Principles of Underwater Photography

Photographing exciting wildlife is exhilarating, and when you take that experience underwater, it becomes so much more intense! To get there, you need to adapt yourself and your camera gear to function underwater. In this article, we’re going to cover some of the most fundamental principles of underwater photography.

Diving connects you with an entirely new world, teeming with strange and wonderful life. You immerse yourself in an aquatic environment where different rules apply and sensational photography possibilities abound.

Imagine hovering over a coral reef, weightlessly suspended in crystal clear water. Colorful fish surround you, while shafts of sunlight pierce the surface above. You hang there, enjoying the tranquility of the scene, when suddenly a large manta ray ascends from the blue. You take a deep breath, raise the camera’s viewfinder to your eye, and release the shutter.

If this is new territory to you? But you’re eager to join this epic journey? Then read on to discover 9 principles of underwater photography to help you get started.

Underwater photography is a skill set that starts with being a proficient diver. Once the fundamentals of safe diving are second nature to you, it will be much easier for you to add your photography skills in to the mix.

While it is possible to take pictures snorkeling or skin diving, you are going to be limited by how deep you can go and how long you can stay there. Scuba enables you to be relatively free of these constraints, provided you remain within the established, safe limits of recreational diving.

There are several reputable diving associations that offer certification programs. The most well known and internationally recognized are:

Which agency you’ll learn to dive with will largely depend on where you take your diving license. In general, PADI and SSI courses are more widely available, with affiliated dive centers located pretty much all over the world. Be sure to research and also contact any dive center you intend to dive with, well in advance of your trip. Dive centers can get pretty busy, especially in high season.

Regardless of which organization you choose to dive with, all entry level diving courses have been standardized to meet minimum ISO standards.

Don’t be shy to get Advanced Open Water certified as soon as possible. Diving is a skill, and the best way to get better at it is to practice. Aside from the extra depth, your advanced license will enable you to participate in a broader spectrum of diving conditions in which you can hone your skills. You can even elect to do an underwater photography dive as one of your advanced course modules.

Another diving licence really worth having is an Enriched Air Nitrox Diver certification. This is a fairly short and straightforward course that significantly benefits your diving safety. Using Enriched Air Nitrox greatly reduces your overall exposure to nitrogen and the related risk of suffering decompression sickness. Due to its significant impact on making diving safer, many dive centres have started to offer the use of Enriched Air Nitrox at no extra cost to their customers. If you do hold an enriched air certification, this benefit is one of the things you want to inquire about when choosing a dive centre operator. 

Getting scuba certified doesn’t just benefit your photography. Your diving licence opens up exciting new travel possibilities too. You’d be amazed by how much cool stuff there is to experience underwater. Sunken shipwrecks, beautiful coral reefs and charismatic marine wildlife to name but a few. There’s often a lot more diversity to a travel destination if you’re prepared to look beneath the surface.

So, instead of spending your holiday at the beach reading a book. Why not strap on a scuba tank and expand your horizons along with your photography portfolio. You won’t regret it.

Whatever camera you intend to use for underwater photography, you should be very familiar with how it works above water first. For that reason, it makes sense to adapt your primary camera to work underwater too.

If you only ever take pictures with your camera phone, then there are underwater housing solutions available to waterproof your device. If you prefer using a DSLR camera, and your budget allows for it, then it is very likely that you can buy an underwater camera housing for that model. The same applies to compact cameras, some of which might even be waterproof without the aid of an external housing.

Whichever way you go, you’ll want to be certain of two things before you take your camera for a real dive:

Once you’re satisfied with the build quality of your housing, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the various preparatory and maintenance processes outlined in the user manual. For example:

Take good care of your underwater camera equipment, and it can serve you well for many years. We’ve been using our Canon 5D MK II DSLR together with an Aquatica housing since 2009. Given that it’s been our steady companion for the duration of a 10+ year diving career, it has probably done well over 1000 dives!

Rule number 1 of taking better underwater photos is to get close to your subject. This is important because water suspends particles much better than air does. The more water there is between you and your subject, the more particles there are.

