisms that will work, and a quirk of underwater photography is that water is magnifying (so you can get better close-up shots).
As a final thought (though not strictly underwater) – if you have a waterproof camera with you and quick reflexes, you may one day get a picture like this.

Depth of Field and How It Affects Your Underwater Photography
Depth of field is one of the most important concepts in photography. After exposure, it has the greatest amount of influence on an image. What it does is give depth to two dimensional images. Here's how it works:
Depth of Field
When focusing through a camera lens, you will find that there is no absolute point where an image goes from being sharp to being a blur. Instead, this happens gradually. You might choose a lens where the subject looks very sharp when he's fifteen feet away. But, an object that's three feet behind him is slightly soft, and an object that's ten feet behind that is a blur. That same effect also happens to objects that are in the foreground of the subject. Something three feet in front of him will look soft, while something ten feet in front of that is a blue. That's how depth of field works.
Depth of field can be broken down into two categories: shallow and deep. Deep depth of field refers to a DOF that is very gradual over a long distance. You'll still be able to make out an object that is ten feet behind the subject, even though it may be a little burry in deep depth of field. Shallow refers to a DOF that is very short. An object that is ten feet behind the subject will be a complete blur in shallow depth of field.
Underwater photography follows much different rules than what we're used to when shooting on dry land. That's because water has a huge effect on the light that penetrates trough it. Light is made up of different colors and water absorbs most of them quickly, leaving us with a dark blue light. In fact, it is difficult to tell the distinction of objects that are a few feet away from you underwater.
If you want to see something vividly, then you need to get very close to it. This makes underwater photography very similar to macro photography. Since you can only see a few feet behind your subject before everything becomes indistinct, you need to use lenses that produce a shallow depth of field to create a layered image.
Because you need to get close to the subject in underwater photography, macro lenses are probably the best choice to use. They produce a very shallow depth of field. However, you need to be very careful in your selection. You want something that doesn't have too shallow of a depth of field.

Aperture - Ideally, though there are exceptions to the rule, my goal is to keep the aperture small, f8 to f22 at least, to give me the depth of field I need when I am very close to my subject (the trade-off is the diffraction distortion that occurs at high f-stops, but I will have to content myself with a post-processing sharpen to aid in minimizing this effect). My next priority is to keep the shutter speed fast – as fast as 1/200 or higher. This is desirable for two reasons: the first is that I want to freeze any movement to keep the subject sharp, and the second is to manipulate the background colour. The slower the shutter speed, the more ambient light is a factor in the background, often contributing to washed-out images with low contrast. A faster shutter speed results in your subject being illuminated primarily by your strobes or video light, rather than the ambient light, and further contrast is created as the background darkens to dark blue and even black, depending on just how fast the shutter speed is set. This is far easier to do with macro photography, as we are naturally close to our subject, and much more challenging with wide angle photography, as light falls off so quickly underwater with every foot of distance.
Caribbean Reef Squid at night – this fella was interested in his reflection in my dome port, but I struggled to get him in sharp focus as he fluttered about. The image is flawed, as his eyes are out of focus, but the value for me is in the memory, as I loved meeting this fella. So I will just have to try again should the opportunity arise.
I am still experimenting with placement of lights, but I generally try to keep them at the 10:00 and 2:00 position, closer to my lens than I would for wide angle photography. Sometimes this is difficult to maintain, as coral formations may obstruct lighting in some cases. I have learned to accept that sometimes you have to “swim” away from a subject in search of a more ideal subject and setting.
Everything I have read about underwater macro photography, advised, “Get close to your subject. When you think you are close enough, get closer…” This proved to be a helpful tip for me as I photographed the face of a large Southern stingray at close range.

Many of these settings make taking photographs underwater easier such as special shutter speed and automatic focusing, along with advanced flash settings to give you more light down in the deep dark water. They typically have better zoom settings as well compared to 35mm film cameras whose zoom function typically came out blurry and washed out in photos taken underwater.
Digital underwater cameras make the entire underwater photography experience easier. Most digital cameras are even smaller and more lightweight making them easier to be hauled down into the water. If you are new to the world of underwater photography, using a digital camera will help you gain experience much faster by being able to see your photos immediately and work on fixing any problems that may be shown in them.
You will also gain a higher quality photo with a digital camera that can be blown up into larger photos. This feature can be especially useful for photographers looking to showcase their underwater photographing skills to the world.
In the end, it is really your choice whether you prefer a digital or a 35mm underwater camera however, digital cameras will make your experience much easier in the long run.
Selecting the most appropriate model underwater camera depends totally on the photographer’s needs. A buyer should consider their capability to make the actual demand for advanced controls for underwater imaging and also use of complex camera controls.
The buyer should also determine if such options as lens interchangeability, weight, video ability, and size are alternatives that are important when picking the underwater camera that is proper.
Underwater photography might be plenty of enjoyment for both experienced divers and vacationers. Remember to comprise components, some spare batteries, extra lenses and some additional memory cards with your new underwater camera to ensure you are able to shoot as many photos as you need, when you plan an underwater photography adventure.
The best underwater cameras are those with good physical designs as well as features. Apart from being water proof and airtight, the cameras must also produce images of very high quality. Since these cameras are mainly used below the water surface, they must be able to produce high definition pictures. It should have a variety of settings to adjust its optical as well as digital zoom, megapixels of very high resolutions and also settings to adjust its lighting.They should also be of small designs that are portable and easy to carry around. Lightweight digital cameras can fit into pockets or even small bags to be carried around. Unlike other digital cameras that are compact in design, waterproof cameras are a bit heavier.

If anything happens to these O rings, whether it be breakage, cracking or even a piece of sand on the ring, water will slowly seep into the camera. It is very important to check the O rings before every underwater use.
If you are using the camera in salt water, you must be sure to soak the camera in fresh water as soon as possible. The salt from the water can eat away at the seal on the camera and cause a leak. Once you have soaked the camera in fresh water, let it dry completely before opening the camera to change batteries or remove the memory card.
Use common sense when using your underwater camera and don’t do anything that can cause water to get inside of the camera such as opening it underwater or too soon after being in the water before it is completely dry.
Follow all of the care tips that come with the camera every time you use it. Some cameras may even come with their own cleaning brush. If you follow all of the maintenance and care steps, your underwater camera should last for years to come and give you the great underwater shots that you enjoy taking.
Capturing Underwater World with PhotographyPeople have always been fascinated with the oceans and the bays of the world as an unknown world. People who go diving wish to bring the underwater world visible to those who don’t dive. Bringing the underwater world home using digital underwater photography is growing every year.
There are many types of underwater cameras. There are the highly expensive professional cameras and then there are the one time slightly effective versions. But knowing which camera is needed when and where is extremely important.
The 35 mm cameras are just point and shoot cameras. If they were meant for underwater, chances are that they at least have a mild filter to correct the lack of filter. But these cameras do not filter the particles that are found floating along in the water on a poor visible day so these cameras must not be used any below than 80 feet. Moreover, losing pictures because the housing failed is something that no photographer wants.
The more professional cameras are larger and come with huge lenses to let light in as well as filters to help bring clarity in any photograph. Digital cameras are the best way to take underwater photographs because the photographer can make sure he has the desired effects before leaving the scene.
Most underwater cameras also have flash but it is wise to have some pre-requisite about underwater photography using flash before taking any pictures.

Before we send budding underwater photographers fleeing over the costs of putting together an underwater photography kit, we offer a couple of items that are free: used dryer sheets and heavy duty rubber bands. What to do with these comes later.
Assembling an underwater photography kit requires time, patience, research, and a review of finances and goals. Is the goal to capture memories of dives to share with family and friends? Is the goal to become a photographer who makes money with his photos? Goal number one should be a new photographer’s priority.
It takes years of practice and an artistic eye to become a commercial photographer along with a substantial financial investment. As with many endeavors, it is much better to start ‘small’ and work up and as skill levels increase, upgrade equipment.
The first item in the underwater photography kit is a camera. With the advent of digital cameras the choice of cameras has greatly expanded as has the price range. That said, not every digital camera can be used in a hard-shell housing so, when considering a camera, make sure there is a compatible housing.
What kind of camera? Here’s where finances come into play. There are many choices in the less expensive, non-DSLR (digital single lens reflex) category including compact digital cameras, bridge cameras – that are basically high-end compact cameras with a few features found in DSLR cameras yet without interchangeable lenses – and the newer MILC (mirror-less interchangeable lens cameras) which are smaller than DSLR cameras but without TTL (through the lens) technology found in DSLR cameras. Note: If selecting a non-DSLR camera choose one with built-in underwater photo settings as well as a macro setting.
The second category is the DSLRs with interchangeable lenses offering a much wider range of photo possibilities, fully manual as well as automatic functions, and larger sensors for much better performance in low-light situations. DSLRs with their TTL technology allow the photographer to see exactly what the lens is seeing because he is looking directly through the lens.
Once a camera is chosen, the next step is choosing the housing. First and foremost, it must be a housing designed specifically for the camera it will be protecting and it should allow access to all the camera’s functions. Hard-shell housings are made from a variety of materials including polycarbonates, PVC, and anodized aluminum. Some camera manufacturers carry brand specific housings and there are housing manufacturers that make housings for a variety of camera brands.

Please don’t forget to shoot around your underwater pictures when on a trip, as this will give you more options to tell and illustrate stories, and will raise your game to more photojournalistic levels.
If you’d like to join me on a photo trip then please check out my trips pages here.
They are for all comers and I really don’t care what type of camera you are shooting with I will do my best to show you how to get the best from whatever kit you’re using.

