Underwater Photography – Not That Difficult
In today’s digital era, capturing the mesmerizing beauty beneath the waves is more accessible than ever. With advancements in technology and the availability of user-friendly underwater cameras, underwater photography is no longer a hobby reserved for professionals. Whether you’re a scuba diving enthusiast or a casual snorkeler, taking stunning underwater photos has become affordable and surprisingly simple. This guide will explore the essentials of underwater photography, helping you dive into this captivating art form and create unforgettable images of the vibrant world beneath the sea.
Point-and-shoot Cameras
Point-and-shoot cameras with underwater housings have become increasingly popular and accessible, allowing anyone to capture stunning underwater images without needing extensive expertise. Compact cameras, such as the OM Systems (Olympus) TG camera range (currently TG-7), are particularly great options for beginner and amateur underwater photographers due to their ease of use and high-quality results.
Underwater photography is not only rewarding but can also be a profitable venture. Many underwater photography competitions are now being won by individuals using compact digital cameras, highlighting the potential of these devices to capture award-winning shots.
Scuba diving in Phuket offers a fantastic opportunity to hone your photography skills. The region is known for its crystal-clear waters, diverse marine life, and beautiful dive sites, providing an ideal setting to capture memorable photos. You’ll likely return home with an impressive collection of images to share with friends and family.
Here are some tips to help you enhance your underwater photography skills and capture amazing photos.
1. Get Comfortable:
Before diving into underwater photography, ensure you’re comfortable with scuba diving itself. Divers with poor buoyancy control often struggle to capture good images. Consider taking courses like the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course or the PADI Advanced Open Water course to enhance your diving skills. By improving your control underwater, you’ll also improve the quality of your photos.
2. Understand Marine Life:
Patience is key to successful underwater photography. Take the time to observe the swimming patterns of your subject, as many marine creatures exhibit repetitive behaviours. This allows you to anticipate their movements and adjust your shot accordingly. Avoid rushing towards your subject, as this can startle them and cause them to flee. Instead, move slowly and let their curiosity draw them closer to you.
3. Get Closer:
When you think you’re close enough, get even closer, then closer again. As we learn in the Open Water course, water absorbs light and after 5m red is gone. The closer you can get to a subject the better the colours will be. Two important rules for underwater photography are to get close to your subject and shoot from upward angles. This helps fill the frame and creates separation between the subject and the background. Be sure to understand the focusing distance of your camera, both in and out of macro mode. Use macro mode when you’re within the macro focusing distance, and avoid shooting subjects more than one meter away to prevent “shooting through too much water.”
4. Get Out and Shoot:
Dive as frequently as you can to practice your photography skills. Joining a local dive club can provide opportunities for regular dives and allow you to learn from others by sharing tips and experiences.
5. Understand Manual White Balancing:
Turn off your flash and focus on mastering manual white balancing and using natural light. This technique allows you to create beautiful, natural-looking photos without needing expensive strobes. Adjust your manual white balance every 2–3 meters when shooting with ambient light. This approach is also more considerate of marine life, as frequent flashes can be disturbing to them.
6. Avoid Using Digital Zoom:
Digital zoom can increase backscatter in your photos. Instead of relying on digital zoom, try getting closer to your subject or take the shot from a distance and crop it later.
7. Understand Manual Settings:
Mastering manual settings is easier than you might think. Here are some tips to get started:
Focus: Set your focus to automatic and single subject mode, which allows the camera to autofocus on the subject. In this mode, as long as you hold down the shutter button, the focus will remain locked, even if you recompose the scene.
ISO: It used to be best practice to keep your ISO low (100 or 200) to avoid “digital noise” in your images. Higher ISOs can make your photos appear grainy. With modern cameras handling digital noise much better these days you may be able to get away shooting with higher ISO settings of 300 – 600 for a faster shutter speed to capture faster-moving fish.
Aperture: Depending on your depth, you’ll typically shoot between f/8 and f/16 to achieve a greater depth of field. This setting helps ensure more of your image is in focus.
Shutter Speed: The right combination of aperture and shutter speed is key to correct exposure. Use a higher shutter speed (1/125th or 1/250th) for sharp, motionless subjects. For capturing motion, like fish swimming, use a slower shutter speed (1/15th or lower).
8. Bring a Dive Light:
A dive light or focusing light can assist your camera’s autofocus, making it easier to capture clear images.
9. Respect the Environment and Other Divers:
Always prioritize what you learned in your scuba diving class. Remember, you are a diver first and a photographer second. Your safety and that of those around you depends on keeping this in mind at all times.
Aussie Divers Phuket offers a wide range of PADI courses to enhance your underwater photography skills, including the PADI Advanced Open Water Course, PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course, PADI Digital Underwater Photography Course, and various Project AWARE courses.