Even in clear water, you’ll still want to move as near to your subject as possible to get a cleaner shot. On a low visibility dive, you can still take great photos provided you have the right setup to get super close while still achieving focus.

There are basically two setups that work well for underwater photography:

Underwater compositions are remarkable because of their unusual subjects and otherworldly ambience. Wide angle lenses have a wide angle of view, which allows them to capture a lot of background while operating at very close focusing distances.

This combination of qualities makes them ideal for working underwater. You can be very near your subject, letting it fill the frame, while almost eliminating the influence of waterborne particles. At the same time, you also give your subject valuable context by including the fascinating scenery around it.

Fisheye (ultrawide) lenses are the extreme expression of this type of photography. However, they are difficult to use because they create a strong barrel distortion. This is an optical effect, where straight lines bend outward from the center of the image. Fortunately, this isn’t a problem underwater, as straight lines are almost never present. Fisheye lenses have become a firm favorite of underwater photographers because they offer the widest possible view, extremely close focusing and exceptional depth of field.

Macrophotography is the art of showcasing a subject larger than it appears in real life. In other words, you use a special lens to take extreme close up shots of something small.

Certain dive sites are better known for their smaller critters, such as shrimps and sea slugs, etc. Seen life-size, these might seem a bit insignificant compared to larger, more charismatic marine wildlife. However, many of them are quite beautiful when viewed through a macro lens.

With a macro setup, you will need to get super close to your subject. So close, in fact, that you can generally still take great images in very murky water. Be sure to pack a macro option, even if your intention is to shoot mostly wide. A macro setup can really save a photography dive if the visibility conditions are suddenly much worse than expected.

Above water, I’m not a big fan of flash photography. I personally prefer the way that natural or ambient light plays with a subject. Underwater, it’s completely the opposite.

Beneath the water’s surface, your surroundings tend to take on a dull bluish, greenish hue, which gets more pronounced the deeper you dive. You see, water has this rather annoying tendency to quickly absorb natural light. Low energy wavelengths such as red, orange and yellow are the first colors of the spectrum to disappear. There are several ways to counteract this phenomenon and even to use it to your advantage to exhibit your subject more dramatically.  

Any real benefit that natural light might add in exposing your subject, will disappear within the first five meters, 15 feet of a dive. It’s not unusual for divers and snorkelers to compare pictures, only to discover that the snorkeler has better exposures and detail on most shots. If you can’t bring an artificial light source with you, or if you’re photographing something too big to be artificially illuminated, then stay shallow! 

For example, a whale shark is much more photogenic at 5m / 15ft depth on a bright and sunny day than at 20m / 60ft on a late afternoon dive. Here’s the proof:

Your next best option to bring back the natural colors of your surroundings, is to use a diving torch. This is advisable even if you’re not taking pictures. Having a powerful diving torch at hand will allow you to unveil the vibrant natural colors of the corals and animals you encounter, making your dives overall more interesting.

If you plan to use your torch to illuminate your subject, then you’ll want a light with a very broad beam. Regular diving torches produce a narrow beam of light that tends to create a spotlight effect in your pictures. Static lights that perform best are the ones designed for taking videos. These generate a powerful and diffuse light that most evenly exposes the subject.

If you’re using your camera phone or GoPro to shoot underwater, then a torch (static light) is most likely the kind of solution you’ll be looking to invest in. If your budget allows for it, then get a couple of powerful video lights and a mounting rig. This will allow you to combine your lights and camera into one single, more manageable unit. Using two light sources, each casting light on your subject from a slightly different angle, will eliminate harsh shadows and result in a more appealing look overall.

The best way to make the true colors of your aquatic subject really pop, is to use an underwater flash. Better known as strobes, these flashes pack all the power you need to fill in unwanted shadows. With strobe lighting, you can even shoot against direct sunlight filtering down from the water’s surface. This technique is often used to produce some of the most visually stunning underwater compositions.