Pentax Optio WP review
I live in the US Virgin Islands and frequently snorkel. I bought the camera because it looked like a combination of features that would work for me.
With reasonable expectations on the part of the user, I would recommend it.
It is capable of good underwater photos if....
If you can get close to the object (it goes without saying that the water needs to be as clear as possible).
If the object is not moving or you get lucky.
If it is bright daylight.
If you can focus on the small screen held a foot or two from your face.
If you are not close, then image contrast is lowered by any particulate in the water, much like high altitude aerial photos. Strong processing can restore color and contrast, but like ANY strong processing, artifacts and noise will be present. I found that under reasonable water clarity conditions that around 2m (6 ft.) was a good maximum working distance for me.
I found it VERY hard to take pictures of swimming fish. The shutter delay is significant. That coupled with my difficulty in focusing at something a foot from me (see later note), I often ended up with a picture of the tail of a fish. So I would try to predict where the fish would be when the shutter tripped. Mixed success here.
It needs to be bright daylight for a number of reasons. Under real water conditions on the reefs here (even when it LOOKS pretty clear) if you use a flash it bounces back off of all the sediment and particulate in the water and generally unacceptably lowers the already low contrast. So I gave up using the flash. I think under some conditions, especially in a pool or in crystal clear water, it might be OK. Another reason for daylight, is that like most consumer cameras the image gets noisy when illumination drops. And if anything is moving, a slow shutter speed makes it even more difficult to get a good picture.
A problem that not everyone will have is focusing on the viewing screen. My eyes will NOT focus inside a meter (3 ft). If I get diopter lens inserts for the inside of my face mask I can solve this problem. So seeing a blurry screen made it harder to get pictures of moving things. I can see well enough that contrasty things that stayed put, like coral, came out OK. But coupled with the shutter delay, my eyes were a problem.

Filter photography has really come into it’s own with the advent of digital photography and the ability to white balance underwater. Although it has been used for a long time with digital video underwater, red filters and white balancing did not really become popular with still photographers until the early to mid 2000s. The use of a filter underwater allows the photographer to filter out some of the nasty blues and greens that dominate the colour spectrum deeper than 10 feet and bring back a warm colour balance along with a lot of contrast and typically a beautiful blue. Shooting with a Filter of any sort is actually quite easy, here are a few tips to get you started:
- Don’t Use Strobes – to get the most from a filter it’s best to use with natural light only
- Stay Shallow – as the shot will be illuminated with natural light, the best results are typically from 15 m (50ft) or shallower
- Keep the Sun Behind You – the key to illuminating the subject properly and getting the best colour is to have the sun helping
- Shoot Slightly Down- although this sounds like the opposite of what is drilled into new photographers (Shoot UP!) in natural light or filter photography shooting on a slightly downward angle helps
- Use manual white balance and re set it prior to shooting each new subject
- Concentrate on using a wide angle lens, this will provide the best potential for filters. Macro is best shot with strobes
That’s it! Now it’s just a case of getting your hands on some filters and a nice shallow dive site. Our friends over at Magic Filters provide the best and largest range of filters for underwater photographers so head on over to their website to have a look at their products.

Deeper waterproof camera on the way?
There is very little light at 40 feet, even less at 59. These waterproof cameras have tiny sensors and don't do very well in low light. To shoot at greater depths you will probably need an external flash and/or a larger sensor. I think you would be better off with a large sensor compact in an underwater housing.

Hi Micheley1101, I've modified your subject, I hope it makes more sense.
If you are shooting in an aquarium, then it'll normally be very dark. This means you'll need to use high ISO settings so that the camera can select sufficiently quick shutter speeds to freeze the action. Unfortunately the higher the ISO number, the worse the picture quality, but unless you can increase the light in the aquarium, you have no choice. Using flashes is not a good idea.
So I would put your camera into Normal mode, which lets you choose the ISO. Make sure the flash is also switched off. Try 400 ISO first, then if it it's still blurred, try 800, and so on. Of course you may find it's still too dark even at the highest ISO setting, in which case, forget taking photos and just enjoy looking at the fish!

Back in June, I had the opportunity to visit Lanzarote with my girlfriend. I wasn’t sure what to expect, having not been to the Canaries before, but I did some research and found out that the diving is supposed to be amongst the best in the North Atlantic. I therefore persuaded my girlfriend that it was time for her to learn to dive too – and promptly packed my cameras and gear for a good-old wildlife photography trip…
As you may have seen in some earlier entries on this site – underwater photography is a growing passion of mine, and one that I’m only beginning to get to grips with. It’s still something which it is possible to make your first inroads into without spending a fortune. Indeed, I picked up one camera at the airport, a Nikon Coolpix S33, for about £70. This little camera is officially waterproof to 10m, and in the clear waters of Lanzarote, seemed very capable. I can also say that mine kept the water out to at least 30m, but the pressure stops the buttons working beyond about 12 to 15m. It makes it ideal for snorkelling and beginner divers though.
Taking photos underwater often causes trouble with light, as there is nearly always a blue cast to images (which can be fixed on a computer fairly easily) – but you also want to try and catch the light the right way. Hopefully you will be able to get yourself into a position for the light to reflect off the fish or corals, or you can shoot up with the light behind your subject.
When going a little deeper, however, I had a Panasonic DMW-MCTZ35 Lumix Marine Waterproof Case for a TZ35. This was an excellent combination of a very effective dive house and compact superzoom camera with a specific underwater mode. The total cost is higher at around £300 or higher – but it’s still relatively cheap for a combination capable of diving to advanced diver depths.
If in Lanzarote, and you get the chance to visit the dive site called the Cathedral, it is well worth a look! Get right inside and shoot out towards the light to create a silhouette as your dive buddy swims across the mouth of the cavern.
I should put out an extra special mention for the fantastic team at Manta Diving, Lanzarote – who looked after us fantastically on our trip. Also – please don’t think the only things to take photos of are underwater!

By making sure that the water in the aquarium is clear before you start taking pictures, you can therefore save your self a lot of time and effort.
One way of lowering the amount of floating debris is to make a larger water change. Do not make this change right before the photo session, since a water change can disturb the substrate and temporarily make the water even more clouded. You can also carefully vacuum the substrate to remove debris. Just like a water change, vacuuming will disturb the debris and you must give the remaining debris time to settle before you start photographing. If you keep fish species that are very sensitive to rapid changes, a large water change can however be harmful. A series of smaller water changes is then recommended, and you should try to make the new water as similar to the aquarium water as possible when it comes to temperature, hardiness etcetera. Most fish species will however appreciate a bigger water change and can even start displaying stronger colours afterwards.
Floating debris might look bad on a picture, but it is seldom dangerous for your fish. Another type of poor water quality is high levels of soluble waste in the aquarium, and this type of poor water quality is much more hazardous to your fish. This type of bad water quality can be really harmful and even lethal. Even if the concentrations of soluble waste in your aquarium are not high enough to kill your fish or make them seriously ill, it can cause them to loose their colours. If you think that your fish look dull and listless, you should therefore check the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. By constantly keeping these levels as close to zero as possible, you can make your fish develop much more vibrant colours that will look stunning at your fish photographs. Taking great fish photos is really a long term project. A nutritious diet and a well decorated and stress-free aquarium environment that induces breeding can also greatly improve the coloration of your fish.
When you know that you have an aquarium with supreme water quality, the next step is to give the glass a good clean. You can of course remove the lid and take photographs from above, but most aquarists wish to be able to photograph their fish from the sides as well. This means that dirt and algae on the glass might show up on the photograph and a good scrub is therefore necessary. Keep in mind that a camera is very unforgiving and can make tiny spots and stains visible.

The most important adjustments to make for underwater photography are fixing the white balance and balancing skin tones – it usually takes some experimentation, but you can get great results by just using Lightroom.
My favorite techniques for this are to use the white balance eye dropper tool in the Basic panel to choose a color that should be close to neutral gray, then adjusting the hue and saturation of each individual color with in the HSL panel.
Then it is just a matter of tweaking the contrast and dynamic range. I usually start with the Dehaze slider, then drop the highlights, increase the shadows and make sure the blacks are black.
What’s Your Favorite Tip for Underwater Photos?
Do you have a great tip for underwater photography – leave a comment below and share it with the community!

In addition, it’s a pretty simple process to run your photo through a software program that can eliminate noise caused by high ISO.
Great…so we simply raise the ISO and we’re all ready for those sharks to show us their sharp pearly whites. Perhaps, but raising the ISO may not be enough given how dark some of these aquariums can be. So what other settings can we adjust to help us take better photos in low-light?
You may also recall from some of our previous discussions that shutter speed has a lot to do with the exposure of your photos and can help you take better photos in low light. This is true, however there is also a problem we must consider.
In order for the shutter to allow more light to hit your sensor you need to slow down your shutter speed. This will increase the exposure of your photo and make it brighter. Makes sense, but we also need to keep in mind the side-effect that slowing down the shutter speed has as well. When you shoot with a slower shutter speed the motion of your subjects tends to blur in a photo. As you can imagine this would not work very well when trying to shoot a fast moving fish. All you would get is a big blur streaking across your photo.
Those of you who own some photographic equipment might think that perhaps a tripod could help you out in this situation. It certainly does help keep a camera steady during long exposures using a slow shutter speed. However, we need to keep in mind that a tripod helps to eliminate camera shake caused by your hands, unfortunately, it does nothing to slow down a fast moving object such as a fish.
So in this instance you’ll be happy to know that you can leave your tripod at home and don’t have to lug it with you since it’s not going to help you get better photos at the aquarium. Plus it really wouldn’t be safe, people might trip on it, which is why a lot of public places won’t even let you use one. That, and it helps them sell more high-priced postcards.
Ok, so slowing down the shutter speed may not be the best option. However there’s still one more technique that we can employ.
We can use a larger aperture setting. By increasing the aperture, more light is allowed into the camera when taking a photo. Combined with raising your ISO this should go a long way to getting a nice photo of your friends from the sea.

Balanced Light Underwater Photography
Shooter's Toolbox Volume 3
Text and Photos by Todd Winner
In Volume 1 and 2 of Shooter's Toolbox we learned about taking images with ambient light and strobe light. Please review Volume 1 - Ambient Light and Volume 2 - strobe light if you have any questions in regards to metering for ambient light and strobe exposures. In this volume we will be putting the two together to create balanced light images. This is what the majority of my wide-angle images are, and it is a great technique to add to your macro images as well. The controls we have to work with are ISO, shutter speed, aperture, strobe power and distance from our subject.
Balanced Light Underwater Settings
For most images, I usually start out with a base ISO. Base ISO is 100 or 200 on most cameras. I then take a spot meter reading for a blue water exposure and set my aperture and shutter speed accordingly. With our strobes turned on this is going to limit our fastest shutter speed on most DSLR cameras at around 1/250 sec. Next I adjust my strobe power setting according to the f-stop and the distance I am from the subject.
After reviewing the image, you can fine-tune your exposure depending on what you see. If your water is not the shade you were trying to achieve, adjust your shutter speed up or down to make it darker or lighter. If your foreground subject is under or overexposed, adjust your strobe power up or down or move closer or further from your subject. If your overall exposure is too dark or light you can adjust your aperture and this will affect both your blue water background and your strobe exposure. As you can see it's a simple balancing act between the four controls and distance from our subject. If you are new or having difficulty with these types of images, just find a nice stationary subject and practice.
Getting a strong background
Some things you can try to improve your balanced light photography images are to look for structures or formations that will make strong and interesting silhouettes in your background. If none are available, adding a diver with a light is a nice alternative. If possible, separate your foreground subject from the reef by aiming at an upward angle and use wide-angle lenses to get close to your foreground subject.

