Useful Tips While Clicking Photos Under Water

We love clicking photos on land, and sometimes up in the sky. So why can’t we expand our foray into the magical world of underwater photography? Do not resist this urge, dive right into it.

All you need is a cool camera with housing, a strobe, which is an underwater external flash,  and proper equipment for scuba diving. Armed with some good photography skills, all you need to do is take the plunge and explore the unique world which is the water world.

These useful tips will iron out some common issues faced by photographers underwater. So go through them carefully and utilize this knowledge to the fullest.

1. While shooting underwater, be patient and try to stay still for a long period of time. Whether you are photographing a shy seahorses or skittish Christmas Tree Worms, it’s important to be still and wait for the perfect shot. Any sudden movement on your part could scare them and they won’t act naturally in their habitat.

2. Do not shoot down. Beginner underwater photographers may find that shooting down feels natural but it’s not an effective angle. You can draw comparisons to shooting on land. When you photograph a person, you don’t typically photograph the top of their head. When you’re looking at the photos after the dive, or when you’re sharing them with non-divers, an underwater photograph composed looking down on the subject is disengaging.

3. Angle your strobe to avoid backscatter. For those who don’t know, strobe is an external flash used underwater. Backscatter is when the strobe light reflects off the particles in the water. Strobe positions will vary depending on what you’re shooting and the focal length of your lens.

4. If the subject is further than 1m away, manually adjust the white balance of your camera or use a red filter to compensate for the loss of warm colours underwater. Many modern cameras have an underwater setting which will automatically add more red to your photos.

5. Keep your camera zoomed out because it affects how closely you can focus, especially in macro mode.  If you zoom in, you can't focus as closely to the subject, and that defeats the purpose of macro mode. The better strategy is to get closer to the subject.