Underwater strobes are essentially off camera flash guns that are mounted on movable arms. The great advantage of this system is that you can position them almost anywhere around your camera, to achieve a variety of effects.

I strongly recommend that you use a two strobe setup for more uniform lighting. With a single strobe, you tend to blast too much light on only one side of your subject. The result is usually an unpleasant contrast between the illuminated surfaces and the shadow areas. With two strobes, you can position your flashes so that the conical beams of light overlap each other, converging on your subject. Since light reaches your subject at an angle and from two sides, the overall effect is much softer and more natural. This also greatly reduces backscatter appearing in your image. Backscatter is the horrible effect you get in your images when suspended particles reflect your strobe lighting back at the camera. 

Strobes connect to your camera housing either via an optical cable or via an electronic bulkhead. The former allows your strobes to be triggered by your camera’s inbuilt flash, while the latter allows your strobes to be fired electronically using the camera’s hot shoe interface. Be sure to check these requirements before purchasing strobes for your underwater housing. Alternatively, you can buy a whole equipment package including the camera, housing and strobes. Packaged systems should be optimized for maximum compatibility and functionality across all components.

I’m a big fan of using camera priority modes, such as AV or TV, to quickly find the correct exposure for a shot. One of my biggest frustrations when starting out with underwater photography was how unreliably these automated systems worked in conjunction with strobe lighting. Imagine my utter disappointment, after purchasing a semi-pro photography rig, only to discover that my initial results were nothing short of horrible.

The problem, as it turns out, is fairly logical and requires a manual shooting approach to get your exposures right. You can break the process down into the following three parts:

Daylight filtering down from the water’s surface might seem to be subtle, but don’t let that mislead you. Especially when shooting super wide angle (fisheye), the brightness from above will almost always act as a backlight to your composition. This usually results in your subject looking dull, flat and boring. Step one is to use your camera’s light meter to measure the light from the surface and to adjust your camera’s exposure settings accordingly.

As a ballpark figure, I like to start at 1/200 s at an aperture of f 6.3 and adjust from there. Take a picture of the surface without using your strobes and evaluate it on your camera’s display. Adjust as necessary until you’re happy with the result.

Now that the background is taken care of, we can start thinking about the light on our subject. Set your strobes to only one quarter of their maximum power to begin with. You’ll need a mock subject for testing, and the easiest way to simulate this is to use the palm of your hand.  Angle your camera slightly towards the surface, hold your hand in front of it at arm’s length and take a picture.

Evaluate the image to understand whether strobe intensity is too high or too low, and adjust as needed to get a balanced exposure. With some practice, the whole calibration process should take less than half a minute. At this stage, you’re ready to start shooting underwater, with a fairly high probability of getting a decent pic.

When shooting manual, it’s so important that you stay alert to any changes in lighting. What if the sun suddenly goes behind a cloud? What if your subject is further away from the camera than arm’s length? Even diving shallower or deeper will shift the balance between your foreground and background exposures and requires some intervention.

It’s essential to evaluate your shots often and to tweak your settings according to the situation. If you’re ever in doubt, run through the first two steps again to find the right balance. Over time, you’ll start to develop a better understanding of how your strobes work and how to use them across various situations. For example, during night dives or when changing to a macrophotography setup.

If you want the best chance of capturing great images, it’s important to have a solid idea of what shots you’re actually looking for before you hop off the boat. From the moment you put that regulator in your mouth and start breathing the air from your tank, the clock is ticking. 45 minutes to one hour is generally the maximum time you’ll get out of a dive, so you should be prepared to use it well.

Having a clear picture in your mind’s eye of what shots you’re aiming for, will help you enormously. Invest some time in researching the technical aspects and perhaps even simulate them above water, using mundane objects, similar lighting, etc.

This extra preparedness will eliminate a lot of the guesswork and frustration during a dive. It will save you precious time underwater, and hopefully bring you more success with achieving the kind of shots you’re aiming for.

Practicing your photography is often a process of trail and error. One of the major pros of digital photography, is that you can afford to make all the mistakes you want to, without a second thought. Right?