The images and video you capture underwater will exhibit all the Canon quality you expect, with high resolution and vivid, natural color.
Can underwater camera take pictures?
If you want to take pictures underwater with your existing camera, choose between a hardshell protective case or a waterproof, sealable plastic pouch. You can shop online or at most electronic or photo stores. Both options work great for underwater photography.
Can you put a camera lens underwater?
Most wide-angle lenses are considered “rectilinear” lenses. Read more here about choosing a fisheye lens versus a regular wide-angle lens for underwater use. NIkon 10.5mm fisheye lens, and the tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens with a focus ring on it. Both are great underwater lenses.
Can I take my iPhone 12 Pro Max in the shower?
Can You Shower With Your iPhone? With an IP68 water-resistance rating, the iPhone is not protected against high pressure or temperatures, according to the International Electrotechnical Commission. So, Apple recommends that you do not swim, shower, bathe, or play water sports with an iPhone 12.
Are there any underwater cameras that are waterproof?
The APEMAN action camera comes with waterproof casing that is able to resist water sweeping till 30-meter. This action camera is ideal for water sports or scuba diving or even taking selfies at depth below. The camera comes with awesome kit with multiple accessories in it.
Is it worth investing in an underwater camera?
Having that said, you will find a lot of underwater cameras in the market and not all of them are worth investing. If you are a travel lover, then you should invest in one model that will serve you in every vocation.
Do you need a underwater camera for snorkeling?
If you’re staying on the surface, you don’t need an underwater camera rated to 30 meters or more. But you might like a camera that’s hardy and well suited for other activities. For snorkeling, we like the following cameras: Click the links above for full details on each of these cameras. What’s the Best Cheap Underwater Camera?
What should I look for in a scuba camera?
If you’re just shopping for a scuba camera and you’re an occasion diver, consider an option that doesn’t require an expensive housing. Have a think about what kind of zoom capabilities you need and whether a macro mode is a make or break option.

If you want to improve quickly, instruction, dedicated coaching and constant practice are the best remedies for only average ability (like most divers, I am only an average photographer). I do practice photography top side, because that provides frequent opportunities to grip the technical aspects. But my progress underwater stagnated and, to build on the jump-start that Martin had provided for me, I joined one of Alex Mustard’s week-long photographic workshops in the Cayman Islands at the beginning of this year. Many people reading this will also know Alex who, like Martin, is a thoughtful and highly competent instructor. I simply cannot overstate the value of such workshops and thought that it would be useful to capture the essence of this particular one, which led to the two images above.
Alex’s workshop was dedicated to close focus wide angle underwater photography. However, there were ample opportunities for macro photography as well. His workshop began with a dedicated pool session to fine tune the correct placement of strobes. Valuable early lectures improved student understanding of how to capture and control light underwater. Alex encourages photographers to master the technical side in order that they can then concentrate harder on memorable shots; there is nothing more distracting to artistic thinking than paying too much attention to technicalities whilst underwater. One of the most valuable aspects of the workshop for me was an evening image review session, at which Alex and other photographers constructively critique your images.
So, if like me you struggle to produce great images and have only limited time to invest underwater, consider taking some dedicated instruction. There are plenty of superb instructors out there. I am not setting out to advertise anyone in particular, and neither instructor mentioned here even knows that I have penned this article. Instead, I simply make the general point from my own experience that a modest investment at the start of your interest in underwater photography can pay handsomely in the satisfaction that you subsequently achieve from the quality of your images. Happy shooting to you all.
Paul Colley is a full-time director of a UK think tank, but takes every opportunity in his spare time to pursue a passion for diving and underwater photography. He hopes to take up underwater photography full time on retirement. You can see more of his work at mpcolley.com
Editors note: You can also see Paul Colley's work in our article on Saving Bluefin Tuna

Before my trip, I was anxious about my learning curve to create an image like this. I think that every photographer should try taking a picture outside of their comfort zone once in a while. I initially struggled with balancing an ambient light exposure with fill-flash from my powerful underwater strobes, but I overcame these limitations after my first few days of diving. Freeing myself from the technical aspects of underwater photography allowed me to focus on composition. Once I figured out where to look for soft corals on the side of boomies (underwater pinnacles), I was able to realize my creative vision. Clearly the focus of this image is the neon soft corals surrounded by tropical fish, but I added texture to an otherwise featureless blue background by angling my camera up towards the surface. The clouds in the sky above also added color. I find it interesting that clouds play an important role in underwater landscape photography just like they do above water. I created this image using my Canon 5DmkII and 17-40mm f4 lens with a +3 diopter in my Ikelite 5DmkII housing with dual DS160 strobes set to -3 power. This image required minimal processing using Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS5.

I have always enjoyed shooting macro photography ever since I purchased my first camera. Underwater Macro photography is challenging due to currents, buoyancy control and back-scatter in the water. Below are a few underwater images photographed using the Canon 70D with a Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8 USM macro lens. The Camera and lens are enclosed in an Ikelite underwater housing. I am currently using one Ikelite DS-160 strobe along with one Ikelite DS-200 underwater.
If you are living In Okinawa-Japan and would like to purchase any Ikelite product, I highly recommend Ikelite Military Sales. You can contact them directly on Facebook with the link below. I usually receive my orders within five to seven days. This is very fast shipping living overseas.
If you are having trouble with the initial set up of your underwater system and need assistance contact me.
Stay tuned for more underwater images with the Canon 70d.

Super Macro Underwater Photography - The Definitive Guide, Part 1
Part 1 – The Basics
by Keri Wilk
Being a part of designing and manufacturing underwater super macro optics for ReefNet, I’m frequently barraged with questions about super macro tools, and optics in general. Feeling like a broken record over the past few years, I’ve decided to compile a brief guide to the ins and outs of super macro photography. Along the way, I’ll do my best to explain some optical phenomena that are often misunderstood.
While this article pertains mainly to SLR/DSLR photography, most of the concepts and techniques are relevant and accurate for other recording media (video, point-and-shoot, medium format, etc.). During the majority of the 15 years that I’ve been shooting underwater photography, I have used Nikon camera bodies (preceded only by Nikonos III and Nikonos V), so I ask that you bear with my skew and omission of references to specific Canon, Olympus, and other brands and their associated gear. The information is relevant for all brands.
Now, you should be warned…I don’t (and will not) claim to be the foremost expert on any of the topics that I’ll be discussing. However, over the years I feel that I’ve gathered enough knowledge through studying optics, and good old trial-and-error, to make this guide useful to anyone looking to learn or refine an approach to super macro underwater photography.
Before discussing the various aspects of super macro photography, it’s important to distinguish it from other genres of photography. The fundamental concept of image magnification is also briefly discussed here, as it will be vital to an understanding of the majority of this guide. Each of the following definitions has been synopsized from various reputable scientific photography resources cited at the bottom of the page.
In photography, this refers to “transverse magnification”, which is determined by dividing the image height (on your film/sensor) by the object height, i.e. the height of the subject being photographed (width can also be used):
10.5mm of a ruler filling the frame of my Nikon D300 (sensor is 23.6mm x 15.8mm),
resulting in approximately 2.25X magnification. Image was taken with a Nikon
105mm lens plus a ReefNet SubSee Magnifier @ 1/320s, f/11, ISO 200.

Two things. One, remember saliva and saltwater are your two best ingredients in making a solution that prevents water droplets from sticking to your lens port. And two, remember your underwater housing is very buoyant and so if you plan on shooting below the surface then you likely to need a weight belt to keep you down.
Let's just say I have started to do some cold swim water training!

by Jill Smith
First time with my new macro lens in Bahamas this November! For me, preparing for this “macro trip” meant reading article after article on tips for underwater macro photography. The images online are stunning, and these pros make it sound easy. Now that I have completed my first trip attempting to implement their tips and techniques, I assure you, it is not. It is my humble opinion that underwater macro photography is the MOST DIFFICULT kind of photography that exists (Perhaps others know better, but I am skeptical). It’s like trying to take a photo of erratically moving subjects at night in a snowstorm while you are floating and unstable; this is a photography challenge on steroids.
I have to admit, mine is not the ideal set up. I am using a 90mm macro lens with a Sony A6000 mirrorless camera with Nauticam housing, which is great, but I am using my macro lens with a dome port. Why? I was too lazy and cheap to order the port that goes with my macro lens, and thought I would experiment and decide for myself if I really do need the proper macro port. After a week of using it this way, I am now considering (but still undecided) the flat port for my macro lens for three reasons:
Above: A Yellow-line Arrow crab catches one of the bloodworms that is swarming my video light and eats a late dinner.
The other equipment factor that affects my success, I think, is my lack of strobes. I am using two video lights mounted on arms, so I do have the ability to adjust lighting position, but it is next to impossible to sneak up on a fish with these bright lights shining in their eyes. Then again, I found them to be very beneficial on the night dives, when photographing coral banded shrimp, or yellowline arrow crabs, for example – they are attracted to the blood worms swimming around my video lights, and scramble out to catch them for dinner (win win!). The big advantage to having strobes versus video lights, is that if I set strobes for “through the lens” (TTL) metering, I can pre-set my aperture and shutter speed, allowing the strobes to adjust their output to accomplish proper exposure. There is an additional advantage to this, obviously, as constantly dialing in new f-stops and shutter speeds detracts from my reaction time to photo opportunities.

