Intro to Underwater Photography

Share your underwater adventures by acquiring and/or improving your skills with underwater photography.

Scuba diving is one of the most rewarding hobbies or professions that you can ever have. Why? Because it’s a great way to meet new people and to have a front-row view of some of natures’ seldom-seen aquatic environments.

With the earth covered by 70% of water, the underwater world is home to unique environments and equally impressive creatures that cannot be found anywhere else. This is why scuba diving is one-of-a-kind and extremely rewarding activity.

Like many other divers, you’ve probably wished to capture the world beneath the waves on film and to share these wonderful sights with your friends and family. This is why many divers, professional and recreational alike, take up underwater photography. Although very similar to regular photography, underwater photography needs few extra tools to make the images pop.

How Does Underwater Photography Change from Normal Photography?

You’ve probably wondered why many underwater photos are washed-out and miserably fail to capture all the vibrant colors. You see, when you’re underwater, color can deceive you. This is because as you go deeper, the very first color that diminishes is the color red. The color is distorted and will, therefore, look dull. Because of this, underwater cameras require different lenses to adjust the lighting and color. By combining this technical aspect with your photographic skills, you’ll know how to take clear and sharp underwater photos time and time again.

Another factor that you have to take into account is lighting. You also have to realize that light diminishes when you go deeper. But don’t worry, there are special flashes and lights that can be mounted onto your underwater camera for amazing photographic results.

What Do You Need to Take Great Underwater Photos?

You will need:

• a digital camera.
• a camera-specific underwater housing to protect your camera from water and underwater pressure.

To carry your underwater camera and all its extra equipment, you need a different kind of camera bag – after all, you want to safely protect these delicate electronic devices. Your camera bag will usually be a hard camera bag to give your underwater camera that extra protection.

Special underwater lenses are also available for underwater photography. These lenses help you capture all the vivid marine colors for some epic high-quality photos.

Insider tip: When purchasing an underwater camera, you have to make sure that the casing, flashes and lights, lenses, and bags are designed specifically for your digital camera. If you purchase the wrong kind of accessory, you won’t be able to get it to work.

Here Are A Few Tips To Greatly Improve Your Underwater Photography.

The invention of the GoPro camera has made underwater photography much easier for professional as well as novice photographers.  The GoPro camera is a diver’s dream  because of its size and quality of video files as well as its price point.

There are are currently a few GoPro models available on the market. The Hero3+ , replaced by the HERO4 Silver, includes a rear LCD monitor.  The HERO4 Silver is quite an improvement over the HERO3+ with nifty features such as a noticeable improvement in image quality and and “auto rotate” feature.

The Hero4 is a camera for divers. It offers one of the most reasonable options for “non-professional”, underwater photography . One of the most outstanding aspects of this camera for me is that it is good down to 131 ft.

The Hero 4 is a diving camera capable of going down 131 feet with no issues. Beyond that range, it also offers a wide-angle view and stunning 4k30 video. It has a great still shot thanks to the 12MP resolution and is able to shoot in low-light environments due to its customizable exposure settings and Night Lapse functions.

What we Like:

• Waterproof up to 131 feet
• Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth support
• Wide-angle field view
• Night photo capabilities
• Slow motion playback
• 12MP photos at 30fps

H/T anysoftwaretools.com

The excerpt below is quoted from an article, referenced above, that highlights the best GoPro models for scuba divers in 2020. See link below

The thought of adding one more piece of equipment to lug around should not be a deterrent from your interests in underwater photography. It just becomes a matter of selecting the appropriate camera bag and other equipment/ accessories for underwater photography.

When you finally make your decision about the camera and accessories for your underwater photography. The next logical thing to consider is how to take the best underwater photos.

The following short video,”Underwater GoPro Filmmaking Tips EVERYONE NEEDS!” will give you a few great tips about how to line-up and frame your underwater photos like the professional do.

Now that you have gotten your underwater camera set-up along with its accessories the next consideration is the camera bag.

What to Look for In an Underwater Camera Bag

Getting the right camera bag is a must. You should look for a camera bag that has a hard case, and that is:

• waterproof
• positively buoyant
• big enough to fit all your underwater photography equipment

A camera bag for underwater photography equipment should be waterproof because when you disassemble the equipment, the electronic circuits will be exposed. And, it should be positively buoyant because, if you accidentally drop it in the water, it will float, and you can easily retrieve it.

Bear in mind that purchasing your underwater camera and all its necessary tools does not come cheap. But if you’re serious about underwater photography, then it’s an investment worth making. Not only will it add a new dimension to your diving trip, but you’ll have stunning photos that will last you a lifetime.

Related Articles:
Best GoPro For Scuba Diving in 2020

See Below For An Expert’s Detailed GoPro Recommendations For Scuba Divers. Learn Settings and other Considerations for Underwater Photography. This is AWESOME

Be prepared to take notes. 🙂

DiveSAGA shares how to maximize your results when shooting underwater with a GoPro in the YouTube video below called “Underwater GOPRO Hero 7 TIPS For SCUBA Divers 2019”