Well, not entirely. Photography happens in the real world and, when a certain “oh, it doesn’t matter” mentality starts to affect our rational behavior, it can have real world consequences.

I am talking from personal experience here, as well as that of an outside observer. It’s natural to be critical when you see someone else acting selfishly and irrationally because they have a camera in hand. Don’t be too harsh to judge though, you might be surprised by how easy it suddenly becomes to block out everything else, when you’re the one behind the lens.

Combined with scuba diving, things get a bit more complicated. It’s your own safety on the line, so you really want to pay more attention to what’s actually going on around you. Always remember your diving training and avoid the following common diving mistakes associated with underwater photography:

Underwater photographers tend to move slowly on a dive because they stop more often to take pictures. It is YOUR responsibility to stay with your buddy or dive group. They are your lifeline if anything should happen to you, just as much as you should be there for them if they need your help.

Besides the usual environmental factors, such as depth and current, that affect your air consumption, underwater photography adds two extra factors. Firstly, you tend to hold your breath a lot to steady the camera and to prevent interference from bubbles. This is a problem because you then have to breathe more heavily between shots to make up the deficit. Secondly, if your dive group moves ahead of you while you take pictures, you need to swim faster to catch them up. This results in episodes of exertion that make you breathe more heavily than keeping up a regular pace would.

Since you’re likely to use up your air faster, it’s really important that you check your air gauge more often. Make this a solid habit and don’t let your camera distract you from it!

This is possibly the most common mistake that underwater photographers make. Imagine you’re diving at your max depth, and suddenly you spot something interesting below you. It’s tempting to dive just a little deeper and to stay there just a little longer to get that perfect shot. Unlike running out of air, the risks associated with exceeding recreational depth and time limits aren’t so immediate. Nonetheless, they shouldn’t be taken lightly! Check your dive computer regularly and be sure to always stay within safe diving limits.

This is a tricky one as it requires you to be critical of yourself. Before you bring your camera on a dive, you should first evaluate the anticipated diving conditions on a personal level. If, during the pre-dive briefing, your dive guide mentions strong currents, extremely poor visibility, difficult entry and exit procedures, or any other challenging conditions, consider leaving your camera behind. If you have any doubts, it’s better to err on the side of caution. Be rational about this decision, discuss it with your dive guide or dive buddy and whatever you do, leave your ego out of it. You’ll be much more upset if you damage or lose your camera than if you miss a couple of great shots.

It is every diver’s individual responsibility to minimize the impact their presence has on the reef ecosystem. However, your camera will attract attention, which also puts your actions in the spotlight. The larger your rig, the more heat you’re going to catch should you break any part of the diving code. Expect this sort of scrutiny and do your best to avoid the following situations:

Corals are extremely fragile organisms. You should do your best to maintain neutral buoyancy and avoid making contact with them. Accidental contact with the reef can result in harmful damage which might take years to repair itself. Most often this happens when photographers are too focused on their gear to properly maintain a respectful distance.

If you absolutely need to approach the reef, do so carefully and cautiously. For extra stability, shoot one-handed and use your free hand to steady yourself. You can do this by holding on to a dead piece of coral or substrate with just three fingers. Be sure to first check that there aren’t any nasty critters nearby that might take offense to your presence.  

Whatever you do, don’t let your fins rest or drag on the corals. “Camping out” on the reef will fetch you a lot of grief from your dive buddies and other participant divers.

The other thing you want to avoid at all cost is to chase or harass marine wildlife with your camera. Always keep in mind that the ocean isn’t our domain and that our presence there should be passive and not intrusive. If you suddenly come charging in with your camera, flashes blazing, you’ll most likely just scare your subject off.

Consider also that other divers in your group may have had to wait very patiently to enjoy the same sighting. Imagine how pleased those people will be if your selfish actions cause them to miss out.

Show some respect for the underwater wildlife and your fellow divers. The best images come from interactions that happen more naturally instead of being forced. In some cases it