Michaela Skovranova is a world-renowned underwater photographer, filmmaker and Olympus Visionary whose work captures the beauty that exists beneath the water’s surface.
Ironically, Michaela began her journey into the realms of underwater photography in a bid to overcome her fear of the ocean; she moved to ocean-rimmed Australia from landlocked Slovakia when she was 13 years old.
Now, she is renowned for her breathtaking visuals of marine life and aquatic environments captured in her signature, hauntingly ethereal style. From projects on humpback whales to coral spawning, her work has been shared by brands such as Adobe and Instagram, and she has collaborated with the likes of Greenpeace, The New York Times and National Geographic to produce captivating underwater stories.
CameraPro was very lucky to have Michaela present a masterclass at one of our photography festivals.
Here’s what we learnt.
You don’t have to go very deep
Michaela says she doesn’t usually go deeper than 15 or 20 metres, and often her images are captured just below the water’s surface.
Get to know your equipment
“You don’t want to be wondering, ‘how do I change the settings?’ while a beautiful moment is unfolding in front of you – especially with the underwater camera housing, which can have lots of little buttons.”
To begin with, Michaela suggests using a fixed focal length, choosing the desired shutter speed and just changing the aperture or ISO as needed to keep it simple.
She says she doesn’t usually look through the viewfinder. “Instead I use the back screen, but sometimes the visibility is so poor that that option may not be available.” But being familiar with the settings of the camera and characteristics of the lenses allows her to capture the shot she was going for, even with limited visibility.
In low visibility, Michaela suggests pre-focusing and using a wide-angle lens – and again, really knowing your equipment.
Get comfortable in the water
“Keep practising. Even if you go to a local pool, a lake or a river – a place you are familiar with – it’s a great place to learn and get comfortable.”
“I took swimming lessons and completed a free-diving course in addition to my scuba dive training. This gave me the tools to hold my breath for longer. I’m a big advocate of safety and simplicity,” she says.

In order to capture 180º of what’s in front of the camera, the lens often has a curve that causes the edges of the photo to “bend.” This is known as a fisheye effect. Vivid-Pix Land & Sea SCUBA is able to reduce this affect as well as correct color. Note how the rock seawall on the bottom has been adjusted from curved to the actual straight structure.
Enter the Matrix
After our Grand Cayman adventure, we were faced with the task of figuring out how to present all of the information we had collected in a usable manner. We decided that a matrix was the most effective way. It begins with a comparison of the photos we shot with each camera. The photos will enlarge when you place your cursor over them. After the photos is a comparison list of the various camera specifications.
Our goal has been to provide as much information as we could to help consumers decide which camera or phone is best for vacation photos. But we are not going to express opinions as to which camera is “the best.” That is impossible. Every person has different needs, wants and budgets. Furthermore, every person sees photos differently. But we hope we have been helpful.
We both have been around cameras and water for a long time. As a result, we have seen cameras, trips and sometimes budgets affected when cameras were damaged by water. We suggest you recommend that your customer buy an underwater housing for his or her camera, even if it is advertised as being waterproof (or resistant).
Explain that the camera housing is a watertight container that the camera is placed in but that lets photographers manipulate camera controls to take photos. While a housing will add cost to the unit, it will also add value. Better to add a bit of cost than lose a trip’s worth of photo opportunities and memories due to a flooded camera.

Aquarium Photography Tips
By arungupta on Dec 24, 2006
General tips for aquarium photography
- NEVER use built-in flash. If possible, use external light from the top and/or the sides, but not from front of the tank. Otherwise use only tank lighting.
- Slow shutter speed or larger aperture (smaller depth-of-field), higher
ISO, and manual focus.
- Consider using smaller aperture (higher depth-of-field) so that fish movements can be captured.
- Use burst shooting when the fish is in the sweet spot.
- Use a tripod, especially for close up or macro photos (use the "Digital Vari-Program Macro", tulip on the left side command dial, mode).
- Place the camera perpendicular to the glass and subject.
- If taking picture of a fish, focus on a spot and wait for it swim into view.
- Take more than one picture so that you can select the best.
- Live plants, rocks, driftwood and gravel are the best backgrounds. Make sure you conceal any electric cords or air tubing away from sight.
If possible, follow the guidelines below
- Clean the aquarium glass from both inside and outside.
- Completely darken the room to help avoid reflections.
- It is always best to take pictures in the highest setting/best quality possible, if you have enough spare cards.
Here are some of the articles I read:
- Basics on Aquarium Photography
- Photo tips by Janet Brassard
- Techniques for Aquarium Photograph
- The Art of Aquarium Photography
- Rules of Aquarium photography

Scuba Diving & Photography…How Do I Get That Good shot?
Given all of the problems we talked about in the last chapter, how can we expect to take pictures that we can be proud of when scuba diving Key Largo? How can we overcome the loss of light and color?
There are two answers to this question. One is to take the best possible picture using the available light, and the other is to use a “flash”. Using a “flash” is generally referred to as using a strobe in underwater photography. This chapter will concentrate on using available light.
The last chapter listed the ways that light gets diffused underwater. So, if we don’t have or can’t use a strobe we need to avoid all of the things that led to the light reduction. In other words, we need to shoot on a bright day, when the seas are calm, around midday. Luckily, if you are engaged in Key largo scuba diving, these conditions occur fairly frequently. This turtle to the left was taken using only natural, or ambient light.
Another time when we can use natural light to our advantage is if we are photographing a very large subject.
A strobe cannot cover enough area to light these three sperm whales, so that a photograph taken with available light looks quite natural.
Scuba Diving wrecks provide another example of a large subject that looks good when taken in natural light. Sometimes, this natural lighting can be used to produce a black and white image that is quite dramatic, overcoming the lack of color at depth. This picture was taken while scuba diving the wreck of the Duane in the Key Largo National Marine Sanctuary.
In addition to pictures of big things, silhouettes can make an interesting subject for natural light photographs. This picture of Christ of The Abyss on Key Largo Dry Rocks was taken using only available light.
The Red Filter – A must for the Photographer While Scuba Diving
One thing to bear in mind in all these shots is that they obviously don’t work for vibrantly colored subjects. To take photographs of highly colored subjects, in addition to good light, we must have a shallow depth. There are however one or two tricks we can use to overcome color loss. The first is to use a red filter. This filter reduces that amount of light of all frequencies going into the camera except Red.

Typically this will be an underwater flashlight, not the spotting light from your strobe. Spotting lights are important as they will aid your eye, as well as your camera’s autofocus, in finding points of contrast to focus on. Having strong strobes is also a definite must. Due to the extreme magnification of using teleconverters, the amount of light reaching the camera’s sensor is limited; the equivalent apertures are in the f64 range and higher. Therefore a strong strobe, placed close to the subject, is required in order to “blast” enough light at the subject to expose it properly.
Trials and Tribulations
The first step to shooting a successful super macro photo is to find the proper subject. Due to the extremely shallow depth of field found at these magnifications, only certain subjects will work. Concentrate on looking for tiny subjects that are not very common: nudibranch rhinophores, fish eggs, eyeballs, and fish scales. It’s these eye-popping subjects that are so out of the ordinary that they can’t help but catch the eye of the viewer and leave them wondering “how did he/she do that?” However, you must be careful when shooting subjects at great magnification. The key is to keep the main parts of the subject on the same plane of focus. Even the slightest offset will cause a portion of the photo to blur.
There is nothing more important in super macro than keeping a steady hand and having endless patience. The rewards from achieving a full frame photo of a pygmy seahorse are wonderful, but don’t get discouraged when it takes 60 minutes to achieve. Even the slightest movement from these tiny fish will throw your focus out of whack. It’s best not to be trigger happy in these circumstances but to be patient and use small movements. The best strategy is actually to use the camera on manual or locked focus. By locking focus, the camera will not go into “hunting” mode; you can control what parts of the frame are in or out of focus by moving back and forth from the subject itself.
Shooting “super macro” is not for everyone. It’s not for the photographer who wants to see as many different things on one dive as possible, nor is it a great idea to bring with you on group dive trips.

Ever wonder how in the world people is taking those amazing photography of their reef tank and corals on those social media? Today, I am going to share some tips & tricks about taking photographs of your reef tank, which you can learn about easily. As part of this hobby, taking beautiful and nice corals of your tank and being able to share it with your friends via social media is rewarding, however, due to the camera setting or lighting, taking a nice macro shot might not seem easy after all, if you do not know what you are doing. It might not just about your photography skills, but also, understanding how lighting and your camera setting affect the output of your shot.
Taken with TG-4 without any filter or white balance
Although I might not be a professional photographer, however, through some personal experience and trial and error, here are some of some tips and trick that hopefully can help you take a better photograph of your tank the next time.
Underwater camera vs Camera phone
We do not need to compare the specifications between a latest iPhone 12 Pro and an Olympus TG Camera specification, but most importantly getting yourself familize with the function of your camera or phone setting that you can play around with especially the color temperature setting which will affect the oversea effect of your photograph .
Most of the time, reefer will find that the photo that they are taking using their phone is either too blue or out of balanced, this is mostly due to the LED lighting which makes up of most of the aquarium lighting nowadays.
Complementary color wheel
So in order to solve this problem, you can either set/adjust your white/ balance or color temperature of your camera setting to warmer color to compensate the ” Blue” effect. Or else, thanks to the product available in the market, you can easily purchase a coral lens which usually makes up of a few color lens which will absorb its complementary color of the blue effect making it look nicer. This will allow you to capture the colors of the coral more accurately, try play around with the filter lens that come with it and you might get some amazing color of your corals that you didn’t know it exists.
Coral taken without camera lens on a Iphone 12
Currently, there are many company brands that produce these types of camera lens, be sure to find one that fits your phone model. This small and simple gadget will make it convenient for you to take better photos on the go.

Master Guide for Underwater Digital PhotographyBook - 2005
From camera selection to enhanced exposure, everything necessary to capture underwater digital images is available in this handy reference. Photographers will learn how to select, test, and use digital cameras for technically perfect images, adapt traditional photo techniques to underwater conditions, confidently shoot and light underwater images for great exposure, and remedy common problems that plague underwater photographers. Helpful hints on maintaining, cleaning, transporting, and insuring a digital camera are included. With full-color images that both instruct and inspire, this handbook provides information on every conceivable aspect of creating the right conditions for beautiful underwater photographs.
Publisher: Buffalo : Amherst Media, c2005
Characteristics: 126 p. : col. ill
Alternative Title: Underwater digital photography

Capturing an image of a fast moving fish requires a flash period, however, most camera mounted flashes will blow your brightness out of the water (so to speak).
— D. Wade Lehmann (aka ‘wade’)
My best advice is to take LOTS of pics. Have a lot of space on your card and be patient and just keep clicking away. This is especially important when trying to take pics of fish. Often I will take 20 pictures of a single fish before I get the one that I really want. And often the one that you think was good turns out to have some distracting plumbing output or something when you go to process it so you need to have several that you are happy with before you even start processing them.
Speaking of processing it, that is an important aspect. Use a good photo software to resize and do other minor touch ups. No one wants to see you post a 2,560×1,980 pixel image on a bulletin board. I use adobe photoshop and use the auto-adjust feature on 90% of my pics. Also once you resize you need to do an unsharp mask on it.
— Nathan Paden (aka ‘npaden’)
- Use Crop. Zoom out a little for better focus/faster shutter … and crop the final image down before resizing it down to screen size.
- Use a tripod. Turn off the room lights, close curtains if back-lit.
- Consider shutting off pumps temporarily, to shoot macro of corals without flow-related blurring.
- Shoot straight on, especially when close, to avoid distortion off the glass.
If you are running windows xp you can get a really cool powertoy called “image resizer”: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx . It is a small program, easy to use and you can resize multiple pics all at once. just pick on all your pics you want resized then right click and pick the size you would like them all to be.

Look at a camera that could make RAW files if you would like in order to edit your images in an innovative photo editing application.
These are uncompressed files that keep lots of data, which is essential when editing pictures. A camera that creates JPEG pictures is going to be the greatest underwater camera for your requirements in the event you don’t plan on editing your pictures.
Lots of the best underwater cameras have a routine way to shoot still images and a video mode to shoot short films. You may have to make a decision as to what video quality you desire if you’d like a camera with video capabilities. When you purchase an underwater camera with video alternatives, your alternatives will probably be high definition on DSLR cameras, and low quality or normal high definition on compact cameras.
camera caseAn underwater camera is an investment that should be looked after. Due to this, a great-quality camera case that can protect the camera when not in use is essential.
When searching to find the best underwater camera case, look for one that’s rustproof, pest proof and resistant to fuel, solvents and oils. A top underwater camera case also needs to be immune to ultra-violet light and have a high-density foam to supply optimum camera protection.
Consider accessoriesAlthough accessories might seem elective, in underwater photography, many can allow it to be a lot easier to shoot pictures that are amazing. Focus lights, wet lenses, strobe arms and carry cases are a couple of things that may assist you with your underwater photography.
Remember to buy one that’s compatible with any accessories that you believe you may want to use when you’re seeking the perfect underwater camera.
Which Type Should You Buy?
Underwater photography can be very fun and interesting. Not everyday people go snorkeling or deep water diving. Since standard cameras cannot be used to capture pictures under the water, underwater cameras were invented.
The launch of digital underwater cameras has opened bigger possibilities for this field. These have a great defensive device to protect the camera from the water and other potential damages. There are different types of underwater cameras and their prices are just close to a standard camera.
The plain disposable underwater cameras are believed to be the most affordable. Even when fully submerged they can give good quality pictures. Because of being waterproof, these cameras can be used during heavy rains and snow storms along with using them underwater. They can capture a minimum of 10 pictures and a maximum of 30.
The cheap re-loadable is another kind of underwater camera.

For macro images, since we are so close to our subjects, you need to use strobes that you can power way down so you don't over expose the foreground.
The real payoff is that once you can balance between a couple of light sources, you are ready for just about any shooting situation. Take split images for instance: I typically take an ambient light reading for the topside exposure and adjust my strobe power based on the f-stop and distance from the underwater subject. I use this technique a lot in topside shooting as well when I want to add a bit of fill light to a subject and it works great when lighting a subject against a sunset background.
Balanced light wide-angle images have always been my favorite style of photography. Although it may sound a lot to remember, especially to new photographers, just remember there are only five items to think about: ISO, shutter speed, aperture, strobe power and distance from our subject. If you keep your ISO at base ISO, now you have only 4 things to think about. Of course we still need to compose a pleasing image, but at least now you will be ready to expose it correctly when you find it.
For the reef squid image from Bonaire, I exposed for the light blue water near the surface and set my strobes at ¼ power to expose for the reef squid, which was just inches from my port. 1/60th sec at f/11, ISO 200, Nikon 10.5mm fisheye lens
For the jelly and Odyssey split shot from Truk Lagoon, I had my strobes at the lowest power setting 1/8th. In order to keep from overexposing the jelly, I set my f-stop to f/10 and opened my shutter to 1/60th sec to expose the topside portion of the image. 1/60th sec at f/10, ISO 100, 10mm lens
For the oceanic white-tip from a Bahamas shark dive, I metered on the blue water and underexposed it by a couple of stops to get that nice dark blue. This still allowed me to capture the divers in silhouette and a shutter speed of 1/60th sec captured the light rays off the surface. 1/60th sec at f/8, ISO 100, 10mm
Eureka Oil Rig, California.

A Guide to Producing the Clearest and Best Photographs
A lot of people see a gorgeous photograph and wonder if they would be able to create the same kind of image with their own camera using what they see in their every day life. There are a lot of suggestions and tips that are out there that can help you recreate any of your favorite images. Here are a few of them!
If you are taking pictures in the sun during the spring or summer, make sure to turn the flash on. Failing to put the flash on your camera can result in a bad glare, which can taint your photos. Once you turn the flash on, you can take pictures as you usually would.
Keep your pictures relatively simple. A good image should be easy and straightforward to interpret and appreciate. It is important to take meaningful pictures, but in most cases your pictures will say more if you focus on a detail rather than put together a complex composition that might not strike people as much.
In order to produce the clearest and best photographs, you should use a tripod. A tripod allows you to stabilize the camera, so that your photos are in better focus. This is especially important if you are using a high-zoom lens or shooting at night, since small changes in the camera’s position will result in major blurring.
It is a good idea to experiment with the different features your camera has and also with many colors and angles. A good picture isn’t all about the subject, it’s also about the artistic way it is portrayed. A good photographer infuses his talent and intuition into his photos to make boring objects look interesting. Experiment with different techniques to develop your own style.
Always pack your photography equipment with great care. Take all different kinds of lenses, and make sure you take cleaning accessories and enough batteries. But don’t pack too much here. Only take the equipment that you will need. Anything else runs the risk of getting lost or damaged.
Try getting closer to the subject that you are trying to photograph. Nothing is as bad as taking a photograph of something that is not close enough to see well. By getting close, you afford your viewers a clear, detailed view of your subject.
Take the time to improve the sharpness of your shots by adding a key piece of photographic equipment to your arsenal. This would be a tripod.

For more winning photos and prizes visit the Digital Shootout website at www.thedigitalshootout.com
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Shooting in Bright Sun
Why brighter isn't always better
The best pictures have rich, saturated colors, but in dazzling sunlight, many colors tend to glare brightly.
To compensate, underexpose by one-third or two-thirds of an F-stop. Bracketing with these two exposures will reveal what works best for a particular camera.
When trying to shoot objects under the water, especially very clear water like that in the Keys, the use of a polarizing filter will help "see through" the surface glare.
The glare on the water is like light reflected on a mirror. Depending on the angle of the light, it may not be possible to avoid the reflection. A polarizing filter is the only way to work around it. A porpoise or manatee, for example, becomes much more visible when the surface glare is reduced.
Or, why we love digital cameras so much!
What Sizes Work Best?
Gear from Rain & Humidity
Good Sunset Silhouettes

Also make sure that your equipment is completely dry before packing it in your camera bag or kit.
6. And finally have fun with your camera, you have to explore that new world that is eagerly waiting for you and your camera.
That’s it. do tell us, if you have ever done underwater photography before did you find any problems? Was it enjoyable? And which camera do you use?

As close as a few inches away. It will take a while to be able to anticipate what the lens will do to this perspective, but this will come.
The beautiful soft corals in the foreground are very close to the front of the dome port- almost touching. The foreground is lit by TTL strobe exposure. The diver is too far away and becomes silhouetted in the background.
Keep your strobes behind the plane of the dome port.
Otherwise you may find two strobes peeking out of the edges of your photos once you transfer them to the computer.
Turn your strobes off sometimes.
If you are not close to an object (e.g. close focus wide angle) then turn your strobes off or away and shoot natural light.
Natural light photography is a great option when there's no subject to feature in the foreground.
Shoot at an upward angle.
This adds depth and perspective to your photos. You may even try shooting straight up to capture a cool effect called Snell's Window.
This is not a circular fisheye, it's a phenomenon called Snell's Window. It's a property of light that occurs when you shoot a super wide lens straight up towards the surface of the water.
Comparing Popular Wide Angle Lenses
|Minimum Focus Distance
|Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L USM
|0.15 m (5.91")
|540 g (1.19 lb)
|Nikon AF-S 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED
|0.16 m (6.3")
|485 g (1.07 lb)
|83 mm (3.27")
|Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM
|0.24 m (9.45")
|555 g (1.22 lb)
|106 mm (4.16")
|Nikon AF DX 10.5mm f/2.8G ED
|0.14 m (5.51")
|300 g (0.66 lb)
|63 mm (2.46")
|Tokina AT-X 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 DX
|0.14 m (5.51")
|350 g (0.77 lb)
|71 mm (2.8")
|Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
|0.

Who doesn’t want to learn how to obtain sharper, clearer photographs with their DSLR or Mirrorless camera? It’s truly the most commonly addressed topic when it comes to learning photography. You invested in a better camera because you want better images, so why aren’t those images coming more easily?
Let’s review 4 changes you can implement RIGHT NOW to achieve sharper photographs.
Your Focus Settings — Single-Point AF
Camera manufacturers pride themselves on their cameras’ ability to focus automatically and accurately. When you take a photo, by default your camera is going to decide what to focus on. You’ll see this happening by pressing your shutter halfway down and seeing a variety of dots light up, usually right over someone’s face or an object that stands apart from the rest. This is referred to as Automatic Point Selection (auto-area AF), and we want to change this setting to Single Point Selection (single-point AF). Because this setting varies on every single camera I’ve seen, you’ll want to check your manual or google “change single point focus [insert camera model]” for instructions. I promise that the results are worth the effort!
Pro Tip: Single-Point Selection will only work in the Creative Modes (P, S/Tv, A/Av and Manual) so be sure to switch your camera mode (the dial on top of your camera body) before trying to change this setting!
Check Your Shutter Speed
Shutter Speed is more than just capturing motion. We already know that we need a fast (1/400 or faster) shutter speed to capture a kids soccer game and that 1/200 works well for everyday use.
When we’re allowing our camera to choose settings for us (either in Auto or in some of the Creative Modes), it will often choose a shutter speed that is so slow that the image looks out of focus, when the blurriness is in fact camera shake. Camera shake happens when the shutter speed is so slow that our own movements are caught on camera, creating a blurry photograph.
Pro Tip: To avoid camera shake, always make sure your shutter speed is AT LEAST 1/60 and preferably 1/125. If you’re shooting in P or A/Av and you can’t get the shutter into this range, try increasing your ISO.
Clean Your Lens!
When someone tells me that they’re not getting crisp photos, the first thing I check (or ask them to check) is how clean the lens is.

This originally appeared in Scuba Diver Australasia Magazine as a part of the “In Focus” photography column.
There comes a time in every photographers career for a new challenge, you will know when you are ready for this when taking the same style of shots over and over again becomes static and uninteresting. Fortunately for underwater photographers, there are many challenges available without having to break the bank. One of the biggest, and certainly most rewarding, is the world of “super macro” photography. Super macro is when we shoot something at greater than a 1:1 ratio. However, it’s not easy to shoot such small subjects; special equipment, a steady hand, and a great deal of patience are all required when shooting the smallest of the small.
There are several ways of creating a system that can take super macro photographs, and it’s not only DSLR shooters who can shoot these photographs, compact camera users can as well.
Dioptres- dioptres are a small lens element that screws onto the front of your existing lens and allows you to focus much closer than your regular lens, enabling you to fill more of the frame with your subject. These are available in two basic formats. The most popular is the wet-mount dioptre that fits onto both compact cameras and DSLRs. One advantage of the compact camera in this regard is the ability to stack two or even three of these lenses together in order to focus on the tiniest of underwater inhabitants. The second dioptre option is an internal one that fits onto the lens itself before putting the camera into the housing. Obviously this will limit your shot selection on a given dive as you will not be able to take it off underwater. The second negative of this system is that your “long focus” is limited to a short distance, often not much longer than two feet; this is bad when you want to shoot subjects a little further away. Also, be aware of which brand of dioptre you buy; cheap, single element lenses will create distortion around the edges and ruin an otherwise beautiful photo. It’s better to spend a little more in order to purchase a double element lens, this will produce sharper images..
The dioptre system works well on a variety of subjects that are easily approachable. Many inhabitants of the reef will allow photographers to approach within centimetres. It’s these creatures that you should be seeking when shooting with a dioptre.

Even though waterproof cameras are heavier, they got other great features to complement this. They are resistant to shock, dust, extreme temperatures and of course water. This makes them very versatile to be used in different environments under different conditions.
Since your vacation will entail a lot of traveling, the camera should come with a lithium-ion battery. These batteries are known to have a long life thus it will be long before you need to recharge the batteries.And since the batteries are rechargeable, you do not need to worry when your camera goes off. The waterproof camera should also come with an internal memory of high capacity to store your photos before you can transfer them to your computer or any other external storage device.
The camera should also be bought from a reputable company that offers warranties to fix the camera in case it malfunctions as some break downs are inevitable. Whatever your application for the best underwater camera you seek, be sure that it is worth investing in.
Investing in an underwater camera is a perfect idea when planning for a trip to some tropical locale or even Caribbean. Underwater digital cameras are perfect for capturing adventures like scuba diving and snorkeling.
Buying the perfect underwater camera for your needs requires the user to ensure that the camera can perform as he wants it to. Not all underwater cameras are created equally so reading about various underwater cameras and their reviews and then paying attention to the reviews that pertain to the activities the user is going to engage in helps make a wise decision while buying an underwater digital camera.
Many underwater cameras come with an LCD screen that allows the photographer to see what exactly he is shooting and how the picture is going to turn out before he actually pushes the button.
After having managed to buy a good underwater digital camera it is necessary to have some basic know-how about filming underwater.
Lighting for the perfect shot, when shooting underwater requires knowledge about the natural light or strobe effects underwater. When at lesser depths than 20 feet and in clear waters it is often best to use the ambient sunlight while an off camera strobe can be most useful under less clear water reducing glare and bluing of the image.
Color contrast determines how true to life the photo comes to the underwater world. To offset problems like muted blue scenes or red-orange tinted disasters, it is better to use off camera strobes rather than flash. Every foot of distance underwater equals 2 feet of bluing effect.
It’s also important to know that wide angle lenses are best for underwater filming because water magnifies images.

selection of useful tidbits of information and tricks for the marine aquarist submitted by Advanced Aquarist’s readership. Readers are encouraged to post their tips to our Hot Tips sticky in the Reefs.org General Reefkeeping Discussion forum or send them to email@example.com for possible publication. Next month’s Hot Tip theme will be “Getting Rid of your Excess Coral Frags“. Some people are new at getting rid of their excess coral growth and it would benefit them to find out how to work out deals with their LFS, etc.
Aquarium Photography Tips
- Make sure you have a good macro lense if you are shooting for little critters. Sometime I need to get closer than one inch to get a good pic.
- Watch for the flash’s reflection on the front glass if you use one. I can ruin your pic.
- Try to shoot straight instead of at an angle. The acrylic and glass will give noticeable chromatic abrasion (blue and red outline around a white object, for example) if you don’t look straight.
- Use a tripod if you have long exposure time, a remote shutter release will help even more.
- White balance can make a big difference if you can’t get good color representation. Flash can give everything a yellowish look since more flash are around 4000K.
- It make a good portion of an evening if you are photographing a fish. They are more difficult to pose than 4 toddlers who love to cry.
- Keep a camera handy for that once-in-a-life-time shot! Ooops, dead batteries.
- The best time to take pic can be when everyone is sleeping…. when the light is off, and your reef make take on a very different look.
— Reef Box Etc
If you aren’t using a tripod, try to take a shot with timer mode. My Canon SD 300 has a 2 second timer option, so it doesn’t take a picture for 2 seconds until after I depress the shutter button. It’s a lot easier to hold a camera still when you aren’t pushing down on a button.
- Clean your glass/acrylic both inside and out before taking your shots.
- Turn off your pumps before taking your shots – it well prevent your subject from getting blown around and it will help stop any particulate matter from floating in front of your lens.
Using an external flash for pictures of fish is a very useful thing.

The point is that if water gets inside the dome port (even a few drops), then this plastic dome will fog up. And you can’t take pictures with that. You have to prevent this. For example, you can buy these anti-fog inserts for just a few dollars here. Don’t worry – they can be used several times. Just put two of these inserts on the sides of the action camera, close the dome port and that’s it. Don’t underestimate it and get it!
I guess now you have a pretty good idea of what it is like to take pictures with the dome port. It is a challenge. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to take pictures of yourself. The big advantage is when two people participate in the photo shoot. One makes a model (—> diving for example) and the other takes pictures. It is also good to remember that you have to be very close to the subject / person you are shooting because you will be taking pictures at wide angle. It is also wise to set everything on the camera beforehand, because once you put it inside the dome port and swim in the water, it will be difficult to change the settings 🙂
Should I use Red filter?
You may know that a red filter is often used for underwater photography to correct colors. In my experience, however, not very beneficial in the case of taking pictures with the dome port. Let’s not forget that only about half of the photo will be under water. And while adding a red through the filter adds vividness to an underwater photo, it may not work well with the other part of the photo above the water. Plus, you can change colors and temperature later in the post process through Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. The result will be virtually the same if you are shooting to RAW.
What type of dome port do I use?
I use Telesin dome port. You can get it for about 44 Euro (including accessories such as trigger, floating handle…). It is compatible with cameras GoPro 5 and later (I use GoPro 2018). There are many more similar ports on the market, but I chose this because of the many positive reviews and good price / performance ratio. It didn’t disappoint me.
I would like to point out that I am a beginner when it comes to taking pictures with a dome port.

I've been diving for a few years, 52 dives mostly in Vancouver and Maui. I've been diving with my gopro hero 3 (no tray or lighting), and have some fantastic footage of big stuff like turtles, eels, octopus, etc. on good visibility days. I've gotten pretty good night-dive footage as well holding a dive light in flood mode with one hand, and the gopro in another. I have an Olympus TG-2, but I don't have a housing, so haven't brought it out diving.
However, my favourite things to see underwater are nudibranchs, and I haven't been able to get any decent footage with my current setup. I was lucky enough to see harlequin shrimp a few weeks ago (diving in Maui with Mike Severns) and my gopro footage was blurry - that's when I decided I want to get into underwater photography and focus on taking pictures of small stuff underwater.
Above ground, I love taking photos but I've never ventured beyond a point-and-shoot, and nowadays I take all my pics with my iPhone. So I'm thinking I should start simple with underwater gear, and then gradually upgrade equipment as my skills improve over the years.
I've been doing some research, and to get better shots of small stuff it seems I have 3 options for shooting small stuff:
1) Get a housing for my Olympus TG-2 (seems hard to find cause it's an older model). Start out using the built-in flash, and then look to add a strobe with a tray / arm as the next step.
2) Get a macro lens for my GoPro Hero 3. Is there much difference between a video light and a good dive light? I suppose I'd want to get a tray and arm for the light to make filming easier.
3) Buy a new camera and housing. Maybe mirrorless? Start out using the built-in flash, and then look to add a strobe with a tray / arm as a next step.
I'm leaning towards #3, I know that this is something I'm going to want to keep doing and improving, so might as well get off to a good start.
Any thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated!

Wrecks, Silhouettes, Close-focus WA Compositions
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The most dramatic way to communicate to the air-breathing world your close encounters with charismatic megafauna such as sharks is to photograph them. But what kind of underwater camera should you use?
Norbert Wu, a renowned nature photographer and the author of How to Photograph Underwater (Stackpole, 1994), suggests opting for an automatic, point-and-shoot camera. You don't want to be futzing with the focus when you're worrying about the sharks.
Check out one of the automatic 35-mm cameras manufactured by Sea&Sea, such as the MX-10. Made from a durable, impact-resistant polymer, this model comes with a built-in flash, three lenses (wide-angle, close-up, and macro-), all attachable underwater, and the capacity to add strobes and filters. The MX-10 works at depths of up to 150 feet. As for film, Wu says that 100 ASA color-print film is far more forgiving than slide film.
Coordinates: $413 for the MX-10. Sea&Sea Underwater Photography USA, 760-929-1909; www.sea-sea.infotopia.or.jp

This was the year I switched from my trusted Canon G16 compact camera (with wetlenses) to a mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5 II (with ‘actual’ lenses). Throwing money at things is not necessarily a guarantee for improvement, but it definitely helps! The shot above (from this post) was commended at the 2019 Falmouth Underwater Film Festival. This was made using the few times I went out with the mzuiko fisheye lens and is shot using natural light. (For some more natural light wide angle shots taken snorkelling on the north coast see this post.) I mostly used the mzuiko 60mm macrolens in combination with my strobe. The weather at the start of the year was so foul I initially used it abovewater during rockpooling. The shot below of a Flat periwinkle is quite simple but one of my favourites ‘topside’, together with the shot of the two Shore crabs: Below are some favourite underwater macro shots (the best pics I also post on instagram). Macrophotography I find easier, as the camera settings remain quite invariable (small aperture with a short shutterspeed because of the flash) and the composition is often (but definitely not always!) simpler compared to shots of say an entire rockpool. First some taken snorkeling in rockpools. The first is a Chink shell on Bushy rainbow wrack. The iridescent nature of the seaweeds means it is bright blue or purple viewed from one direction, but a dull brown from the other. If you get it right, it makes a very striking background and it is definitely a subject I want to explore more. After that, detail of the tip of a Spiny starfish, a European cowrie and a pill isopod. Below some macroshots taken while (shore)diving off Silver Steps in Falmouth. A Blackfaced blenny, a Leopardspotted goby and a Devonshire cupcoral. Many more photos of course if you scroll down. I have now also invested in a new strobe and new strobe arms. Having two strobes will allow me to take wide angle photos without depending on (dim) natural light, for instance whilst diving. My second strobe is manual so I can ramp up the strobe power if needed for macro too.

I find it amazing how photos that were completely out of reach for most, are now becoming available as cameras are getting better, smaller, cheaper and more capable. Take this underwater shoot by Czech photographer Pavel Schlemmer with nothing more than a Fujifilm X-E2 and a Aquapac 451 housing. Basically a small camera in a nylon bag. results are amazing.
As a photographers, we get that unique opportunities to see things from a different perspective, so when I got a call “If I’m interested in shooting a report from a synchronized swimming event” I immediately knew, I need to see it & shoot it from underwater.
Only problem was that I’ve had zero practical experience shooting underwater and only one theoretical, which was this cool CJ video.
The camera: Usually my primary camera is a great little Fuji X100, but I was worried that for this underwater occasion it would not be focusing well & quick enough, so I decided to go with a new Fuji X-E2 with an 18-55/2.8-4 stabilized lens. I haven’t found any real-life underwater test of this camera which only boosted my curiosity on how it’ll perform in my inexperienced hands.
The underwater housing: The Aquapac 451 was the only pack with just-the-right size for both the X100 and the X-E2 (and probably any mirrorless camera on the market right now) I could get my hands on in Czech Republic. I’ve paid 70$ for which it almost felt too good to be true and really waterproof since it looks like a effing hardcore camera raincoat (..which it basically is)
The lighting: My original plan was to put some strobes outside the water and trigger them via my Elinchrom Skyport triggers from underwater but unfortunately, the world doesn’t go like that and it’s impossible to easily trigger the lights underwater with radio signal. I have to depend on the ambient light & high ISO. Oops.
How it all works in action:
The housing luckily really is waterproof and It worked like a charm with an great XE-2. It flows in the water, which doesn’t sound like much, but paired with a bundled carrying strap it’s kinda sweet feature and you have one thing less to worry about in the field.

Most underwater photographers are concerned
to protect the environment in which they take their pictures and to avoid
stressing marine creatures when they are taking their images. This is
good for the marine environment and leads to better photographs.
This Code sets out good practices for anyone
who aspires to take pictures or video underwater. Many aspects are also
applicable to the general sports diver.
· No-one should attempt to take pictures underwater until they are a competent
diver. Novices thrashing about with their hands and fins while conscious
only of the image in their viewfinder can do untold damage.
· Every diver, including photographers, should ensure that gauges, octopus
regulators, torches and other equipment are secured so they do not trail
over reefs or cause other damage.
· Underwater photographers should possess superior precision buoyancy
control skills to avoid damaging the fragile marine environment and its
creatures. Even experienced divers and those modelling for photographers
should ensure that careless or excessively vigorous fin strokes and arm
movements do not damage coral or smother it in clouds of sand. A finger
placed carefully on a bare patch of rock can do much to replace other,
more damaging movement.
· Photographers should carefully explore the area in which they are diving
and find subjects that are
accessible without damage to them or other organisms.
· Care should be taken to avoid stressing a subject. Some fish are clearly
unhappy when a camera
invades their "personal space" or when pictures are taken using flash
or lights. Others are unconcerned. They make the best subjects.
· Divers and photographers should never kill marine life to attract other
types to them or to create a
photographic opportunity, such as feeding sea urchins to wrasse. Creatures
should never be handled or irritated to create a reaction and sedentary
ones should never be placed on an alien background, which may result in
them being killed.
· Queuing to photograph a rare subject, such as a seahorse, should be
avoided because of the harm
repeated bursts of bright light may do to their eyesight. For the same
reason, the number of shots of an individual subject should be kept to
· Clown fish and other territorial animals are popular subjects but some
become highly stressed when a photographer moves in to take a picture.

I took these while snorkeling in Cozumel. The deep ones were taken in the Chankanaab national park, the shallow ones a few feet from the hotel beach. I was really exited about making some underwater shooting but I couldn't afford an underwater case for my camera or other alternatives, so I went for the cheap one: disposable! So no focusing, all settings fixed, tiny viewfinder, ISO 800 film and no flash. (I couldn't get my hands on a disposable underwater with flash) These are scans from the prints. Since the quality is so low, I posted them here. So: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. It was fun, though!

So, these are Top 5 tips for using GoPro underwater. Read quick tips given below to know more about the question, ‘Can you use GoPro underwater?’
Correct Color filters
To avoid all green or all blue images, you need the correction of filters. As GoPro cameras are known to be the no-brainer for capturing wide-angle, stunning, and HD footage in lighting conditions, using the red filters, especially for GoPro Hero3, is better. So, it’s an accessory you need to attach based upon your dive plan. It will also help in capturing the lively footage at all depths of the ocean or river.
While you are preparing the camera, its gear, and settings, take time to download the latest GoPro app on your mobile device. With lots of upgraded functions, the app further helps to renew the firmware. It will connect you with the latest features and ensure the performance of a GoPro camera at its best potential.
Take a selfie stick or camera rig with an unsteady action camera like GoPro. As the best GoPro underwater video tips, mounting the camera on the head or chest may not be ideal if the journey is going to be very unstable. A simple selfie stick may prove to be suitable if you are tight on budget or want to adjust with the equipment you already have.
Clean the lens
A minute before you close the camera or go on shooting, make sure the glass is free of any dust or fingerprints. So, do check both the lens, including the Housing lens from inside as well as outside of the camera.
Clean the gasket
Clean the white rubber gasket and make sure that it is free from any debris. Along with damage to equipment, this debris will cause the gasket to get a leak. Make backdoor ultimately pushed within the Housing to have a good seal before clamping that black latch.
Always shoot with the sun on your back. It’s pretty hard to get a winning shot while shooting into directly into the sun underwater. If that is the case, the image will usually come out to be dark and unexposed unless you are using flashlights or video lights.
Use Dome Port for split images
For shooting incredible half above the surface and half underwater images (split images), a dome port is essential. To avoid getting droplets, make sure to rub some saliva to repel the drops off the port.

Norbert Wu reclined on the Antarctic Ocean floor beside anemones and bush sponges and shot his dive partner hovering just beneath the ceiling of summer sea ice. To photograph Antarctica's benthic community over a two-month period, the divers drilled an entry hole through ten feet of ice, then capped the opening with a Styrofoam cover to prevent it from freezing shut.
Wu used a 24mmlens and 100-speed film, and exposed the frame at f/16 for 1/125 second.
Christopher Ross wore a nonbubbling, military-issue rebreather so he wouldn't spook the hammerheads schooling off Cocos Island, Costa Rica. He dove 110 feet and positioned himself atop a rock pinnacle, where the local sharks gather to have their skins nibbled clean by wrassesa symbiotic arrangement that frees the sharks from irritating parasites and provides the fish with protein. "The hammerheads look ominous, with eyeballs on the sides of their heads," says the Atlanta-based photographer, who specializes in monochromatic underwater images. "But they're really not aggressive at all."
Ross used a 20mm lens and exposed 50-speed black-and-white film for 1/60 second at f/16.
Patricia Sener knew exactly what image she was looking for when she traveled to Bonaire last November to photograph the first annual Deep Blue 5k Swim. After taking a crash course in scuba diving the day before the race, Sener dove ten feet down to the Caribbean's sandy bottom, not far from the starting line. "The beginning of an open-water race is the most interesting to shoot because it's the only time the swimmers are in a pack," says New York-based Sener. "I was completely focused on getting the shot. And breathing. It was crazy and exciting and over in about seven seconds."
She used a 20mm lens set at f/5.6, 100-speed film, and a shutter speed of 1/250 second.
James Fee shot this unhappy blowfishit had puffed itself up in self-defensewhile diving a reef off northeast Peleliu Island, near Palau, in the western Pacific. "A Korean boatman named Mr. Kim, who's lived on the island for 18 years, took me out to search for blue starfish," says the 54-year-old L.A.

Photography has no rules. There are no definitives, no "best". Lenses, housings, cameras, and lights are just tools for different jobs.
My preferred setup underwater includes a super-wide lens. My preferred lenses are the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye and an 8-15mm Fisheye (Canon or Nikon). I've shot lots of rectilinear lenses as well, so I will try to explain why I choose to use fisheyes exclusively. As well as why some people, well... hate them.
The distortion caused by a fisheye can be used to creative advantage even when shooting models. This image is a composite of two split shots.
The Downsides of a Fisheye
Let's start with the negatives of fisheye lenses. Many a photographer has gone to the camera store and tried a super wide rectilinear lens, then compared it to a similar focal length fisheye. Considering that the focal length is the same, the difference visually is staggering. The distortion of a fisheye lens makes the counters, the ceiling, and every straight line look bizarre, even unpleasant. So many people will then opt for the rectilinear lens. This is valid, but more complex than it might seem.
There are wedding photographers using fisheyes. They are always careful to make sure the bride and groom's faces are near the center of the frame, where the distortion isn't noticeable. The stretch of the gown and surrounding scene can be quite nice. But the fisheye can make your subject (especially familiar ones you've seen often) look less "natural."
There are few parallel or perpendicular lines in nature. The "distortion" of the fisheye is in more of the underwater images you see published than you might expect. If it is one of my images, you can be pretty sure it was shot with a fisheye.
Minimum focus distance becomes a big issue when your subject is taking a nose dive into your dome port. The Tokina 10-17mm fisheye is capable of focusing on something only a few inches from the front of the lens.
Clarity and Close Focus Distance
A dome port is necessary to capture a super wide field of view without vignetting (dark shadows around the edges of the photo). And hands-down fisheye lenses work better behind dome ports than rectilinear lenses.

Cameras which could be utilized and disposed may be an excellent choice for somebody who’s going on holiday. Disposable cameras that could resist other challenging states and water are perfect for those once in a lifetime excursions.
Disposable underwater cameras are a few of the very most economical kinds of cameras you aren’t just waterproof but weatherproof and can purchase. They are able to resist any form of atmospheric condition.
A lot of individuals who attempt diving on holiday are frightened to utilize their routine everyday cameras on scuba diving trips for anxiety of the water ruining them; for these individuals, there is a disposable variant the very best thing to do.
Many contain a shock-resistant, hefty casing which will float. Some are still small enough to fit into a pocket or little bag. They’re permanent and are available at reasonable rates.
Underwater Camera Maintenance Tips
Getting a good photograph underwater can be a bit tricky at times especially for someone new to underwater photography. A lot of things need to be taken into consideration when taking photos underwater such as lighting in the water, waves, and depth, just to name a few.
A waterproof camera is the most important tool in underwater photography and special precautions and care must be taken to ensure that you get the best performance out of your underwater camera. Sometimes skipping one small step can result in water seeping inside of your camera, and once water gets inside, that camera is most likely a goner.
All underwater cameras should come with a manual that includes special maintenance tips that are needed to be done in order for your underwater camera to have a long healthy life. Quality underwater cameras are typically a bit pricey and if you are investing your money into a good camera specifically to take photos underwater, you have to be sure that you follow all of these maintenance tips every time that you use your camera.
Even though underwater cameras are considered waterproof, most waterproof cameras can not withstand a heavy rush of water hitting it at once. This can include if you have the camera in your hand and then dive into the water or simply just throwing your camera into the water. If you are diving into the water, your best bet is to have someone hold it for you and then hand it to you once you are in the water or use a camera float to place it in the water until you are in.
The O rings are extremely important to an underwater camera. These rings are what keep the water out and the inside of the camera bone dry.

Actually, I have only used it on two holidays so far (Maldives and Egypt). And I used the cheapest GoPro camera that doesn’t even know RAW format, haha. At the same time, I was always practically alone to take pictures. However, as a fan of photography in general, I was surprised how photo shooting of this type can be fun and creative at the same time. Believe me, if you own an action camera, those few Euros will pay off for this fun 🙂
Best 7 tips for taking pictures with the dome port:
have a partner who will be a model – preferably a mermaid, haha 🙂
set up your action camera in advance
use anti-fog inserts
keep the top half of the port dry
use interval shooting or burst mode
keep the sun at the back (the photos will be lighter and more colorful)
try to use higher frame rate for videos (120fps) – slow motion underwater videos look great

A recent post on taking sharp focus contained these ideas: 1. Hold your camera well - holding the camera close to your body with elbows anchored against your chest or on a steady object such as a fence will make your camera steadier and improve the sharpness of the picture. 2. Tripods - if you have access to a tripod, and have time to set it up, will greatly improve your focus. 3. Shutter speed - if your subject is moving, you will need a faster shutter speed to get clear pictures, try bracketing your pictures to be sure you'll have a good one when you get home. There is a minimum shutter speed though if you're planning to hand hold, according to Rowse, - for a 50mm lens don't shoot slower than 1/60th of a second - for a 100mm lens don't shoot slower than 1/125th of a second - for a 200mm lens don't shoot slower than 1/250th of a second 4. Aperture - Aperture impacts the depth of field (the zone that is in focus) in your images. Decreasing your aperture (increasing the number – say up to f/20) will increase the depth of field meaning that the zone that is in focus will include both close and distant objects. Keep in mind that the smaller your aperture the longer your shutter speed will need to be – which of course makes moving subjects more difficult to keep sharp 5. ISO - The third element of the exposure triangle is ISO which has a direct impact upon the noisiness of your shots. Choose a larger ISO and you’ll be able to use faster shutter speed and smaller aperture (which as we’ve seen help with sharpness) but you’ll suffer by increasing the noise of your shots. Depending upon your camera (and how large you want to enlarge your images) you can probably get away with using ISO of up to 400 (or even 800 on some cameras) without too much noise but for pin sharp images keep it as low as possible). 6. Image Stabilization - some lenses or cameras come with image stabilization. This is a huge help when hand holding your camera. Be sure to turn it off though when using a tripod. Can't tell you how many shots I've ruined having IS on with my camera on a tripod, actually makes the picture out of focus. 7.

This means that when the camera allows the correct amount of light in according to the camera settings, there will be more red in the picture than there would have been without the filter. These pictures show the effect of a red filter at about 20ft deep. You can also see how well the coral is growing on Little Molasses Reef. These photos were taken in May this year!
The Mysterious White Balance
The final way to improve the color in a photograph taken in natural light is to adjust the white balance. If you have taken the shot in fairly shallow, clear water, although the picture will look too blue, there is some signal left in the red channel. Adjusting the white balance gives you the ability to change the amount of each of the three color channels used to create the image. The best way to make this adjustment is before you take the picture. Using a white board or color slate allows you to calibrate the camera to make these adjustments prior to taking the image.Each model of camera sets the color balance a little differently, so read your camera manual to find out how to do it with your camera. If you have a more high end camera, which allows you to capture “RAW” data, then you can make this adjustment to the image after taking the photo in your post processing using an image editor such as Abobe’s Lightroom product.
These two images below show the difference you can make to an image by correcting the white balance to suit the light conditions.
Hope you enjoyed the Blog!
Instructor David Jefferiss – Sea Dwellers Dive Center of Key largo

I came across a couple of my old photographs recently, both from the fresh water and from the sea. They brought back memories of some of my pleasant adventures underwater but also of the fact how little I knew what I had been doing when I was making pictures underwater at that time.
I had a great (film) camera (Nikon F90X), a great housing (Sea&Sea NX-90PRO), acceptable lenses … but didn’t know what to do with them as it can be seen from the pictures. Anyway, they are memories from the places half way around the globe away and times years ago and I want to treat them as such.
Note: A funny thing, you can see letters/words in some of the pictures. They are reflections of my lens markings in the dome port. I fixed that later by covering the markings with a black tape.

And at the end of the day, if more people are taking photos that they want to share, it’s going to also drive interest in scuba diving and preserving our world’s oceans.”
In addition to photography theory and technique, the Underwater Photography Guide also has articles on the natural history and behavior of marine life, and unbiased, informative articles about dive destinations around the world that offer underwater photography opportunities.
UWPhotographyGuide.com is a Santa Monica based website dedicated to helping underwater photographers and scuba divers learn and improve their underwater photography. For more information, visit http://www.uwphotographyguide.com.
(First posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 11:32 EST)

I thought I had lost this camera at one point when it floated off of my neck while on a dive but luckily I was able to grab it before it disappeared. It would be much easier to be able to hold onto it with a wrist strap.
For the price of this camera it has definitely stood up to the hands of time. It has been through a lot and seen a lot of places. It has been dropped on the hard ground and in the water and still works perfectly. Cleaning it carefully every time you use it plays a big part in how long it lasts.
If you don’t take care of it then you can’t expect it to last for years. The elements of salt water can really wreak havoc on an underwater camera and you have to ensure that you are getting all of the salt cleaned out from it and checking the seal.
If any tiny drop of water gets into a camera, it’s a goner. Maybe eventually I will get a digital camera but for now, I am still enjoying using my Canon Sure Shot A-1.
Who should buy a underwater camera?
The digital revolution opened up a brave new world for underwater photographers. Underwater digital cameras enable us to instantly see the outcomes of our photos, and share them with our buddies when we get home. Very few users of film have attempted an underwater digicam and not switched.In the realm of underwater photography, digital imaging has altered the landscape. The biggest benefit is seeing your photographs before you even surface. In this way you see your mistakes, make corrections and re-shoot. Apart from having the capability to see and value your photos instantly, size and the cost of many digi-cam camera housings are appealing: divers are now willing to try underwater photography for the very first time.
- Shockproof, waterproof and/or freezeproof cameras flourish in almost any environment
- Often include built in GPS, compass and depth meter
- Simple and user friendly while on the go
- Large buttons and controls for easy use with gloves or
- Outdoor enthusiasts and adventure seekers
- Vacations at water park or the shore
Invest in a camera that is waterproof or shockproof if you will need a camera tough enough to survive your next snorkeling trip or rock climbing expedition. With a solid, weatherproof outside that can keep moisture outside or even be submersed in many feet of water, waterproof cameras are safe to use in almost any weather or environment.